Prides Crossing Confections in former station building, May 2013

Prides Crossing is a neighborhood of the city of

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...

in the North Shore region. It is bordered to the east by

Beverly Farms Beverly Farms is a neighborhood comprising the eastern part of the city of Beverly, Massachusetts, in Massachusetts's North Shore region, about 20 miles north of Boston. Beverly Farms is an oceanfront community with a population of about 3,500, ...

, and to the west by the Beverly Cove areas of Beverly.

History

The name is associated with John Pride – supposedly a nephew of

Thomas Pride Colonel Thomas Pride (died 23 October 1658) was a Parliamentarian commander during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, best known as one of the regicides of Charles I and as the instigator of Pride's Purge. Personal details Thomas Pride was born ...

– 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 Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major ...

, who made his fortune in steel (Carnegie Steel) was among the best known of these summer residents. He built "Eagle Rock", located between Hale Street and the Atlantic Ocean. Edward Carelton Swift, at one time the owner of the largest meat packing operation in the U.S. built a mansion, "Swiftmoor" 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 West Beach may refer to: ;Australia *West Beach, South Australia West Beach is a seaside suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in both the City of Charles Sturt and the City of West Torrens. History West Beach was first laid out in ...

meet. Wealthy residents were known to travel to Prides Crossing in their

private railroad car A private railroad car, private railway coach, private car, or private varnish is a railroad passenger car either originally built or later converted for service as a business car for private individuals. A private car could be added to the make- ...

s, disembarking at the Prides Crossing station, located on Hale Street across from the entrance gates to Paine Avenue. (Some, including Frick and Moore, had private sidings for their cars.)

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...

service to the station lasted until 2020; the structure was converted to commercial use decades prior.

Notable former residents

, steel magnate *

Alice Roosevelt Longworth Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth (February 12, 1884 – February 20, 1980) was an American writer and socialite. She was the eldest child of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and his only child with his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. Lo ...

, writer and socialite *

Richard D. Sears Richard Dudley Sears (October 26, 1861 – April 8, 1943) was an American tennis player, who won the US Open (tennis), US National Championships singles in its first seven years, from 1881 to 1887, and the doubles for six years from 1882 to 1887 ...

, tennis player * Edwin C. Swift, industrialist *

Frederick Ayer Frederick Ayer (December 8, 1822 – March 14, 1918) was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon Dr. James Cook Ayer. Early life Ayer was born on December 8, 1822 in Ledyard, Connecticut and was the son of ...

, industrialist *

William Henry Moore William Henry Moore (October 19, 1872 – August 16, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer, author and Member of the House of Commons of Canada. Biography William Henry Moore was born in Stouffville, Markham Township, Ontario, on Oct 19 1872 to R ...

, judge and financier *

Norman Prince Norman Prince (August 31, 1887 – October 15, 1916) was an American aviator and leading founder of France's Lafayette Escadrille. Biography He was born on August 31, 1887 in Beverly, Massachusetts. He was son of Frederick Henry Prince. ...

, co-founder of the

Lafayette Escadrille The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the ''Aéronautique Militaire'' was composed largely of Ameri ...

Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II (November 5, 1830 – September 3, 1893) was a French-American military officer who served in the United States Army and later in the French Army. He was a member of the American branch of the Bonaparte family. Earl ...

, military officer *Loring family: ** William Loring, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court justice ** Katharine Peabody Loring, historian **Augustus Peabody Loring, Jr., legal writer

References

*Wright, John Hardy (2000). Images of America, Beverly (Paperback ed.)Charlestown S.C. Arcadia.

External links

Beverly Farms- Prides Crossing WebsiteHistory of Beverly Farms, Primary research, Neighborhoods of Beverly
{{Coord, 42, 33, 33.68, N, 70, 49, 31.72, W, region:US-MA_type:landmark, display=title Geography of Essex County, Massachusetts Beverly, Massachusetts