Saugus Iron Works is established.

Also known as Hammersmith Iron Works, it is created by the Company of Undertakers of the Iron Works in New England, which was founded by John Winthrop Jr. and others in 1643 and located on the Saugus River. The successor to an earlier unsuccessful mill in Braintree, it is the first successful iron works in North America and powered by a water mill, for which John Njenkes receives the first patent granted in the British Colonies. The factory produces nails, tools, and wagon wheels. Financial problems cause it to cease operation in 1668.*