Beverly, Massachusetts


Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 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, North Beverly, Centerville, Cove, Montserrat, Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing. Beverly is a rival of Marblehead for the title of "birthplace of the U.S. Navy".

History

inhabited what would become northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years before the European colonization of the Americas. At the time of European contact in the early 1600s, the area that would become Beverly was between an important Naumkeag settlement in present-day Salem and Agawam settlements on Cape Ann, with probable indigenous settlement sites at the mouth of the Bass River. During the early contact period, virgin soil epidemics ravaged native populations, reducing the indigenous population within the present boundaries of Beverly from an estimated 200 to less than 50 if there were any survivors.
English colonists, under Roger Conant's leadership, first colonized the area in 1626 as part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Initially part of Salem, Beverly would be set off and officially incorporated in 1668, when it was named after Beverley, the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Surviving from the settlement's early history is the John Balch House, built, according to dendrochronological testing performed in 2006, about 1679.
The colonists did not initially seek permission from indigenous inhabitants to settle in Beverly; however, when Charles II revoked colonial charters to establish the Dominion of New England in 1684, Beverly joined a number of Massachusetts municipalities in seeking out heirs to local sachems and paying them ex post facto in order to establish a right to the land. So it was that in 1686, the town selectmen agreed to pay six pounds, six shillings, and eight pence to three grandchildren of Chief Masconomet, last sachem of the Agawam. They did not pay this sum until 1700.
The first ship commissioned for the Continental Army, was the armed schooner USS Hannah under the command of Captain Nicholson Broughton. 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". Marblehead makes a similar claim, in part, because Broughton was from there and belonged to the Marblehead Regiment. However, the official history of the United States Navy and the naval history of Rhode Island contradict this. 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 it was the site of the first cotton mill in America 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, salons, restaurants, medical offices, and more. Parker Brothers, makers of Monopoly and other games, was headquartered in Beverly, acquired by Hasbro, and eventually ceased operations in Beverly. In 2012, the Dunham Road property was acquired by Cummings Properties and named Dunham Ridge.
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.
In 1984, the deadliest arson fire in Massachusetts history occurred at the Elliott Chambers, a rooming house located on the corner of Rantoul and Elliott Streets in downtown Beverly. 15 people died as a result of the fire.
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 currently used by Massachusetts US&R Task Force 1 and is under the scrutiny of many environmental organizations, due to concerns about polluted groundwater, which could be potentially hazardous to the nearby Wenham Lake water supply.
In April 2013, Bill Scanlon, Beverly's longest-serving mayor, announced that he would not be running for re-election in November. Scanlon first won election to the mayor's seat in 1993 and held the office through 2013. In 2013, Michael Cahill beat Wes Slate to become Beverly's 34th mayor.
In December 2021, Mayor Cahill received one of two top honors from the Mayors Climate Protection Awards recognizing mayors for their climate work. The award focused on two Beverly efforts: the conversion of its vehicle fleet to electric and its Green Schools Program, which involves making buildings more energy efficient. Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll also received an honorable mention for her work on Resilient Together, a Beverly-Salem collaboration to address climate change. Whether it involves vehicle electrification or the greening of city buildings, the coastal city of Beverly has made climate work a central focus to protect its future.
Beverly is home to The Cabot, one of only approximately 250 similar movie palaces left out of an estimated 20,000 theaters built in the 1920s. For its first 40 years, it served as a center of community life for downtown Beverly. In 1944, the venue was leased to movie chain giant E.M. Loew's, which eventually purchased it in 1962, and renamed it the Cabot Cinema. In 1976 it was purchased by Le Grand David and His Own Spectacular Magic Company. For 37 years, The Cabot hosted Le Grand David's long-running magic show that made seven White House appearances and won recognition in the Guinness Book of Records and TIME, Smithsonian and National Geographic World magazines. After Le Grand David's retirement in 2012, the venue was sold in 2014 and reopened as a nonprofit performing arts center.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and, or 33.19%, is water. Beverly is located on the North Shore, the name given to communities north of Boston along Massachusetts Bay. There are many smaller coves, as well as two islands, the Great and Little Misery Islands, which are part of the city. From Woodbury Point westward lies Beverly Harbor, which lies at the mouth of the Danvers River. The Bass River empties into the Danvers River from within the city. Several other small streams lie within the city as well. A large portion of Wenham Lake, as well as several other lakes and ponds lie within the city. The city has its own city forest and reservation land as well.
Much of the western half of the city is relatively urbanized, while the eastern part of the city is more rural. Beverly is home to several parks, five beaches, the Beverly Golf & Tennis Club and two yacht clubs, Jubilee Yacht Club in Beverly Harbor and Bass Haven Yacht Club along the Bass River.
Besides Massachusetts Bay to the south, Beverly is bordered by Manchester-by-the-Sea to the east, Wenham to the north, Danvers to the west and Salem to the south. Beverly and Salem are separated by the Danvers River and Beverly Harbor, with three bridges, the Veterans Memorial Bridge, the MBTA railroad bridge, and the Kernwood Bridge, connecting the two cities. Beverly's city center lies north of Salem's, and is west-southwest of Gloucester and northeast of Boston.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Beverly has an oceanic climate, abbreviated "Cfb" on climate maps, bordering on the humid continental climate type, abbreviated "Dfb". Accordingly, the city experiences moderately cold and snowy winters along with warm to hot and humid summers. A sea breeze will often keep much of the southern part of the city cooler in the summer. Beverly is prone to thunderstorms and tropical rainstorms in the summer and nor'easters that can bring heavy rain and/or in the winter, fall, and spring. Generally, however, precipitation is relatively even throughout the year, with a slight increase around the spring and the fall. The hottest temperature recorded in Beverly was on July 4, 2002, July 25, 2022, and June 24, 2025, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 4, 2023.

Demographics

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 82.3% White, 4.0% African American, 0.1% Native American, 9.3% 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.

Government

Economy

Major employers

Points of interest

  • 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 boasted the world’s longest-running magician’s show, Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Company, which ran from February 1977 through May 2012. Built in an early 20th-century movie palace style, the theater has long functioned as both a live entertainment venue and a movie theater. Purchased in 2014 by a community-led effort to save it from demolition, The Cabot reopened as a nonprofit performing arts center and today presents a year-round mix of live music, comedy, film, and community programming.
  • The Larcom Theatre, an historic multipurpose music and performing arts theatre in Downtown Beverly. Built in 1912, the 560-seat restored vintage theatre is known for its acoustics, and was built by the Ware brothers.
  • Harry Ball Field, home of the Beverly Little League—first and oldest little league in Massachusetts
  • Hurd Stadium
  • John Balch House
  • John Cabot House
  • Exercise Conant House
  • John Hale House
  • 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