Historic Beverly: Cabot House

A black, white, and dark blue striped header image with the text Historic Beverly: Cabot House

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails. On my second day, I visited the John Cabot House in Beverly, MA. This 1781 Georgian style red brick building was the former residence of the wealthy Cabot family, who earned their fortune as successful merchant mariners. The building is now the headquarters of Historic Beverly and has been since 1892 after Edward Burley bequeathed it to the historical society.

A three-story red brick Georgian style mansion with street trees growing in front. A wrought iron fence encircles the tiny front yard. A three-story red brick Georgian style mansion with a large street tree growing nearby The wooden panels on the walls are painted slate blue.

The Cabot family was part of the Boston Brahmin, the elite upper class of New England society beginning in the colonial era and ending around the 1950s. They were last mentioned on this blog during my review of the Forbes House Museum exhibit Opium: The Business of Addiction, as this was among the goods they traded. Meanwhile, they were cited in a silly poem attributed to John Collins Bossidy, who otherwise worked as an eye doctor:

And this is good old Boston,

The home of the bean and the cod,

Where the Lowells talk to the Cabots,

And the Cabots talk only to God.

A three-story red brick Georgian style mansion with two tall chimneys and a small bulldozer parked on the side. A wrought iron fence encircles the tiny front yard. The top sign reads Historic Beverly: 3 Houses 5 Centuries 1000s of stories. The bottom sign reads Cabot House and has a logo that looks like a wrought iron fence. On the left, the wicker chair with a red cushion has a sign reading Reserved for Mr. John Cabot. On the right, the red couch has a sign turned away so it cannot be read. In the center on the back wall is a fireplace surrounded by delft tiles. A landscape painting hangs above the fireplace.

The front parlor to the right of the entrance was set up as it would be during late 18th and early 19th century. The not-so-comfortable-looking chair and couch were marked with signs reading “Reserved for Mr. John Cabot” the homeowner and “Reserved for Hannah Rantoul”, a Beverly resident who worked for the New England Sanitary Commission during the American Civil War and raised donations for refugees. In the back right corner was a mahogany case tall clock built by Simon Willard, whose home in Grafton, MA is now Willard Clock Museum. Other fun objects in the room included delft tile depicting scenes from the Netherlands, a painting of Beverly during the mid-19th century, and portraits of family members over a little piano.

A six foot tall clock with a mahogany case stands in the corner of the parlor with slate blue wooden paneling. Three-inch square tiles with blue and white around the edges and scenes from pastoral Dutch life in the center. Red-painted walls above white-painted wood paneling. The front door is surrounded by panes of glass. From the ceiling hangs a crystal chandelier. On the left is the grand staircase leading to the second floor.

The small research room near the back of the built held a few more portraits of Beverly residents. Charles William Galloupe and Sarah Augusta Kittredge Galloupe had matching portraits in gold-painted frames. They donated their library to the historical society. Charles Galloupe’s claim to fame was assisting in the construction of Trinity Church of Copley Square in Boston, MA. The Episcopalian congregation had existed since 1733 but received its Richardson Romanesque stone building between 1872 and 1877. Meanwhile, Sarah Galloupe had lived at 240 Cabot Street before the building was torn down to make way for Beverly National Bank headquarters. The building was later acquired by People’s United Bank, which recently merged with M&T Bank and is still used today. I have more on local banking history in a few paragraphs: what a thrill!

Painting of a young man wearing 1850s clothing and a chinstrap beard surrounded by a golden frame. Painting of a young woman wearing a 19th century dress with her hair in ringlets surrounded by a golden frame. A low wooden seat underneath a window looking onto another red brick building. The window has folding shutters.

On the other half of the first floor were a selection of artifacts from the historical society collection. Yarn winders, model boats, memorial plaques, a very old cannon ball, landscape paintings, a decorative musket, fire buckets, and many clay vessels were among the more common artifacts. An original copy of the Declaration of Independence was among the most unique items featured, as was an outfit and drum from Bucci’s Lousy Band, a music group led by beloved Italian-American grocery store owner Charles “Charlie” Bucci with moral support from his wife Aquilina Mastrocco Bucci. I also loved the painted medicine cabinet used by apothecary Squire Robert Rantoul who also served in Congress as a representative and senator.

A two mast boat about a foot long Listed wars include Pequod Expedition, Port Royal, and several locations during King Philip's War An old document in a plexiglass case with a piece of velvet used to protect the paper from sunlight

Upstairs was a fun exhibit dedicated to maps of Beverly. I love maps (among many other things) and have not seen such a beautiful map exhibit since my trip to the History Center in Diboll, TX back in 2021. Surrounding each map were photographs, portraits, and signage explaining how the streets featured on the maps received their names. For example, Dane Street was named for Nathan Dane, a politician whose crowning achievement was the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This ruling established the area that would become Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, part of Minneota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Dane added a clause that banned slavery in these territories and was shocked when the document passed unanimously in Congress, likely because he had squeezed it into the final article, and people do not read.

A wooden chest of drawers with five drawers across and five drawers down, each drawer ornately painted including the name of the substance inside. Atop the drawer is a mortar & pestle, bust, and glass bottles. Collection of Clay Vessels Made in Beverly A mannequin wearing black pants, a shirt with red and white pinstripes and a white oval reading Charlie Bucci’s Lousy Band, and a straw hat with a multicolor hat band. The drum is painted with the red and black words Bucci’s Lousy Band

Another great story was for Conant Street, named for my ancestor Roger Conant. He and his wife Sarah Horton Conant moved from England to Plymouth and ended up in what is now called Salem in 1626, where a statue designed by Henry Hudson Kitson stands in his honor. The Conant family, including their eight children, moved to what is now Beverly in 1635. Apothecary-senator Rantoul has his own street, as did local militia captain and privateer Moses Brown, not a different person from the more famous Moses Brown of Providence, RI who funded Slater Mill, but also unrelated.

A round metal wheel attached to a wooden pedastal with a clock Six leather fire buckets in a plexiglass case A green and blue mural of the town with the text Beverly: An American Story above the mural.

The second story held a few more surprises. A pair of andirons shaped like tiny Hessian soldiers held the logs in the fireplace. I first saw these little guys at the American Independence Museum in Exeter, NH and have since met their other brothers at Historic New England’s Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm and Museum of Old Newbury. A mysterious closet door had a sign begging me to open it in England and in Spanish, and I found a closet with candlesticks, lamps, and similar metal objects. The museum staff had rediscovered it in 2023 and decided to leave the collection as it was found after “some dusting and a few special touch ups”.

The maps are hung from a green wall. The bust has a male baldness pattern and wears a Greco-Roman toga An open close with four shelves containing candlesticks, lamps, and similar metal objects A pair of tiny metal guys wearing mid to late 18th century military uniforms attached to metal rods holding up logs in the fireplace.

Heading back down stairs, I entered the combined office-exhibit space to the left of the front door coming in. Here I learned that in 1802, Cabot House had a new purpose. Beverly National Bank opened its doors and used the building to conduct business and store money. An underground storage area and large safe were installed during that time. Visitors can look down the steep stairs into the cellar and open the door in the wall hiding the safe. The bank moved down the street in 1868. Since then, Beverly National Bank merged with North Shore Bank, which has a branch on 254 Cabot Street across the road from St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church.

This one has three masts and a long flagpole at the bow, making it about 2 feet in length. The stairs go up on the left and down on the right. The bathroom door is very big, about four feet across.

Cabot House is open throughout the year from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. Admission was free during Trails & Sails and appears free throughout the year, including a spotlight tour given by an energetic young docent. The gift shop was excellent with a wide variety of affordably priced and relevant gifts; I got much of my Christmas shopping done about three months early. Like most historic houses, Cabot House can only be accessed by stairs, making it inaccessible to those with limited mobility or using a wheelchair. Ample natural and artificial lighting is available throughout the space, and several rooms have a place to sit. This museum is a great opportunity for young local families to visit their first historic house and those interested in learning more about the history of Essex County.

A trap double door opens into a lit stairwell covered with plexiglass. A white wooden door is open to reveal a black, metal safe door The white wooden door is closed, so you can't see the safe.


Abby Epplett’s Rating System

Experience: 9/10

Accessibility: 7/10



Location: 117 Cabot St, Beverly, MA 01915, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Feel free to leave a comment on what you liked best about 'Abby Epplett, Historian' and what can be improved. Remember to speak with kindness.