Salem is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one of the most significant seaports trading commodities in early American history. Prior to the dissolution of county governments in Massachusetts in 1999, it served as one of two county seats for Essex County, alongside Lawrence.
The Salem Maritime National Historic Site is a National Historic Site consisting of 12 historic structures, one replica tall-ship, and about 9 acres of land along the waterfront of Salem Harbor in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Salem Maritime is the first National Historic Site established in the United States. It interprets the Triangle Trade during the colonial period, in cotton, rum, sugar and slaves; the actions of privateers during the American Revolution; and global maritime trade with the Far East, after independence. The National Park Service manages both the National Historic Site and a Regional Visitor Center in downtown Salem. The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior.
Located in Salem, Massachusetts and owned by the Peabody Essex Museum the Cotting–Smith Assembly House was built in 1782 and is located at 138 Federal Street in the Federal Street District. Built as a Federalist Clubhouse in which balls, concerts, lectures, and other events might be held. George Washington attended a dance here. The original architect is unknown, but the house was later remodeled by Samuel McIntire for use as a private residence. The house is in the Federal style and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The building can be rented for special events.
The Peirce–Nichols House is a historic house museum located at 80 Federal Street in Salem, Massachusetts. Designed early in the career of noted Salem builder Samuel McIntire (1757–1811), and modified later by him, the building gives a unique view into the methods and styles of McIntire. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973 for its significance as an early masterwork of one of the country's first recognized master builders. It is now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum.
The Leather District is a neighborhood of Boston near South Street, between the Financial District and Chinatown. The Leather District is a tightly defined area bounded by Kneeland Street to the south, Essex Street to the north, Atlantic Avenue to the east and Lincoln Street to the west. It is so named due to the dominance of the leather industry in the late 19th century.
The Peabody Museum of Salem (1915–1992), formerly the Peabody Academy of Science (1865–1915), was a museum and antiquarian society based in Salem, Massachusetts. The academy was organized in part as a successor to the East India Marine Society, which had become moribund but held a large collection of maritime materials in a museum collection at the East India Marine Hall, built in 1825 on Essex Street. The Peabody Museum was merged with the Essex Institute to form the Peabody Essex Museum in 1992. The East India Marine Hall, now embedded within the latter's modern structure, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 in recognition of this heritage, which represents the nation's oldest continuously-operating museum collection.
The John Ward House is a National Historic Landmark at 9 Brown Street in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. With an early construction history between 1684 and 1723, it is an excellent example of First Period architecture, and as the subject of an early 20th-century restoration by antiquarian George Francis Dow, it is an important example of the restoration techniques. Now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum, it is also one of the first colonial-era houses in the United States to be opened as a museum. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
The Gardner–Pingree House is a historic house museum at 128 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts. It is judged to be a masterpiece of Federal architecture by the noted Salem builder Samuel McIntire, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972 for its architectural significance. It is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum as part of its architectural collection.
The Charter Street Historic District encompasses a small remnant of the oldest part of Salem, Massachusetts that has since been surrounded by more modern development. It includes three properties on Charter Street: the Pickman House, the Grimshawe House, and the Charter Street Cemetery, or Central Burying Point. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The Chestnut Street District is a historic district bounded roughly by Bridge, Lynn, Beckford, and River Streets in Salem, Massachusetts. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and enlarged slightly in 1978. The district contains a number of architecturally significant works of Samuel McIntire, a builder and woodworker who had a house and workshop at 31 Summer Street, and who designed and built a number of these houses, and others that display the profits made in the Old China Trade by Salem's merchants. The district is a subset of a larger locally designated McIntire Historic District.
The Crombie Street District in Salem, Massachusetts encompasses a small residential enclave in a now urbanized part of central Salem. It consists of seven houses and one church, located at 7-15 and 16-18 Crombie St., and 13 Barton Street. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Essex Institute Historic District is a historic district at 134-132, 128, 126 Essex Street and 13 Washington Square West in Salem, Massachusetts. It consists of a compact group of properties associated with the Essex Institute, founded in 1848 and merged in 1992 into the Peabody Essex Museum. Listed by increasing street number, they are: the Crowninshield-Bentley House, the Gardner-Pingree House, the John Tucker Daland House, and the Phillips Library. The John Ward House, which fronts on Brown Street but shares the 132 Essex Street address, is another National Historic Landmark within the district. The Andrew Safford House at 13 Washington Square West, built in 1819, was said to be the most expensive home in New England at the time.
The Nathaniel Felton Houses are a pair of historic houses at 43 and 47 Felton Street in Peabody, Massachusetts. The Peabody Historical Society owns and operates the homes as historic house museums.
The Fowler House is a historic house at 166 High Street in the Danversport section of Danvers, Massachusetts. Built in 1810, the brick 2+1⁄2-story structure is notable as a well-preserved example of Federal-style architecture in the area, and for its role in the early history of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.
The Haverhill Historical Society Historic District encompasses a collection of historic buildings that have been accumulated by the Haverhill Historical Society at 240 Water Street in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The district, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, has at its core a Federal style farmhouse that was donated to the society in 1903. It includes about 1.5 acres (0.61 ha) of land between John Ward Avenue and the Merrimack River, on which stand four buildings; there is also an archeological site, the remains of a late 17th-century homesite, on the property.
Salem Common Historic District is a historic district bounded roughly by Bridge, Derby, and St. Peter's streets, as well as Collins Cove in Salem, Massachusetts, United States.
Beebe Homestead, also known as the Lucius Beebe House and Beebe Farm, is a historic Federal period home at 142 Main Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts, which was built during the federal era that extended from the late 18th-century into the 1820s. It is suspected to have been remodeled into the federal style from an earlier home built in circa 1727. It overlooks Lake Quannapowitt, and according to a 1989 study of historic sites in Wakefield, the house is "one of Wakefield's most imposing landmarks." The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Holt House is an historic house, located on the grounds of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Thought to have been built before 1814, it is one of the most important examples of early Neoclassical architecture in the city, and was one of the major houses in the new national capital when it was built. Since 1889, its caretaker has been the Smithsonian Institution. It is the oldest building under the Smithsonian's management, but has been left vacant since the 1980s.
The Pickman House is a first period structure located on Charter Street in Salem, Massachusetts, behind the Peabody Essex Museum. As no published dendrochronology study has been done, the exact build date of this home is disputed. In either case the house is thought to have stood during the Salem witch trials of 1692 and 1693. The house is now part of a group of properties that form the Charter Street Historic District. It has been described by the Massachusetts Historical Commission as a rare surviving example of 17th century architecture. The house was restored by Historic Salem, Inc. in 1969 and purchased by the Peabody Essex Museum in 1983. It’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
This is a timeline of the history of the city of Salem, Massachusetts, United States.
