Through combinations of luck and foresight, the Balch House has survived while the hundreds of homes from the same era have fallen to progress or decay.

The John Cabot House is a Georgian style mansion built in 1781 during the Revolutionary War, and it was the first brick mansion built in Beverly.

John Hale was born in Charlestown, MA in 1636 and came to Beverly to preach when it was still known as the “Bass River Side” of Salem.

After the tumultuous years of the second half of the 17th century, filled as they were with political upheaval, Indian wars, and culminating in the witchcraft crises of 1692, the new century must have seemed to local residents like entering a calm port.

The tumultuous 40 years between 1775 and 1815 included years of war, epidemics, sacrifice and suffering. But they also saw the excitement of the birth of the new nation, with new opportunities both in politics and business.

Displaying original documents and artifacts, this exhibit uses the history of the bank, which began at the Cabot House, to explore the role of banks in the development of a strong financial system in the United States. The Cabots and their business associates used profits from their highly successful, global trading enterprise to invest in the building of key infrastructure, such as the bridge to Salem, in Beverly and throughout Massachusetts. Original records and physical evidence such as paint still extant in the room evoke an early nineteenth-century American bank.