Beverly Grammar School
Why it's listed
This small 1 1/2-story clapboard cottage at 50 Essex Street in Beverly began as the town's grammar school, documented in 1716. The building was moved from its original site in the early 20th century and now serves as a residence. Its main room measures 21 by 17 feet and retains an early frame with a quirk-beaded summer beam, narrow flat chamfers with tapered stops on the end girts, and a molded post head at the original left front corner. A later addition to the east was built in the early Second Period. Split laths with incised ship drawings are said to come from the early school, and some boards are said to be original pupils' desk tops. The building was once thought to be an earlier meeting house, but the 1716 school documentation matches the surviving structure. It was listed for its rare two-bay, single-story plan and First Period construction, and for the information its framing can provide.
Significance in brief: The building preserves the framed core of a rare First Period schoolhouse, with an unusual two-bay plan without a chimney bay and single-story height. Its late First Period framing and decoration, such as quirk-beaded beams, flat chamfers and a molded post head, match 1716 documentation for a grammar school. It is also considered a source of unique information about early building methods.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 90000198, listed March 9, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 50 Essex St., Beverly |
|---|---|
| County | Essex County |
| Listed | March 9, 1990 |
| Reference number | 90000198 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | First Period |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Historic - Non-Aboriginal, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Present use is residential; condition is described as good. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.55184, -70.87558 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 90000198.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q4899527
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.