Photo: Oliver Wendell Homes House, circa 1889, Beverly, MA. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Photographed by User:Magicpiano (own work), 2012, [cc‑3.0] via Wikimedia Commons, accessed August, 2025.
Beverly City Hall is located at 191 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915.
Phone: 978‑921‑6000.
Photo: Oliver Wendell Homes House, circa 1889, Beverly, MA. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Photographed by User:Magicpiano (own work), 2012, [cc‑3.0] via Wikimedia Commons, accessed August, 2025.
Beginnings
Beverly [1] was a part of Salem until 1668 when it was incorporated as an independent town. John and William Woodbury and Roger Conant were among the first settlers. The first meeting house was built about 1656, with Reverend John Hale as pastor. (John P. Hale, Nathan Hale and Reverend E. E. Hale are numbered among his direct descendants.) A second church was established in 1713 with Reverend John Chipman as pastor. The principal industry in 1880 was the manufacture of shoes and boots.
Beverly's [2] coastal location and its distinctive landscape features — its rocky coastline, deep harbor, and varied rivers and lakes — were instrumental in shaping the history of the community from the earliest Native American use of the land to the present day.
Archaeological evidence found in Beverly and the writings of Captain John Smith indicate the presence of a sizeable, probably seasonal Native population of the Pawtucket or Penacook group during the Contact period (1500-1620). English colonists settled in the Beverly area in the 1620s. Harvesting of salt marsh hay began soon after, with grants of land distributed by 1635. Beverly was initially an outlying village of Salem and was incorporated as a town in 1668 with a population of 600.
Beverly grew steadily in the 18th century with a diversified economy. The harbor was the center of the town's fishing industry and related maritime activities, including trade, shipbuilding and rope manufacturing. Shoemaking was a popular winter activity. During the Revolutionary War, Beverly played an important role in fitting out the first ships of Washington's Navy and considers itself the birthplace of the United States Navy.
Between 1830 and 1870 the town evolved from its traditional maritime and agricultural economy to one that was predominantly industrial. With the arrival of the Eastern Railroad in 1839 an industrial district developed along the tracks adjacent to the Bass River. This brought many immigrants to the community, initially Irish, English and French Canadians, later followed by Germans, Scandinavians and eastern European Jews. By 1870 boot and shoemaking was Beverly's most important industry, with 35 factories constructed by the end of the century, mostly along Rantoul and Park Streets. Cabot Street became the institutional and commercial center of the community. Agriculture also prospered, as local markets developed for dairy and market garden products.
Beverly grew quickly after 1870 and was incorporated as a city in 1894. A street railway linked North Beverly to the downtown area in the late 1890s, making it possible for workers to commute to industrial jobs. The population reached 22,000 by 1920, prompting a demand for new housing, including shoe factory workers' houses.
A railroad spur to Gloucester, completed in 1847, brought artists and writers to the scenic coastline during the summer months. Initially they stayed in boarding houses but soon summer visitors were buying up land along the coast and building summer homes. As the popularity of the area grew, Beverly Farms and Pride's Crossing became the center of the fashionable North Shore, where wealthy families built lavish estates designed by renowned architects and landscape architects. Today Beverly is a predominantly residential community with development concentrated in the southwestern part of the city and several smaller villages in the eastern part. The current population is about 39,000.
Nearby Towns: Danvers Town • Essex Town • Hamilton Town • Lynn City • Marblehead Town • Peabody City • Salem City • Swampscott Town • Topsfield Town • Wenham Town •