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By Lindsey Gendall
Many neighborhoods are a mixture of more than one
aspect of a living and working community. However, the history of
Gloucester Crossing is very different. Created only because the
United Shoe Machinery Corporation chose to construct a factory in
that particular area of Beverly, Gloucester Crossing was a neighborhood
based on the economy. The many families of this neighborhood depended
on their income from the factory and after many years went by, generations
grew up with the United Shoe as an everyday part of their lives.
However, Gloucester Crossing slowly grew into its own characteristic
neighborhood and soon became a colorful part of Beverly’s past.
Gloucester Crossing was founded at the turn of
the century shortly before the United Shoe Machinery Corporation
opened in 1903. ¹ The entire neighborhood of Gloucester Crossing
was developed and created by an ambitious businessman named Joseph
L. Simon. Simon knew that with the coming of the United Shoe, there
would be an abundance of new jobs and therefore housing for these
new workers and their families would be a must. Simon bought the
large vacant plots of land near the site of the United Shoe and
had multiple three-deckers and duplexes built, creating streets
like Ropes Street, Simon Street, Grant Street, and Bennett Street.
The other streets that made up Gloucester Crossing were, Gage Street,
Charles Street, Beckford Street, and Mill Street which suddenly
became more populated and important with the new factory and the
new housing construction. ² (see
image)
Due to the fact that the coming of the United Shoe
had created much of Gloucester Crossing, the United Shoe was to
remain as the only source of economy for the neighborhood. Construction
for the United Shoe began in July of 1903. (see
image) All of the construction work was done by men using horses
and wagons. Hundreds of Italian workers came to Beverly to work
on the structures for the three buildings that were to be the future
United Shoe. When the United Shoe was completely finished, over
two thousand five hundred men were hired. ³ (see
image)
Along with the economic stability that the United
Shoe brought to Gloucester Crossing, it also brought activities,
sports, and other forms of recreation to the neighborhood. From
1907 to 1940 the United Shoe sponsored the “Sam Sam” festival which
included carnival rides, midway games, and entertainment for its
employees and their families. (see
image) In 1912, the United Shoe also had its own baseball team
comprised of Beverly Shoe workers. (see
image) Every year the Beverly employees played the employees
from the United Shoe branch in Boston. The United Shoe also sponsored
a ten-mile road race around Beverly and a girls gymnastics club.
(see
image)
With the expanding amount of families moving into
Gloucester Crossing, a schoolhouse was built on Beckford Street
to educate the children of the workers. (see
image) However, most of the children attended the Washington
School on Elliot Street because the schools district lines included
the streets of Gloucester Crossing.
As for transportation, the three-decker houses
on Simon, Grant, Ropes, and Mill Streets were built so that local
factory workers could walk to work. Only the upper class residents
that lived off Mckay Street needed automobiles to get to work. Also
the fact that the railroads bordered Gloucester Crossing on both
sides made for easy transportation. (see
image)
Gloucester Crossing was at an ideal location
because the residents were close to their place of work, transportation,
and they were relatively close to downtown. (.jpg.G.C.tracks3) Since
Gloucester Crossing was already close to the police and fire stations
of downtown, neither were built especially for the neighborhood of
Gloucester Crossing. Gloucester Crossing residents also had to travel
to downtown Beverly to attend church services since there was already
many churches downtown. However, in 1920 the Jewish Congregational
Church was built on Beckford Street.
For many years Gloucester Crossing and the United
Shoe thrived together as one community. Most if not all of the residents
of Gloucester Crossing depended on the steady income the United
Shoe provided. Gloucester Crossing was built solely based upon the
needs of the United Shoe, but with time Gloucester Crossing became
its own growing neighborhood. Up until the 1940s, the United Shoe
was still a prosperous corporation, and in turn it still had a positive
influence on the Gloucester Crossing neighborhood.
(see
image)
Over the years many new residents had moved
to Gloucester Crossing because of the stability that the United Shoe
provided. Using Mill Street as an example of the ethnicity of Gloucester
Crossing residents, it evident that new residents came to Gloucester
Crossing for all over the country and the world. Four percent were
from Ireland, four percent were from England, fifty six percent were
from Canada, and twenty four percent were from Massachusetts. Also,
a total of twelve percent were from other states. (see
chart)
In conclusion, Gloucester Crossing is a neighborhood
with a different, yet colorful past. What once was simply a neighborhood
created to house
United Shoe employees, became a living and thriving
community as the years went by. Even though Gloucester Crossing was
originally created because of the United Shoe, this neighborhood proved
that a community of people living together in the same area can make
the best of any situation if they work together as one.
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ETHNICITY
OF MILL STREET IN GLOUCESTER CROSSING
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PLACE
OF BIRTH
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NUMBER
OF RESIDENTS FROM THE LOCATION
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PERCENT
OUT OF TOTAL NUMBER OF RESIDENTS
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CANADA
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28
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56%
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ENGLAND
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2
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4%
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IRELAND
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2
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4%
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MAINE
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3
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6%
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MASSACHUSETTS
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12
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24%
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MICHIGAN
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1
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2%
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NEW HAMPSHIRE
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1
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2%
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RHODE ISLAND
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2
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2%
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50
TOTAL RESIDENTS
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Footnotes
1.
Dorothy Lorant and Lynne Ladd, USM today and yesterday 75th
Anniversary Special Edition 6, no. 2.
2. Jay Lindsay, “Gloucester Crossing: In the
Shoe’s shadow,” Beverly Citizen, 13 December 1996, vol.2, no.16.
3. Dorothy Lorant and Lynne Ladd, USM today
and yesterday 75th Anniversary Special Edition 7,
no. 2.
4. Iain Howie, “Serving the Shoemaker for 100
years.” The Official Centenary History of the British United
Shoe Machinery.
5. Beverly City Directory for 1916, (244 Cabot
St. Beverly MA), 316.
6. Jay Lindsay ,”Gloucester Crossing: In the
Shoe’s shadow,” Beverly Citizen, 13 December 1996, vol. 2, no.16.
7. Beverly City Directory for 1940 (242 Cabot
St. Beverly MA), 522.
8. Iain Howie, “Serving the Shoemaker for 100
years.” The Official Centenary History of British United Shoe
Machinery.
9.
United States Census, 1 June 1900, Beverly MA, by Marie L. Grenien,
1478.
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