Prides Crossing, Beverly, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Location
Prides Crossing is a historic section located in the City of Beverly, MassachusettsBeverly, Massachusetts
Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...
. It is bordered to the north by Beverly Farms
Beverly Farms
Beverly Farms is an informally defined neighborhood at the eastern edge of the city of Beverly, Massachusetts. It is an ocean-front community with a population of about 3,500 which extends from the Manchester-by-the-Sea border to another informally defined section of Beverly known as Prides...
, and to the south by the Beverly Cove areas of Beverly. Although no formal boundaries have been determined, most locals consider it to exist between numbers 407 and 600 Hale Street.
History
The name is associated with John Pride who was granted land in the area in 1636. In the late 1800s and early 1900s grand mansions were built as summer "cottages' for wealthy business magnates. Henry Clay FrickHenry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern...
, who made his fortune in steel (Carnegie Steel)
Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century.-Creation:...
was among the best known of these summer residents. He built "Eagle Rock", located between Hale Street and the Atlantic ocean. Edward Carelton Swift
, at one time the owner of the largest meat packing operation in the U.S. built a mansion, "Swiftmoor" on Paine Avenue in Prides Crossing. Eleonora "Eleo" Sears a flamboyant female socialite and world class tennis player owned a residence that still exists where Paine Avenue and West Beach
West Beach, Beverly, Massachusetts
-Location: The Beach is open for the summer season from Memorial Day to Labor Day.During the nine month off-season the property is open to the general public.West Beach is a small private beach on the North Shore of Massachusetts located...
meet. These wealthy residents were known to travel to Prides Crossing in their own rail cars, disembarking at the Prides Crossing Railway Station
Prides Crossing (MBTA station)
Prides Crossing is a passenger rail station on MBTA's Newburyport/Rockport Line. The station is small and only seven trains stop here each weekday. No trains stop on weekends. The village this station serves is small, and the Beverly Farms station is a mere away. There is only a platform on the...
, located on Hale Street across from the entrance gates to Paine Avenue.
Notable former residents
- Henry Clay FrickHenry Clay FrickHenry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern...
(Steel Magnate) - Alice Roosevelt LongworthAlice Roosevelt LongworthAlice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. She was the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee....
(eldest daughter of former President Theodore Roosevelt) - Richard D. Sears (U.S. Open Tennis Champion)
- Edwin C. Swift (Swift Meat Packing)
- Frederick AyerFrederick AyerFrederick Ayer was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon Dr. James Cook Ayer. He graduated from The Hill School. In addition to his involvement in the patent medicine business, he is better known for his work in the textile industry...
(Textile Manufacturer) - William Henry Moore (One-time owner of the National Bicuit Company and Diamond Match)
- Norman Prince, co-founder of the Lafayette Escadrille
Local points of interest
- Prides Crossing Railway Station
- Prides Crossing Post Office
- Prides Beach