Beverly: Massachusetts (Images of America)

As one of the first settlements on the North Shore, Beverly followed the other more famous ìlandingî on the South Shore at Plymouth by a scant six years. Founded in 1626, Beverly has a rich history of architecture and industry, including New Englandís oldest wood-framed dwelling, the John Balch House, built around 1636, and the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world (prior to 1905), formerly known as ìthe Shoe.î ÝÝWhen George Washington made a tour of New England in 1789, he visited the countryís first cotton mill in Beverly and twenty-six presidents later, William Howard Taft leased a mansion along the shore to be his Summer White House. Wealthy businessmen and entrepreneurs discovered Beverlyís salubrious shoreline beginning around the mid-ninetenth century and built impressive mansions in the area referred to as ìBostonís Gold Coast.î ÝÝ