01907 Summer 2018

The police department in front of Swampscott Town Hall in 1926 after the firing of the police chief and reorganization of the department.
THE RUM DIARY
Spirited bootleggers cruised coast during Prohibition
BY BRIDGET TURCOTTE
Swampscott made headlines nationwide
in the 1920s for a scandal involving members
of the town’s police force, who were
in cahoots with bootleggers storing illegal
liquor along the shore during Prohibition.
Months after voters in the town sought
the help of legislatures to allow alcohol to
be consumed at more establishments, the
illegal transport of liquor put the town under
a microscope and led to an overhaul of the
police department.
Nearly a century ago, Swampscott became
a popular landing place for rum-runners.
The act was not unique to the oceanfront
town, but some say Swampscott was
under more scrutiny because it was where
then-President Calvin Coolidge had chosen
to spend his summer months. After a scandal
unfolded surrounding police involvement
Police Chief William L. Quinn.
with rum-running, it has been said that
Coolidge chose not to return.
During the early days of Prohibition,
liquor was often smuggled into the United
States by sea. The boats carrying thousands
of dollars worth of forbidden cargo were
dubbed “rum-runners.”
Ships followed the shore line and eventually,
cargo would be unloaded and hidden
on a deserted beach or vacant summer estate,
as was the case in Swampscott, according to
“Swampscott, Massachusetts Celebrating
150 Years,” a book created by the Swampscott
Historical Society in 2002.
The illegitimate industry of smuggling
spirits from other countries became lucrative,
especially in the Boston area, which was
littered with hotels and speakeasies where
alcohol was easily accessible to customers
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