SWAMPSCOTT — Sylvia Belkin, former chair of the town’s Historical Commission, had the honor of bringing the Thomson family back to its original home, now Town Hall.
On Tuesday, Belkin connected with Dale Milne, the great-granddaughter of Elihu Thomson, who originally had the building built in 1889. According to Belkin, Milne said that her grandsons wanted to venture out and explore their ancestral home.
Dale, her husband, Jeff, their 10-year-old triplets George, Emerson, Samuel, and nine-year-old Michael Freeman were warmly welcomed with open arms. Together, they wandered the halls of the old family home for a rare chance to see their family’s history displayed before them.
“Swampscott is a small town, but it has an incredible history,” Belkin said. “It was just an amazing life experience to see the Thomson family return to their family home.” She expressed her joy in the chance to help the future generations of the family venture into the historic home that their lineage and legacy were connected to.
The Elihu Thomson Administration Building was designed by architect James Templeton Kelly for Thomson in 1889. Thomson lived there until he died in 1937 at 84, according to the Town’s website. In 1944, the Thomson family sold the house to the town as a partial gift, at which time it began housing the town’s administrative offices.
William Beal and Sons were then tasked with converting the house into a workable town hall. In 1976, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark and later adopted into Swampscott’s Local Historic District in 2014.
