Historic Beverly invites the community to participate in our annual Reading Frederick Douglass Together program, a powerful public reading of Frederick Douglass’s landmark July 5, 1852 speech, “What, to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?” As part of this statewide initiative led by Mass Humanities, community members volunteer to read portions of Douglass’s speech...
For Historic Beverly’s July First Friday program, and in recognition of this year’s Fourth of July celebrations, this talk explores the stories of Black soldiers from Beverly during the American Revolution through research conducted using Historic Beverly’s archival collections and ongoing historical research efforts. Participants will learn about the lives and military service of Black...
Join Historic Beverly for a special Coffee & Conversation program exploring the fascinating world of house histories, research, and the stories we tell about our homes. House Histories: Fact or Fiction? takes a closer look at how historians uncover the real history behind historic houses and the myths, assumptions, and family legends that often grow...
Let us take you for a walking tour through one of Beverly’s most fascinating historic streets, where architecture, maritime history, neighborhood life, and industry all meet. Laid out in 1803 as one of Beverly’s early roads leading toward the water, Washington Street tells the story of a changing city. Once bordered by open land and...
Shakespeare in the Park at Historic Hale Farm Experience the magic of Shakespeare in the Park as two local nonprofit organizations join forces to bring a weekend of live theater to the historic lawn of Hale Farm, one of Beverly’s most treasured landmarks. Nestled among centuries-old trees and the beautiful grounds of the 1694 Hale...
Shakespeare in the Park at Historic Hale Farm Experience the magic of Shakespeare in the Park as two local nonprofit organizations join forces to bring a weekend of live theater to the historic lawn of Hale Farm, one of Beverly’s most treasured landmarks. Nestled among centuries-old trees and the beautiful grounds of the 1694 Hale...
Join Historic Beverly for this month’s 3 in 30 program as we explore the stories stitched into three remarkable textile objects from the Historic Beverly collection. In just 30 minutes, guests will take a closer look at how fabric, needlework, and handmade objects can reveal powerful connections to daily life, artistry, and American history across...
Reading the Declaration of Independence Friday, July 17, 2026 • Independence Park • Gathering at 5:30 P.M. | Reading Begins at 6:00 P.M. Join Historic Beverly for a commemorative public reading of the Declaration of Independence at Independence Park, the very site where Beverly first heard the Declaration read aloud in 1776. On July 17,...
Tour one of Beverly’s treasured historic landmarks during Beverly Homecoming. Historic Beverly will be offering guided tours of the Hale House at Hale Farm, sharing the stories, history, and significance of this remarkable property as we celebrate Beverly’s 400+ years of community and heritage.
Conant Street is rich in history with the Conant Street Burial Ground, the North Meeting House, and dozens of homes of the Batchelder, Dodge, Conant, and Woodberry families all in the mix. This short but dense walking tour will take you back over 300 years to explore an area of the city that has deep...
This presentation examines the 2025 discovery of the grave of Philis Cave and Nancy Milan; two formerly enslaved women buried in Central Cemetery and explores how local research can recover overlooked histories of slavery in New England. The gravesite was uncovered during research for Set at Liberty: Stories of the Enslaved People in a New...
Welcome to this month’s Coffee and Conversations where we talk all about the Walker Transportation Collection! We will discuss what the Walker Transportation collection is all about and how it came to be here at Historic Beverly, as well as current, new efforts in preserving its many items and archival materials, along with other initiatives....
