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Beverly, Massachusetts
City
Post Office in 1919
Post Office in 1919
Official seal of Beverly, Massachusetts
Seal
Motto(s): 
Patri Simillima Proles (Latin)
was "May we be as our children"
Location in Essex County and the state of Massachusetts.
Location in Essex County and the state of Massachusetts.
Beverly, Massachusetts is located in the United States
Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly, Massachusetts
Location in the United States
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Essex
Settled 1626
Incorporated (town) 1668
Incorporated (city) 1894
Named for Beverley, England
Government
 • Type Mayor-council city
Area
 • Total 22.59 sq mi (58.50 km2)
 • Land 15.09 sq mi (39.08 km2)
 • Water 7.50 sq mi (19.42 km2)
Elevation
36 ft (11 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 42,670
 • Density 2,827.70/sq mi (1,091.86/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code
01915
Area code(s) 978/351
FIPS code 25-05595
GNIS feature ID 0614200

Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly includes Ryal Side, Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing. Beverly is a rival of Marblehead for the title of being the "birthplace of the U.S. Navy".

History

Soldiers' Monument at Beverly, MA
Soldiers' Monument in 1907

Originally part of Salem and the Naumkeag Territory, the area was first settled by Europeans in 1626 by Roger Conant. Because of religious differences with Governor John Endecott, Beverly would be set off and officially incorporated in 1668, when it was named "Beverley" after Beverley, the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Surviving from the settlement's early history is the Balch House, built, according to dendrochronological testing performed in 2006, about 1679.

The first ship commissioned for the US military, by the US Army (the US Navy had yet to exist), was the armed schooner Hannah. It was outfitted at Glover's Wharf and first sailed from Beverly Harbor on September 5, 1775. For this reason Beverly calls itself the "Birthplace of America's Navy" – a claim disputed by other towns, including nearby Marblehead. The Hannah can be found on the patch of the city's police department.

Beverly has also been called the "birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution," as the site of the first cotton mill in America (1787), and largest cotton mill of its time. The town is the home of one of the country's first Sunday schools (which was built in 1810). Beverly was incorporated as a city in 1894.

In 1902, the United Shoe Machinery Corporation built a quarter-mile stretch of factory buildings in Beverly. The stretch was an early landmark example of reinforced concrete construction, devised by concrete pioneer Ernest L. Ransome. In 1906 it went into production. Closed in 1987, the complex was bought by Cummings Properties in 1996, and developed into a campus of hi-tech companies and medical offices. Parker Brothers, makers of Monopoly and other games, has offices in Beverly. The city is also home to the Landmark School, known worldwide for the education it provides for students with learning disabilities.

President William Howard Taft rented a house for the summer White House from Mrs. Maria Evans in Beverly. In the summers of 1909 and 1910, he lived in a house located at what is now the site of the Italian Garden in Lynch Park, the city's principal public park, and in 1911 and 1912 he rented a different house a mile away, "Parramatta", from Mrs. Robert Peabody. Beverly Hills, California, was named in 1907 after Beverly Farms in Beverly because Taft vacationed there.

Beverly has a former Nike missile site on L. P. Henderson Road, immediately east of the Beverly Municipal Airport. This site was in operation from March 1957 until August 1959, when the Army handed it over to the National Guard. It is now used by Beverly as a storage site and is under the scrutiny of many environmental organizations, as it and the surrounding areas—such as Casco Chemical—have polluted the groundwater, which could be potentially hazardous to the nearby Wenham Lake water supply.

Infrastructure

Veterans Memorial Bridge
Veterans Memorial Bridge, looking toward Beverly from Salem

Transportation

Route 128, the chief circumferential highway of the Boston area, crosses Beverly from east to west and connects the city to Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1 in Danvers. Route 1A passes through Beverly from south to north, along main streets in downtown Beverly. The city is also the terminus of four different state routes: Route 22, which heads northeast from Route 1A; Route 62, which heads west from Route 127; Route 97, which parts with Route 1A northwest of downtown before heading north; and Route 127 which heads east from Route 22.

Beverly is the site of the split between the separate lines of the Newburyport/Rockport Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail, which provides service to Boston's North Station. South of the junction lies Beverly Depot near downtown, which is accessible along both lines. Along the Newburyport portion of the line is the North Beverly stop, just south of the Wenham town line. Along the Rockport portion of the line are three stops, Montserrat, Prides Crossing and Beverly Farms. Additionally, MBTA bus Route 451 serves the city, with service to downtown Beverly and Salem from the North Beverly station. A local bus route called the Beverly Shoppers Shuttle serves downtown and western Beverly, and is contracted through the Cape Ann Transportation Authority. Beverly is home to Beverly Municipal Airport, though parts of the airfield itself lie within Danvers, as well as a very small portion of the north runway in Wenham. Logan International Airport provides the nearest national and international air service.

Demographics

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1790 3,290 —    
1800 3,881 +18.0%
1810 4,608 +18.7%
1820 4,283 −7.1%
1830 4,073 −4.9%
1840 4,689 +15.1%
1850 5,376 +14.7%
1860 6,154 +14.5%
1870 6,507 +5.7%
1880 8,456 +30.0%
1890 10,821 +28.0%
1900 13,884 +28.3%
1910 18,650 +34.3%
1920 22,561 +21.0%
1930 25,086 +11.2%
1940 25,537 +1.8%
1950 28,884 +13.1%
1960 36,108 +25.0%
1970 38,348 +6.2%
1980 37,655 −1.8%
1990 38,195 +1.4%
2000 39,862 +4.4%
2010 39,502 −0.9%
2020 42,670 +8.0%

Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.
Source:
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2020, there were 42,670 people and 16,568 households in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 90.3% White, 3.0% African American, 0.1% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, and 3.1% from two or more races. 5.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,158 households in the city. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.02.

19.0 % of residents were under the age of 18, and 81.0% were over the age of 18. 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males.

The median household income was $84,354. The per capita income for the city was $47,494.

Points of interest

Rose Garden at Lynch Park
Rose Garden at Lynch Park
Old Balch House, Beverly, MA
Balch House c. 1906
President Taft's Summer Home, Beverly, MA
Taft Residence in 1909
Beverly Hospital - Lynch & Administration Buildings
Beverly Hospital - Serving the community's health needs since 1888.
  • The Beverly Cotton Manufactory site, the first cotton mill in America. The monument sits in North Beverly next to the Veterans Memorial and North Beverly fire station.
  • The Cabot Street Cinema Theatre, boasted the world's longest running magician's show; Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Company ran from February 1977 through May 2012. The theater is early 20th-century style and shows films on a regular basis.
  • Harry Ballfield, home of the Beverly Little League—first and oldest little league in Massachusetts
  • Hurd Stadium (home of the Beverly Panthers)
  • John Balch House (c. 1679)
  • John Cabot House (1781)
  • Exercise Conant House (1695)
  • John Hale House (c. 1694)
  • Lynch Park & Beaches, located in the city's Cove section, is a popular summer spot for swimming, kayaking, sun bathing, and picnics.
  • The North Shore Music Theatre, offering a program of musicals and celebrity concerts
  • The Odd Fellows' Hall, on the corner of Cabot and Broadway streets
  • Montserrat College of Art

Economy

Major employers

  • Axcelis Technologies
  • Crane Aerospace
  • Microsoft
  • Orchard Brands, owner of Blair and other catalogs and e-commerce sites
  • Zipcar

Education

The city has five K–4 elementary schools: Ayers Ryal Side, Centerville, Cove, Hannah, and North Beverly. The city's sole middle school is Beverly Middle School, which finished construction in 2018. Beverly Middle School serves residents in grades 5–8.

Beverly High School is a grade 9–12 public high school located in Beverly. It was founded in 1858, and currently enrolls over 1300 students. In September 2011, construction was completed on a new academic building, which is now in use by students and faculty. Northshore Academy offers an alternative high school provision in Beverly.

Prior to the current state of Beverly's schools, Briscoe served as a middle and high school. Constructed in 1923, the historic building lies near downtown Beverly. Its use for high school students from 1923 to 1964 came to an end when it was transformed to the towns Junior High School, serving grades 6–8. There, it lasted until 2017 when the newly built Beverly Middle School took in the students.

Beverly is home to several K–12 private schools, including New England Academy, Landmark School, Harborlight-Stoneridge Montessori School, Kindercare Learning Center, Beverly School for the Deaf, Saints Academy, the Bright Horizons School, The Waring School, Glen Urquhart School, Shore Country Day, Mrs. Alexander's School, and several others.

The city is home to Endicott College, which offers 23 bachelor programs, 27 concentrations, and 27 minors. Master programs are offered in business, education, nursing, computer science, and political science. Beverly is also home of Montserrat College of Art, a private four-year visual arts college.

Notable people

  • Henry Adams, historian; lived in the Beverly Farms neighborhood while writing his works on Albert Gallatin
  • David Alward, former premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick
  • John Appleton, congressman
  • Frederick L. Ashworth, naval weaponer aboard Bockscar which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan
  • Jacob Bannon, artist, musician
  • Will Barnet, artist
  • Albert J. Beveridge, American Historian, Pulitzer Prize winner and US Senator from Indiana
  • Benjamin C. Bradlee, Washington Post editor; summer resident; began his newspaper career as a copy boy for the Beverly Evening Times in 1937
  • James F. Cahill, one of the first scuba divers and one of the first UDTs
  • Nik Caner-Medley, professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv
  • Bobby Carpenter, former NHL hockey player
  • Rita Colwell, 2006 National Medal of Science recipient
  • Nathan Dane, lawyer and congressman
  • Le Grand David, magician
  • Esther Earl, Internet vlogger and activist
  • David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States
  • Pete Frates, ALS advocate, ALS Ice Bucket Challenge pioneer
  • Henry Clay Frick, industrialist (summer resident)
  • John Hale, minister at the Salem witch trials
  • David E. Harris, the first African American commercial airline pilot and pilot captain for a major U.S. commercial airline
  • Kerry Healey, former lieutenant-governor
  • Joshua Herrick, congressman
  • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., author (summer resident)
  • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (summer resident)
  • Corey Johnson, first HIV-positive member of the New York City Council (elected 2013)
  • Lucy Larcom, poet
  • Jack Leathersich, MLB player for the New York Mets
  • Mary Lou Lord, musician
  • David Lundquist, former professional baseball pitcher and current pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies
  • Alfred Marshall, businessman, founder of Marshalls
  • Greg Marshall, former NFL and CFL defensive lineman and coach, current Head Coach for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues football
  • David McWane, musician (Big D and the Kids Table)
  • Angie Miller, singer-songwriter and American Idol contestant
  • David Morse, actor
  • J. Foster Ober, architect, born in Beverly, designed Odd Fellows' Hall in 1874
  • Kevin O'Connor, television host
  • Benjamin Osgood Peirce, teacher
  • Howard Petrie, actor
  • Joanna Quiner, sculptor
  • Derek Rae, television sports commentator
  • Peter Rockwell, sculptor
  • William Howard Taft, U.S. president and Chief Justice (summer resident)
  • Elbridge Trask, frontiersman and mountain man
  • John Updike, author
  • Joseph Vittori, awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Korean War
  • Herbert Woodbury (privateer)
  • Nicole Woods Current member of USA Field Hockey 's Women's National Team
  • Philip Gordon Wylie, author

Images for kids

See also

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