You’ll see… Lynch Park!

In light easterly or westerly winds, FAME often sails north out of Salem Harbor in the direction of Beverly, tacking off Lynch Park or Hospital Point [see Hospital Point blog].

Beverly was a port town in Colonial days, although never as busy as Salem, Marblehead, or Gloucester. The location of its small harbor, half a mile up a winding channel, led to its being selected by George Washington and John Glover as the base for their fleet of schooners in 1775. These schooners were intended to capture vessels that were bringing supplies to the British soldiers in Boston [see Hannah blog]. Beverly Harbor was used extensively by privateers throughout the Revolutionary War. Along the north end of Beverly Channel, batteries of cannon were placed at Woodberry Point to deter British vessels from attacking.

Long after the war, when the railroad made its way north from Boston to Beverly, Woodberry Point became an exclusive private estate, as did much of Beverly’s beautiful but rocky coastline. By the turn of the century, the “Gold Coast” between Beverly and Gloucester boasted some of the most exclusive summer properties in the country. The eastern parts of Beverly became the wealthy enclaves of Beverly Farms and Prides Crossing.

President Taft rented the Woodberry Point estate, then owned by the Evans family, to serve as his summer White House in 1909 and 1910, but the owners asked him to find another property after 1910 — they disliked all the attention the President attracted.

Later Beverly Hospital owned the Woodberry Point property, and sold it to the Town of Beverly which had recently been gifted $400,000 by David Lynch for the establishment of a public park. Thus, the property was named after Lynch, and remains a public park featuring an Italianate Garden with a tea house; a Carriage House which is available for private rental; two beaches; a children’s play structure; and more.