8 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
NORTH SHORE THE SUMMER CAPITAL OF THE NATION) 
Wonderful Development of Beverly Property from the Day when Farms Folk 
Took Summer Boarders, to the Creating of Beautiful Summer Estates : 
Rivalling a fairy story is the tale 
of the development of Beverly as 
a summer resort—the gathering 
place of millionaires from all over 
the country, the summer home of the 
President of the United States, of 
diplomats of foreign nations and the 
leaders in the world of arts and let- 
ters, finance, business and society 
from the greatest cities in the coun- 
try—the development from a quiet 
little country town to one of the 
most famous resorts the country 
knows today with its fame world 
wide. 
In the early forties, before the 
railroad trains had begun to run 
down the Gloucester branch, Boston- 
ians had picked Beverly out as a fine 
interesting place to spend a summer. 
It was in those days that Bostonians 
of wealth, seeking a vacation instead 
of going into Maine, New Hamp- 
shire and Vermont—as those who 
seek recreation today, these Bos- 
tonians came to Beverly and to Bev- 
erly Farms and started what was 
destined to become a world-wide va- 
cation ground. 
Among the earliest summer visit- 
ors, the name of John G, King is in- 
separably linked with the growth of 
the Beverly summer colony. He 
found Beverly Farms, or that section 
now known as Pride’s Crossing, a 
delightful place to spend the warm 
weath. There on the Isaac Prince 
farm he spent his summers. There 
was fishing a few minutes away in 
the broad Atlantic, there were wind- 
ing roads, pleasant to drive over and 
there was every condition which 
made that pleasant little place just 
the finest he knew. 
In those days Beverly Farms was 
for the most part a collection of 
farms—and from that condition ob- 
tained its name. After a few seasons 
at the Princes—and becoming fa- 
miliar with the country through his 
own walks and drives and his daily 
journeys in the stage coach from 
Beverly with Jacob Winchester, who 
used to handle the reins over the 
stage horses, he decided to buy a 
place. 
According to Mr. King’s way of 
thinking it seemed that somebody 
else appeared as purchaser and Mr. 
King had ‘‘Jake’’ Winchester, long 
since departed, buy the John M. 
’ Thissell place on Hale street, at the 
brow of Mingo beach, for him. He 
paid $900 for the estate, consisting 
of a farmhouse and several acres of 
land, and he was so pleased with 
the bargain that he gave Winchester 
¢100 for the part he played in the 
transaction. The old house, which 
then sat close by the road was moved, 
back and a house moved from Salem 
added on and John G. King became 
the first house-owning summer resi- 
dent of Beverly. 
The King place remained in the 
possession of that family until this 
year when it was sold to Ellis L. 
Dressel of Boston, a well known 
Myopia man and who for many 
years has summered at the Cove. 
The passing of the years saw the 
estate cut up and now on a portion 
of it is built the magnificent summer 
home in which Mrs. Susan P. Long- 
worth, mother of Congressman Nich- 
olas Longworth, spends the season. 
Some time after this Isaac Prince 
sold his estate at Pride’s Crossing 
to Charles T. Paine. This estate it 
is said contained nearly 150 acres, 
ran nearly from Hale street to the 
water and was sold for $6000. Mr. 
Prince felt so badly at the time and 
feared that he had charged his 
boarder too much, that he gave him 
a pair of cattle as a bonus. 
On this Paine place today $6000 
would not buy a hoyse lot even of 
the city size and it is dotted with 
mansions costing and estates valued 
at millions of dollars. Here in the 
Paine reserve today are the summer 
homes of Judge William H. Moore, 
the railroad king; of Mrs. Edwin 
Carleton Swift, widow of one of the 
founders of the great Swift com- 
pany; of Washington B. Thomas, 
head of the sugar trust; of Henry 
Clay Pierce, the St. Louis railroad, 
wire and oil king; of the Misses 
Paine and others well known in the 
social world. 
Beverly Farms soon began to at- 
tract notice outside and a year later 
Samuel Cabot built the first house 
on West beach. Col. Henry Lee 
built out on the point adjoining 
West beach and now known as Lee’s 
point. David A. Neal, then presi- 
dent of the Old Eastern road, follow- 
ed and built near what is now the 
site of the home of Neal Rantoul, 
one of his descendants. _ 
Franklin Haven of Boston was 
among the next to come to the Farms 
and he purchased the property near 
West beach. The Haven estate had 
a fine frontage on the sea and has 
always been one of the most attrac- | 
tive of the summer places. Mr. Ha- +! 
ven built a fine house and did con- | 
siderable entertaining. Daniel Web- | 
ster was frequently his guest and — 
came down every fall for a stay and 
the Farms boys looked forward with | 
pleasure to Webster’s day, when | 
they were wont to go to the Haven | 
estate, play games and have a good — 
time, the famous statesman watch- 
ing and entering into the games with © 
spirit. 
On a portion of the Haven estate | 
Mrs. Levi Z. Leiter of Washington | 
ton and Chicago is to build a man- 
sion which it is said will rival any- | 
thing on the Beverly shore. She 
purchased three acres of land at | 
what is said to be the highest price — 
ever paid for property, the figures of — 
$50,000 an acre being generally ac- 
cepted as true. | 
Beginning with the fifties the de- 
velopment of the shore property was — 
rapid. William Whiting, a former © 
solicitor of the war department, — 
built on Hale street, below Mingo — 
beach, and later this place was pur- 
chased by William Endicott. George 
B. Upton built a fine house off Hale 
street, which later was purchased by © 
Martin Brimmer of Boston, and is — 
now owned by Herbert M.: Sears. | 
Patrick Jackson built just below — 
Mingo beach on the property now — 
owned by R. L. Saltonstall. Ellis » 
Gray Loring built on the hill over- 
looking Mingo beach and this prop- — 
erty was for many years occupied by © 
Mrs. ‘‘Jack’’ Gardner and is now ~ 
owned by William Amory Gardner 
of Groton, brother of Congressman — 
yardner, + 
The Dexter stone mansion, off Hale — 
street, adjoining the Longworth j 
place, was built in the fifties and is 
now owned in the family. Augustus 
Lowell, father of the President of | 
Harvard university, built a summer — 
home off Hale street, now owned by | 
the G. Howland Shaw’ s. 
Richard T. Parker, a famous Bos: 
ton man, in 1861 built on what is” 
now known as Cushing’s — 
Since then the property has changed 
hands and is now owned by William 
A. Slater of Norwich, Conn., a world 
known mill man, who is coming to 
Beverly after several years abroad 
Where John G. Cushing built nie 
summer home on the end of Ober’s 
point, once fish yards, today is 
one of the beauty spots of the shore j 
