Beverly, Massachusetts

Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,502 at the 2010 census.

A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing. Beverly is a rival of Marblehead for the title of being the birthplace of the U.S. Navy. The city name is also the origin for the city of Beverly Hills, in Los Angeles County, California.

History

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" â€" 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 areasâ€"such as Casco Chemicalâ€"have polluted the groundwater, which could be potentially hazardous to the nearby Wenham Lake water supply.

Geography and transportation

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.6 square miles (58.5 km²), of which 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²) is land and 7.5 square miles (19.4 km²), 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 (roughly from Woodbury Point east) is more rural. Beverly is home to several parks, five beaches, the Beverly Golf & Tennis Club (est. 1910) 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 (former location of the historic Essex Bridge), the MBTA railroad bridge, and the Kernwood Bridge, connecting the two cities. Beverly's city center lies 2 miles (3 km) north of Salem's, and is 14 miles (23 km) west-southwest of Gloucester and 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Boston.

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 serves the city with Route 451, 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

As of the census of 2010, there are 39,502 people, 16,641 households, and 9,906 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,617.2 people per square mile (927.2/km²). There are 16,275 housing units at an average density of 980.5 per square mile (378.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 83.4% White, 2.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 8.7% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 2.3% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 16,641 households out of which 28.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% are married couples living together, 9.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% are non-families. 29.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.39 and the average family size is 3.02.

In the city, the population is spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For every 100 females there are 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 85.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $53,984, and the median income for a family is $66,486. Males have a median income of $45,348 versus $35,659 for females. The per capita income for the city is $28,626. 5.7% of the population and 4.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.5% of those under the age of 18 and 5.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Education

The city has five K-5 elementary schools: Ayers Ryal Side, Centerville, Cove, Hannah, and North Beverly. The city's sole middle school is Briscoe Middle School, serving grades 6â€"8. The city's other middle school, Memorial Middle School, has been torn down to be rebuilt into a new 5-8 middle school. The new school will be called Beverly Middle School, and will be the primary middle school, when it opens. The future of Briscoe Middle School is unknown at the moment.

Beverly is home to several private schools, including New England Academy, 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.

Beverly High School is a grade 9â€"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.

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.

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 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 Leagueâ€"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

Major employers

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

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
• Caspian, instrumental post-rock band
• 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
• Henry Clay Frick, industrialist (summer resident)
• John Hale, minister at the Salem witch trials
• 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, current MLB player for the New York Mets
• Mary Lou Lord, musician
• Jonathan Manzi, entrepreneur, youngest documented business millionaire
• Alfred Marshall, businessman, founder of Marshalls
• David McWane, musician (Big D and the Kids Table)
• Angie Miller (American singer), singer-songwriter and American Idol contestant
• David Morse, actor
• Tom Nolan, actor
• Kevin O'Connor, television host
• Benjamin Osgood Peirce, teacher
• Howard Petrie, actor
• Joanna Quiner, sculptor
• Derek Rae, television sports commentator
• 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
• Philip Gordon Wylie, author
• Michael Alden, author

Film appearances

References

Further reading

• Sidney Perley (1920). "Beverly in 1700". Essex Institute Historical Collections. Salem, Massachusetts: Essex Institute. 56. 

External links

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Beverly". Encyclopædia Britannica. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• "Beverly Community History". New England Business On Line (NSBOL). 1996â€"1998. Retrieved August 8, 2010. 
• Smith, Jonathan (1795). "A Plan of the Town of Beverly Taken Agreeable to an order of the General Court upon a Scale of Two Hundred Rod to an Inch". Essex County 1795. Registry of Deeds, Southern Essex District. Retrieved August 8, 2010. 
• 1830 Map of Beverly, by T. Wilson Flagg.
• 1872 Atlas of Essex County Map of Beverly, plate 97.
• 1872 Atlas of Essex County Map of Beverly Cove, plate 95, at the bottom of the page of the Map of Wenham.
• 1884 Atlas of Essex County, Map of Beverly, plate 68â€"69.
• 1907 Atlas of Beverly, by George H.Walker.
• 1919 North Shore Atlas. Click on map for much larger image.