This area of our web site is currently under construction.

Below we have provided a glimpse on this page of some of our important collections of manuscripts, books, photographs, maps, ephemera, decorative arts, and other artifacts related to the history of Beverly and the North Shore of Massachusetts. We look forward to offering finding aids to our archival collections, and eventually, access to an anticipated collections database. Please check this page again for more information about our collections. 

If you have any questions about our collection, please e-mail Curator of Collections, Darren Brown.

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Our Collections

Within the walls of our three historic buildings, is a vast collection of more than 750,000 items.

We have in our main museum more than 500,000 images, in various formats, such as prints, negatives, slides, glass negatives, CDV's.

We also have Tintypes, Ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, and movie film, VHS cassettes and DVDs within our collections of people, places, events, and things related to Beverly, Massachusetts, Essex County, and New England Transportation.

Photos below are of the G.A.R Post #89 and United Shoe Machinery Company's private fire dept. during a fire drill.

We have ten of thousands of artifacts, such as the fire bucket shown above, plus militaria, from colonial wars to the Korean War, plus a large selection of material associated with the local maritime industry.

We have hundreds of 18th, 19th and early 20th century paintings done by both famous and local artists, including Gilbert Stuart, Jane Stuart, James Frothingham, Frank W. Benson, Luke Prince, Frederick Coffay Yohn, and others.

We also have a great collection of political memorabilia, and several large autograph collections from the late 19th and early 20th century.  These collections, comprised of the "founding fathers" signatures on related documents, plus documents signed by most of the Presidents from George Washington to John F. Kennedy, and other documents and ephemera from other politicians and leaders of industry, such as Henry Clay Frick, etc.

We have tens of thousands of pieces manuscript of  in our two fireproof document vaults.  Most of these documents are from the 18th and 19th century, including items like the one pictured above, taken from the Capt. William Bartlett Collection.  Note: William Bartlett was George Washington's Port Agent for the area during the Revolutionary War.

We have a great collection of genealogical materials regarding the people of Beverly, Massachusetts and greater Essex County.  In additions to published genealogy books we also have family charts, people photos, and misc. documents, (such as wills, deeds, letters and diaries.) We also have other items such as dolls, toys, furniture, clocks, and thousands of pieces of textiles, from dresses, uniforms, shoes, hats, and items like the girl's sampler pictured above.   Each year we are given about 300 new items, so the collection continues to grow to meet the needs of the next generation of historical explorers.

With less than 1% of our total collection on display at any given time, there is always something new to discover at:

The Beverly Historical Society & Museum