Historic Beverly

💙 BeverlyHistory Needs You! 💛

Have you ever wanted to get more involved with Historic Beverly? Volunteering is a wonderful way to connect with your community, meet new people, and help bring Beverly’s history to life.

There are so many ways to lend a hand at Historic Beverly, from welcoming visitors and helping with programs and events to supporting our collections, gardens, research, education, and more.

Whether you have an hour, a few hours a month, or more time to give, there’s a place for you here.

You don’t have to be a historian. You don’t need to know everything about Beverly’s past. You just need curiosity, enthusiasm, and a willingness to share your time.

🏡 Help us care for our historic houses.
📚 Help preserve and share our collections.
🎓 Support educational programs.
🎉 Help make events happen.
🤝 Welcome visitors and connect people with Beverly’s stories.

When you volunteer at Historic Beverly, you become part of the story.
Ready to get involved? We’d love to hear from you!

👉 Learn more and sign up to volunteer: https://historicbeverly.net/volunteer-application/

Four Centuries. Thousands of Stories. One Big Honor!

North of Boston

A Beautiful Afternoon at Hale Farm!

More than 100 people gathered at Hale Farm yesterday for an unforgettable afternoon of music with Riverside Renaissance Swing Band and we couldn't have asked for a better way to finally bring this concert to life.

Originally planned as part of the Essex National Heritage Area Trails & Sails schedule, the concert was postponed following last weekend's storm. Yesterday, the music filled Hale Farm with heartfelt tributes to the United States, our military veterans, and Dolly Parton.

There was also a particularly special Beverly moment when the band debuted “My Beverly,” an original song written in 1988 by Beverly resident Norm Hemstad. Hearing this love letter to our city performed at one of Beverly's historic houses made the afternoon especially meaningful.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, to Riverside Renaissance for sharing their incredible talent, and to Essex Heritage for including Historic Beverly in this year's Trails & Sails programming.

It was a wonderful afternoon of music, community, and Beverly history.

History happens here and sometimes, it sings.

To see Mr. Hemstad's sheet music for "My Beverly" visit our online collection here:

https://beverlyhistory.pastperfectonline.com/archive/9491B068-2F45-4DF8-A6F4-100082130229

Happy spooky season! To kick off the month of October, here are some images from yesteryear. These photographs are of the 1995 Beverly Rotary Club's Haunted House. Did you know that Halloween-themed haunted houses started during the Great Depression, around the same time as trick or treating? It was developed as a way for parents to stop their kids from vandalizing and harassing people. The first haunted houses were originally rooms in people's basements. People would go from house to house exploring scary scenes that would have howls, moans, crawling through dark tunnels, and having cardboard cutouts of cats.

The haunted house didn't become a cultural icon until 1969 when Disneyland opened the Haunted Mansion; a ride where one would ride a doom buggy throughout the mansion and meet ghosts of all kinds. It is still a popular attraction to this day. Halloween-themed haunted houses started popping up in the 1970s and quickly grew in popularity when movies such as Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th were released in the 1980's and 1990's. Today there are thousands of haunted houses all over the United States, but the best ones are in Japan.

Are you a fan of haunted houses? Do you remember Beverly Rotary Club's Haunted house? Let us know in the comments!

Image caption: Images of Beverly Rotary Club's haunted house in 1995. These photographs are from Historic Beverly's collection.

Your Historic Beverly Membership Opens Doors Far Beyond Beverly!

Did you know that Patron-level and higher Historic Beverly memberships include membership in the North American Reciprocal Museum Association (NARM)?

That means your Historic Beverly membership can give you access to 1,500+ museums, historic sites, botanical gardens, and cultural institutions across North America with participating organizations offering free admission and/or member discounts.

🌎 Join here. Explore there. 🏦

From local history to art, science, historic houses, and gardens, NARM gives you even more opportunities to discover the stories and places that make our world fascinating.

But your membership does something even more important: it helps Historic Beverly thrive.

Your support helps us:
📚 Care for and share our collections
🏡 Preserve Beverly’s historic houses
🎓 Provide educational programs and school experiences
🎭 Bring exhibitions and public programs to our community
❤️ Keep Beverly’s history accessible to everyone

So when you become a Historic Beverly member, you’re not just getting benefits, you’re investing in history, education, and your community.

And with NARM, your membership can take you well beyond our three historic houses.

Ready to join or renew your Historic Beverly membership?
Visit our website here: https://historicbeverly.net/product/historic-beverly-membership/

💥Hannah and the Nautilus Part 1💥

What do you know of the history of the ship Hannah before its famous encounter with HMS in Beverly Harbor in October 1775? Did you know that there had previously been a mutiny?

The Hannah was a merchant vessel owned by John Glover in the run up to the American Revolution, and it was outfitted with cannons for the purpose of capturing British ships in 1775, with this process finished early September.

The Hannah captured her first prize vessel on September 7, namely the British ship Unity. When it was brought back to port, it was however discovered that it was a previously American owned vessel, and with the rule set forth by George Washington, any previously American vessels would be returned to their previous owner, and it was recommended that the owner give compensation, but was not required. The crew of the Hannah didn't not receive any compensation for this, and in response the crew led a full blown mutiny while in Cape Ann Harbor.

In response, George Washington sent 200 militia from Salem, Beverly, and Gloucester under the command of John Glover to arrest the mutineers. The mutineers surrendered without incident and were marched back to Washington’s headquarters in Cambridge. They were then tried at court martial and the 3 ring leaders were flogged out of the army. A new crew was then recruited for the ship. This would be the crew present on that fateful October battle

If you would like to learn more about the Hannah and the Nautilus attend the 251st Anniversary reenactment on October 10 for Rev 250 and Beverly’s 400!

📆: Saturday, October 10 JUST ONE WEEK AWAY
🕰: 8:30 A.M.
📍: Dane St. Beach
📷: A painting of the Beverly privateer schooner named Privateer, a good example of the ships being used against the British, including the Hannah

CAN YOU SPOT THE CLUE?

At first glance, this looks like a classic 19th-century studio portrait.
A man in a straw boater hat. Two women carefully posed beside him. A rustic chair. A beautifully composed backdrop.
But wait… that’s not a backdrop. 👀

Look closely behind the woman on the right.
🌊 Do you see them?

There, on the distant horizon, are the Twin Lights of Thacher’s Island!
This tiny tintype, just 2½ × 3½ inches, shows an unidentified man and two unidentified women. The setting may have been somewhere along the Cape Ann coast, possibly Loblolly Cove in Rockport.

Which means this wasn’t a studio portrait at all. The photographer took the studio outside and let the actual landscape do the work.

And that little detail in the background suddenly gives us a whole lot more to think about:

📍 Where exactly were they sitting?
👤 Who were these three people?
📸 Who was the photographer?
🌊 And was Thacher’s Island intentionally included in the composition or simply happened to be there?

Historic photographs are full of clues. Sometimes you just have to zoom in.

Tintype from the Historic Beverly Collection.
Color photo of the island taken from a boat by Abby Battis, September 2026.

Cape Ann Museum .straitsmouth.islands

Founders Day is coming up on October 9th, and what better way to celebrate that to research something about Beverly’s History! We have all day 2 hour timeslots for research, and it is free of charge! Appointments are available from the start time of 9 AM to 2 PM. We still have openings for all time slots but its first come first serve. To reserve your spot, reach out to [email protected]! The topic can be whatever you want it to be and your heart desires. We hope to see you at our main building at 117 Cabot Street!

Five accused of witchcraft. A minister who changed his mind. Accusers, confessions, counter-magic, and one woman sometimes described as the “mob boss of Beverly.”

Beverly was anything but a bystander during the witchcraft crisis of 1692.

☕ Join us for Coffee & Conversation as we dig into Beverly’s connections to the witch trials, with the remarkable story of Dorcas Hoar at the center. We’ll meet Beverly’s accused and accusers, explore Reverend John Hale’s journey from early involvement to later criticism, and uncover some of the stranger stories of witchcraft and counter-magic from right here in Beverly.

Come for the coffee. Stay for the witch trials.

📆:Friday October 9, 2026
🕰: 10 A.M.
📍: Cabot House, 117 Cabot St.
🔗: https://historicbeverly.net/event/114384/

Sponsored by beantrust.