Prides Crossing, Beverly, Massachusetts

Prides Crossing station in 2013

Prides Crossing is a neighborhood of the city of Beverly, Massachusetts.

Location

It is bordered to the north by Beverly Farms, 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 Frick,^[1] who made his fortune in steel (Carnegie Steel) was among the best known of these summer residents. He built "Eagle Rock",^[2] located between Hale Street and the Atlantic ocean. Edward Carelton Swift,^[3] at one time the owner of the largest meat packing operation in the U.S. built a mansion, "Swiftmoor"^[4] 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 meet. These wealthy residents were known to travel to Prides Crossing in their own rail cars, disembarking at the Prides Crossing Railway Station, located on Hale Street across from the entrance gates to Paine Avenue.

Entrance to Paine Avenue

The train station still exists and has been the location of a general store, hardware store and now houses a candy manufacture. The current MBTA Commuter Rail station consists of a single low platform adjacent to the old building.

Notable former residents

• Henry Clay Frick (Steel Magnate)
• Alice Roosevelt Longworth (eldest daughter of former President Theodore Roosevelt)
• Richard D. Sears^[5] (U.S. Open Tennis Champion)
• Edwin C. Swift (Swift Meat Packing)
• Frederick Ayer^[6](Textile Manufacturer)
• William Henry Moore (One-time owner of the National Biscuit 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

See also

• North Shore (Massachusetts)

References

1. ↑ Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919). Frick Art & Historical Center. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
2. ↑ Residence of H.C. Frick, Prides Crossing near Beverly, Mass. Primaryresearch.org. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
3. ↑ "Funeral of Edwin C. Swift". New York Times. 9 April 1906. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 
4. ↑ Swiftmoor, estate of Edwin C. Swift, Prides Crossing, Beverly, Mass.. Primaryresearch.org. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
5. ↑ Richard Sears. International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
6. ↑ "Frederick Ayer dies in Georgia at 95". New York Times. 15 March 1918. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 

• Wright, John Hardy (2000). Images of America, Beverly (Paperback ed.)Charlestown S.C. Arcadia. ISBN 0-7524-0814-3

External links

• Beverly Farms- Prides Crossing Website
• History of Beverly Farms, Primary research, Neighborhoods of Beverly
• Photo of old station, from current owner

Municipalities and communities of Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
County seats: Salem and Lawrence
Cities	Amesbury Beverly Gloucester Haverhill Lawrence Lynn Methuen Newburyport Peabody Salem
Towns	Andover Boxford Danvers Essex Georgetown Groveland Hamilton Ipswich Lynnfield Manchester-by-the-Sea Marblehead Merrimac Middleton Nahant Newbury North Andover Rockport Rowley Salisbury Saugus Swampscott Topsfield Wenham West Newbury
CDPs	Andover Boxford Danvers Essex Ipswich Rockport Rowley Salisbury Topsfield
Other villages	Annisquam Ballardvale Beverly Farms Bradford Byfield Clifton Magnolia Merrimacport Plum Island

Coordinates: 42°33′33.68″N 70°49′31.72″W / 42.5593556°N 70.8254778°W / 42.5593556; -70.8254778