Welcome to Beverly

Beverly is a coastal city in Essex County about 17 miles northeast of Boston, set on Beverly Harbor just across the water from Salem. It has a walkable downtown, a string of city beaches and waterfront parks, and four MBTA commuter rail stops with direct trains to Boston.

About Beverly

Settlers led by Roger Conant arrived in the 1620s, and the Ryal Side of Beverly was the first area to receive permanent settlers. Named for Beverley in England, the town was set off from Salem in 1668 and became a city in 1894. The Essex Bridge connected Beverly and Salem in 1788, replacing a ferry that had run since 1639. In September 1775 the armed schooner Hannah sailed from Beverly Harbor, and Beverly is one of several places that claim to be the birthplace of the U.S. Navy.

The Eastern Railroad reached Beverly in 1839, and by the late 1800s Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing were part of the North Shore's Gold Coast of seasonal estates. President William Howard Taft spent his summers in Beverly from 1909 to 1912. In the early 1900s the United Shoe Machinery Corporation built a vast concrete factory complex here, now the Cummings Center. Beverly borders Wenham to the north, Manchester-by-the-Sea to the east, Danvers to the west, and Salem to the south across Beverly Harbor.

Getting Around

Beverly has four stations on the MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line, which splits at Beverly Depot downtown. The Newburyport branch stops at North Beverly, and the Rockport branch stops at Montserrat and Beverly Farms, all with service to North Station. MBTA bus route 451 connects North Beverly with Salem Depot. Route 128 crosses the city, Route 1A runs through downtown, and Route 127 follows the coast. Beverly Regional Airport, owned by the city, opened in 1928.

Beverly Real Estate

Beverly real estate covers more than three centuries. First Period houses survive, including the 1679 John Balch House and the Reverend John Hale House from about 1694, along with center-chimney Colonial and Georgian homes and the brick 1781 Cabot House downtown. In the 1800s the typical new house was a gable-front Greek Revival or Italianate home, and the late 1800s added Queen Anne, Shingle Style, and Colonial Revival houses.

Three-deckers went up near Cabot and Elliot streets and along Rantoul Street when the shoe machinery plant opened, and many single-family homes were built in North Beverly in the 20th century. Along the shore in Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing, many large estates remain. The Fish Flake Hill Historic District, along Front Street, has many 18th-century houses and is a local historic district. Neighborhoods include Downtown, Fish Flake Hill, the Cove, Ryal Side, Centerville, North Beverly, Montserrat, Prides Crossing, and Beverly Farms.

Living in Beverly

Lynch Park covers more than 16 acres on Woodbury Point in Beverly Cove, with two beaches, a rose garden, a carriage house, and a band shell. It is on the site of Taft's summer home and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2024. The city also has Dane Street Beach, Independence Park Beach, Obear Park Beach, and Pleasantview Park Beach.

Long Hill, a 114-acre Trustees of Reservations property on Essex Street, has about five acres of garden rooms created by the Sedgwick family, woodland trails, and an apple orchard. Downtown, The Cabot on Cabot Street opened in 1920 and is now a nonprofit performing arts center, and Historic Beverly runs the Balch, Hale, and Cabot houses as museums. Endicott College has its oceanside campus here, and Montserrat College of Art is downtown.

Questions About Beverly

What kinds of homes are in Beverly?

Beverly has First Period and Georgian houses, 18th-century homes on Fish Flake Hill, and Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne houses from the 1800s. Three-deckers near Cabot and Rantoul streets, single-family homes in North Beverly, and large shore estates in Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing add variety.

How do you get to Boston from Beverly?

Beverly has four MBTA commuter rail stops, Beverly Depot, North Beverly, Montserrat, and Beverly Farms, all with direct trains to North Station. Route 128 and Route 1A connect the city with the rest of the North Shore and Boston.

What is Beverly Farms?

Beverly Farms is a section of Beverly near the Manchester-by-the-Sea line that became part of the North Shore's Gold Coast in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many large shore estates remain, and Beverly Farms has its own commuter rail stop on the Rockport branch.

To see homes for sale in Beverly, browse the listings below. Thinking of buying or selling in Beverly? Call (617) 848-9616 or get a free home valuation. Beverly is part of our North of Boston guide.

Photos: Elizabeth B. Thomsen, CC BY-SA 4.0 and Elizabeth B. Thomsen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.