Salem Maritime National Historic Site

Visited: June 2017

Nearby town: Salem, MA

The beautiful, historic town of Salem lies just north of Boston. Settled in 1626, Salem was one of the most significant seaports in the colonial era up to the mid 19th century. 

This early hub of international trade and its seafaring history is preserved at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.  

The site covers a number of homes and buildings near the natural harbor of Salem. They are:

1) Derby House - home of Captain Richard Derby, built in 1762. Derby was the first millionaire in the New World.

2) Derby Wharf - this is the longest wharf into the harbor (1/2 mile long). A small light house stands at the end of the wharf.

3) Friendship of Salem - a replica of the 1797 ship is anchored in the harbor. (Replica was built in 2000) - unfortunately, the ship was being worked on in New York during our visit.

4) Hawkes House - historic home constructed from 1780-1800

5) Narbonne House - Originally built in 1675, significant additions made in 1740 - this home was a private residence until 1964, when it was sold to the NPS.

6) Pedrick Store House - a three-story building from 1770

7) Salem Custom House - a custom house stood at the harbor since 1649, but the present building that stands there today was built in 1819.

8) St. Joseph Hall - built in 1909, home of the St. Joseph Society - a fraternal society established by Polish immigrants. Used as a social events center - weddings, dances, plays, etc. The top floor served as apartments for newly arrived Polish immigrants until they could find a place of their own. The building now serves as the park headquarters.

9) West India Goods Store - built in 1804, was first used as a warehouse for goods imported from the East Indies - pepper, coffee, water buffalo hides, and tortoise shells. By 1836, Charles Dexter opened a shop in the building; sold candles, oils, clothing, tin, glassware, groceries and general goods.

The highlight in this park is the Customs House. 

The Customs House served as a government office that collected and handled customs duties (or tariffs) on all imported and exported goods. They assured that all goods were weighed/measured, accounted for and verified. The author Nathaniel Hawthorne mentioned the eagle atop the building in his seminal book The Scarlet Letter. Head inside for a museum that has lots of artifacts, exhibits and displays detailing the “Triangle Trade,” the common trade pattern of sugar, tobacco, and cotton from the Americas to Europe; textiles, rum, and manufactured goods from Europe to Africa; and slaves from Africa to the Americas. Although the slave trade here was nowhere near as prominent as it was in the West Indies and the South, some slaves were traded here until Massachusetts effectively abolished slavery by local Court rulings in the late 1700s (no formal legislation abolished slavery in Massachusetts until the passage of the 13th Amendment after the Civil War). 

This is the figurehead for the Friendship (the ship itself was in New York for maintenance and repairs).

We also stopped by the Narbonne House. 

For more info: https://www.nps.gov/sama/index.htm. There are a few other reasons to visit Salem other than the NPS site.

Bonus: Nathaniel Hawthorne Birthplace and the House of the Seven Gables

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem on July 4, 1804. Hawthorne became one of the most prominent American authors in the mid-19th century, his works were famous for their moral metaphors and criticism of puritanical culture. He wrote classics such as The Scarlet Letter, House of the Seven Gables, and Twice-Told Tales. His birth home is now a museum celebrating his life and works.

Hawthorne’s home was the first residence in New England to have A/C ... 😉😉

Just next door to Hawthorne’s birth home is the famous House of Seven Gables. First built in 1668 for Captain John Turner. The home stayed in the Turner family for three generations, when it was purchased by the Ingersoll family. Hawthorne was a relative of the Ingersolls, and they lived in the home during Hawthorne’s lifetime. Hawthorne recalled playing with his cousins at the home at a young age, and the old home fascinated him. His cousins would point out to him the beams and mortises in the attic indicating where the former gables were (at that time, there were actually only 3 gables in the home). A gable is an architectural feature, a triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. There is a fee to tour the home, it’s worth it. No pictures allowed inside the home.

Bonus #2: Salem Witch Trials

Salem’s most popular claim to fame is that it was the location of the infamous Salem Witch Trials. The trials were a series of prosecutions of people (mostly women) accused of witchcraft between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials were a notorious example of the dangers of mass hysteria, religious fanaticism, false accusations, and what happens when due process is ignored. 

In the larger Salem region (towns of Salem, Danvers, Andover, and Topsfield), over two hundred men, women, and even children(!) were accused of witchcraft and arrested. Of those accused, 30 were ultimately found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging, and one was pressed to death after refusing to plead guilty. 5 others died in prison. The infamous trials have been used as a cautionary tale for centuries, most famously in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible (1953), an allegory exploring the parallels between the Witch Trials and the anti-communist fervor of McCarthyism.

Just to really hammer the message home of just how paranoid and terrible this got, one Dorothy Good was accused of witchcraft. Dorothy was four years old at the time...FOUR! Two other girls, 17 year old Mary Walcott and 13 year old Ann Putnam, claimed that little Dorothy was deranged and repeatedly bit them as if she were an animal. Dorothy was taken before the town magistrate, and “confessed” to being a witch and had seen her mother “consorting with the devil.” Based on Dorothy’s statements, her mother Sarah Good was arrested and tried for being a witch as well. Sarah was accused of “rejecting the puritanical expectations of self-control and discipline” and had chosen to “torment and scorn children instead of leading them towards the path of salvation.” Sarah refused to confess, was found guilty and was sentenced to death by hanging. Four-year old Dorothy ended up being in custody for 9 months, and was released on bond (£50) without ever being indicted or tried. It is unknown what happened to Dorothy after being released from jail.          

Today, Salem is full of museums, ghost tours, and sites dedicated to the trials. Some of it is a little “touristy” and kitschy, but one important site is the memorial to those who died, imprisoned, and accused during the witch hunt. In 2001, the Massachusetts legislature officially exonerated those who had been accused of witchcraft.

This spot is where the hangings took place. Each of these stones along the wall represents the 19 people (14 women and 5 men) who were executed here.

The local cemetery had some VERY old tombstones

Today, Salem takes a lot of pride in “witches” 😀 Here’s Tara with a statue of Elizabeth Montgomery, who portrayed Samantha in the beloved TV show “Bewitched” (1964-1972)

Some temporary art displays of house-like figures. Cool and kind of spooky 😀😄

If you find yourself in Boston, make sure to take the half-hour drive up to the historic town of Salem.