Located on the beautiful North Shore of Massachusetts, the seaside community of Beverly offers many opportunities for fun and relaxation. With miles of coastline, many beaches, public parks, and open space, the Port of Beverly is a garden city with diverse neighborhoods and a busy downtown area.
The Port of Beverly has a humid continental climate with large temperature differences between seasons. Summers can be warm to hot and humid. Winters are sometimes extremely cold. Rain is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, and snow is common in the winter. Temperatures in the Port of Beverly range from an average high of 28°C (82.6°F) in July and August to an average low of -9.3°C (15.2°F) in January.
The Beverly Cotton Manufactory was America's first cotton mill. The biggest cotton mill of its era, the Port of Beverly Cotton Manufactory was the testing ground for the industry of the day and, therefore, the birthplace of America's Industrial Revolution. As a group, the original owners of the company invented America's first commercial cotton-spinning methods. Because their work was so valuable to the State of Massachusetts, the State Legislature approved a payment of £500 to help cover their losses in establishing the mill. Today, a memorial stone marks the location where the factory once stood at the corner of Dodge and Cabot streets.
One of the first brick homes in the Port of Beverly, the John Cabot House was home to privateer and ship-owner John Cabot from 1781 until 1802. The Cabot family was prominent in the Port of Beverly for many years due to Cabot's endeavors. His trade ship Buccannier ventured all the way to St. Petersburg in Russia. It was the first American ship to make that trip. In 1802, the Beverly Bank made the building its home. The tenth oldest bank in the United States, John Cabot was one of the bank's seven founders. Today, the Port of Beverly Historical Society is located in the Cabot House, exhibiting historic maritime and military objects for adults and children. The home also hosts rotating exhibits and the Society's research facilities. Museum Tours, as well as the Port of Beverly's Cabot Shop, open at 10am each Tuesday through Saturday. They close at 4pm every day but Wednesday when they close at 9pm. The Research Library is open from 10am until 4pm Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday and from 1pm until 9pm on Wednesdays.
The Port of Beverly was very important during America's Revolutionary War, especially when the British blocked Boston Harbor in 1774. Woodbury's Point, a 16-acre property, held a seven-gun battery that protected the Port of Beverly. Later, Woodbury's Point became a grand estate called Burgess Point. In 1909 and 1910, President Taft leased a cottage on the property as the summer White House, bringing world leaders and prominent US citizens to the Port of Beverly.
Frustrated with the traffic the President brought to the property, owner Mrs. Evans decided to build a sunken Italian Rose Garden on the spot of the cottage. Today, the garden has rare plants and shrubs from around the world, and the property has become the David S. Lynch Memorial Park, named to honor a city benefactor. With the Atlantic Ocean on two sides, this Port of Beverly park houses historical buildings like the Carriage House, a Rose Garden, the sunken Italian Rose Garden, a bandstand, walkways, and a beach. Restrooms in the park are open from Memorial Day to Labor Day from 10am until 8pm.
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