History

10,000 Years Ago
End of last ice age, arrival of indigenous people in New England

Sometime 12,000 to 9,000 years ago, the first humans entered the land around Salem, as the glaciers receded at the end of the last ice age. These people were the ancestors of present-day Indigenous people. They produced sharp spear-point from stone and hunted caribou. One of the largest archeological sites in North America, Bull Brook in nearby Ipswich, was inhabited by groups of paleo-Indians around 11,000 years ago.

1614
John Smith surveys the coast of New England

John Smith made a single trip to Massachusetts in 1614.

1626
Roger Conant arrives, settling what would become Salem.

In the autumn of 1626, Roger Conant began a settlement in what is today Salem. Born in England, Conant came from the Plymouth Colony south of Boston to found a fishing station in what is today Gloucester, Massachusetts. Conant began a settlement they called Naumkeag, borrowing from the name of the Massachusett village already on the site. By 1630, there were about 40 settlers living there.

1629
The First Church of Salem is organized

In 1629, The First Church in Salem is organized and is considered one of the oldest churches organized in North America.

1629
First Fort Built In Salem

Learn more about the site of the first fort built in Salem.

1635
First ropewalk in America begun near Collins Cove

The first ropewalk in America begun near Collins Cove.

1635
Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635

Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635 is the largest hurricane in the recorded history of New England.

1637
The First Muster of the East Regiment

The early settlers of Salem established a militia to combat the Indigenous people of New England, further seizing their lands and defending against feared reprisals. Three regiments, composed of all the able men in the colony, were divided geographically. In 1637, as conflict raged with the Pequot people in southern New England, the East Regiment from Salem and surrounding towns mustered and drilled on the training ground, which today we call Salem Common. This event is considered the birth of the American National Guard.

1637
The first burial in the Old Burying Point Cemetery, now known as Charter Street Cemetery

The Charter Street Cemetery or “Old Burying Point Cemetery” is created, now the oldest burying ground in Salem.

1638
The Desire, captained by William Peirce, begins the American trade of enslaved people

The Desire, a Salem ship captained by William Peirce, sold Indigenous prisoners from the Pequot War in the Caribbean in exchange for enslaved people brought from Africa, who were subsequently sold in Boston. This infamous voyage began over 200 years of the American Slave Trade, in which approximately 500,000 Africans were brought to North America to work in grueling conditions with little hope of freedom or mercy.

1658
Quakers Brought To Trial

Quakers are brought to trial in Salem for disorderly conduct: Lawrence and Casssandra Southwick, Josiah Southwick, Samuel Shattuck, Samuel Gaskin, Joseph Buffum

1660
The Pickering House Is Built

John Pickering builds The Pickering House, the oldest house still standing in Salem.

1678
Bakers Island Is Leased to John Turner

Bakers Island is officially leased to John Turner.

1688-1697
King William's War

King William’s War rages across New England, Salem ships are drafted by William Phips for his expedition.

1692
Salem Witch Trials Begin

The accusations against neighbors began in early 1692 after a mysterious bewitchment beset the daughter and niece of the minister of Salem Village (today the town of Danvers). Assumption of guilt and a fear of the devil snowballed the trials into a county-wide nightmare, in which innocent women and men were slandered, imprisoned, and executed. The first woman executed, Bridget Bishop lived in downtown Salem, and the trials and hangings occurred here in Salem Town. When the dust had settled in 1693 and the last victims were released from jail, this legendary miscarriage of justice had claimed 25 lives and ruined countless others. Today, the City of Salem reflects on this harrowing time as a reminder to build a tolerant, inclusive, and just community.

1741
First recorded Negro Election Day

First recorded on May 27, 1741, in Salem, Negro Election Day is the oldest system of Black voting in the United States. An annual celebration in which enslaved and free African Americans on the North Shore gathered to elect a “Black King” or “Black Governor” who would mediate politically with the colonial government and advocate for the abolition of slavery. Black and white New Englanders alike attended the holiday, wearing their finest clothes, partaking of election cake, and dancing. The occasion is an important testament to the vibrant culture people of African descent maintained in New England in spite of widespread oppression. Negro Election Day is still celebrated in Salem today, and in 2022, it became a state holiday.

1757
Architect Samuel McIntire is born

Samuel McIntire, the son of a housewright, became one of America’s first master architects and a woodcarver of unparalleled skill and grace. He began building houses immediately after the American Revolution, as elegant Neoclassical architecture came to dominate the new country’s wealthy cities. Examples of McIntire’s genius can be seen in Salem at the Peirce-Nichols House (1782), Hamilton Hall (1805), his furniture designs in the collections of the Peabody Essex Museum, and numerous private homes in Salem’s west end, today a historic district named for the visionary who shaped the built environment of a new nation.

1762
The Derby House

The Derby House is built, the oldest surviving brick house in Salem.

1768
The inaugural publication of The Essex Gazette, Salem's first newspaper

Samuel Hall, a printer from Bedford, established The Essex Gazette, Salem’s first newspaper, and the first in Massachusetts, outside of Boston. Advertised as containing “The freshest advice, both foreign and domestic” the paper took a strong Patriot stance during the American Revolution. After the outbreak of the war, the paper was moved to Cambridge and then to Boston, where it was published until 1788. The Gazette was followed in Salem by the short-lived New England Chronicle, and in 1790 by the Salem Gazette.

1775
The American Revolution begins

Beginning with protests over the Stamp Act in 1765, the colonists in thirteen North American colonies reconsidered their relationship with the British Empire. This rupture deepened until in 1775 war broke out, lasting until 1783 and the creation of The United States of America. Salem was a key location in the early days of the Revolution. The British military governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, moved the state General Court to Salem in June 1774. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress, an illegal assembly, began in Salem on October 5, 1774, in defiance of Gage’s authority. A confrontation between Col. Alexander Leslie and the people of Salem at the North Bridge on February 26, 1775, two months before the battles of Lexington and Concord almost erupted into war, but a compromise was reached in an event today called “Leslie’s Retreat”. It was a Salem captain, John Derby, who first brought news of the war to England on an official mission from the rebelling forces. Many Salem mariners transformed their ships into privateers, capturing British ships as prizes and establishing Salem as the premier port of the new nation. Not every Salemite was in favor of the revolution, and many who remained loyal to the crown had their windows smashed by crowds in 1777. Many left the town for England, Nova Scotia, or other parts of the empire.

1782
The Peirce-Nichols House

The Peirce-Nichols House, considered one of McIntire’s masterpieces, is completed

1783
William Bentley

William Bentley is ordained as minister of the East Church.

1784
The ship Grand Turk opens New England trade with China

Learn more here.

1789
George Washington Visit

In 1789, George Washington visits Salem, MA.

1796
Captain John Carnes brings back a shipload of pepper from Sumatra, beginning one of Salem’s most lucrative trades

Once the Revolution was won, Salem ships were able to trade in foreign ports outside the British Empire. This made the town one of the wealthiest in the United States and its merchants built empires from lucrative trade routes. One of the most profitable was the market for pepper, a spice native to Southeast Asia, which was previously controlled by the Dutch. In 1796, Jonathan Carnes returned from Sumatra, an island in the Dutch East Indies (today Indonesia) with a boat of pepper which made him a fortune. Salem monopolized the American pepper trade until the 1840s, shipping much of it to Europe and even as far afield as Australia.

1797
First Elephant in the United States

The first elephant in the United States is exhibited in Salem, brought by the ship America

1797
The original FRIENDSHIP was launched

The Salem East Indiaman Friendship, or The Friendship as we know it today, was launched.

1798
John Remond Arrives in Beverly

John Remond arrives in Beverly from Curaçao at ten years old and soon moves to Salem where he becomes a caterer and patriarch to an influential abolitionist family

1802
Nathaniel Bowditch publishes The American Practical Navigator, which revolutionizes navigation

Nathaniel Bowditch, a self-taught polymath, revolutionized navigation when he published The New American Practical Navigator in 1802, which corrected thousands of errors in previous manuals. He continued to revise the work until his death in 1838, and the federal government purchased the copyright in 1867, printing over 50 editions since. Bowditch also significantly advanced American astronomy with his translation of four volumes of Pierre Simon de Laplace’s Mécanique céleste in the last decade of his life.

1805
Hamilton Hall Opens

Important gathering place and landmark of federal architecture Hamilton Hall opens

c. 1806
Mary Spencer Arrives in Salem

Mary Spencer, creator of the gibraltar candy, arrives in Salem

1810
The Salem Athenaeum, an independent membership library, is founded from two earlier library societies

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1812-1814
The War of 1812 - Privateering

During The War of 1812, many Salem ships take to privateering, including the Schooner Fame.

1816-1817
Old Town Hall built

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1821
The Philips House is Built

The Phillips House moved to Chestnut Street from South Danvers (today Peabody, Massachusetts).

1826
Abolitionist Sarah Parker Remond born

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1831
The Salem Lyceum, a significant lecture hall used for the exchange of ideas, is founded

The ancient Lyceum of Athens, a temple used for philosophical debate, inspired the creation of venues for continuing education in the United States in the mid-1800s. Salem’s Lyceum was founded in 1831, and soon became a venue for lectures of national importance. Among the hundreds of lectures which took place there, John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee, spoke against the forced removal of his people to Indian Territory, Pequot writer William Apess advocated for the rights of Indigenous people, Henry David Thoreau eulogized John Brown, and Frederick Douglass lectured on the assassination of President Lincoln.

1844
Salem Public Schools Racially Integrated

Thanks to the efforts of Black activists, Salem public schools are racially integrated, the first in the nation.

1850
Nathaniel Hawthorne finished The Scarlet Letter, while living at 14 Mall Street

In a rented house at 14 Mall Street, Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, still regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written and a landmark of American literature. Through the story of a woman in Puritan Boston forced to wear the letter “A” for adultery who transformed the symbol into an act of defiance and art, Hawthorne explored themes of sin, societal rebellion, and hypocrisy.

1854
The Salem Normal School Is Founded

Salem Normal School founded as a woman’s teaching college

1861-1864
American Civil War

Following the secession of 11 Southern states who felt their continued use of enslaved labor was threatened by the election of Abraham Lincoln, those states loyal to the United States, including Massachusetts, fought for the abolition of slavery and the preservation of the Union. Many Salem residents served in the war. Abolitionist Sarah Parker Remond advocated diplomatically for the Union in Great Britain, Joseph Horace Eaton became the assistant paymaster of the United States, Col. Arthur F. Devereux and the 19th Massachusetts filled a gap in the Union lines facing off against Pickett’s Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg, and Luis Emilio took command of the Massachusetts 54th after the Battle of Fort Wagner and later wrote the history of the illustrious unit of African-American soldiers. Three Salem men received the Medal of Honor during the war: Robert Buffum, Thomas E. Atkinson, and Thomas Lyons.

1877
Alexander Graham Bell showcases the first public demonstration of the telephone

Few inventions have revolutionized communication as vastly as the telephone, which allowed for instantaneous oral conversation across distances. Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish-born scientist and engineer, patented the telephone in March 1876. That same year the first long distance call was made from Boston to Cambridge. On February 12, 1877, Bell publicly demonstrated a long distance call for the first time at the Salem Lyceum, dialing his assistant Thomas Watson, who was in Boston at the time.

1883
Parker Brothers is Founded

George Swinnerton Parker founds Parker Brothers game company.

1898
Temple Shalom is Founded

Temple Shalom of the Congregational Sons of Jacob is founded, the oldest continually-operated synagogue on the North Shore.

1909
St. Joseph Hall is Built

St. Joseph Hall built on Derby Street as a social club for Salem’s large population of Polish immigrants

1910
The House of the Seven Gables opens to the public for tours

Philanthropist Caroline Emmerton opened a settlement house in Salem in 1908, providing immigrant children a place to learn English and job skills among other services. To fund the organization, she purchased a 1668 merchant’s mansion which had served as the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel The House of the Seven Gables. The resulting museum continues to work alongside local immigrant communities to provide English and citizenship classes.

1911
Early historic preservation efforts

The Hooper-Hathaway House is moved to the campus of The House of the Seven Gables. One year later, the John Ward House opened to the public and landmarks in the preservation of early American houses

1914
The Great Salem Fire

Leatherworking was a major industry in Salem in the 1800s and early 1900s, with many of Salem’s immigrants employed in various stages of its production. On June 25, 1914, a fire broke out in a shed at the Korn Leather Factory on Boston Street where flammable chemicals used to finish patent leather were stored. The fire spread quickly between the industrial buildings and wooden houses, quickly consuming a fifth of the city. Fire departments from 21 nearby towns rushed to assist, and by the next day, the fire was extinguished. Three people lost their lives, over sixty were injured, 1,376 buildings were destroyed, and many thousands were left homeless. Many of those affected were French-Canadian immigrants. Relief efforts, both public and private, emerged to help those harmed by the fire, and most of the affected land was rebuilt within five years.

1925
The Hawthorne Hotel is built.

Learn more here.

1930
Pioneer Village is Created

Creation of Pioneer Village for Massachusetts Tercentenary.

1933
The Wildcat Strike

Wildcat Strike by workers at the Pequot Mill.

1935
Coast Guard Air Station is Built

The Coast Guard Air Station is founded at Winter Island in Salem

1938
Salem Maritime National Historic Site becomes the first National Historic Site in the Country

In 1935, Congress passed the Historic Sites Acts, which explicitly made the preservation of historic places the responsibility of the government. Three years later, Salem Maritime National Historic Site was named the first National Historic Site, managed by the National Park Service. The site encompasses several historic properties on the waterfront, including the 1675 Narbonne House, The Derby House and Derby Wharf from 1762, the 1819 Custom House, 1909 St. Joseph’s Hall, and a reconstruction of the 1790s Friendship of Salem.

1944
Historic Salem, Inc. Founded

Faced with the imminent destruction of the late-1600s Witch House, a group of concerned Salem residents banded together to create Historic Salem, Inc. One of the first civic preservation organizations in the country, HSI has been instrumental in saving buildings around the city, including the Pickman House, the Wendt House, the Pope House, the Essex Bank Building, and their headquarters, The Bowditch House. They helped create National Historic Register districts in Salem and recently campaigned successfully to expand the demolition delay for historic properties. Since 1979, their holiday house tour program, Christmas in Salem, has been one of the city’s signature winter events.

1941-1945
World War II

In late 1941, the United States declared war on the Axis Powers, joining the international fight against European fascism and Japanese militarism. Salem, like every community around the nation, had many residents enlist in the armed forces, and those who remained experienced privation on the home front. The United States Coast Guard established an Air Station in Salem in 1935, which during the war became the second largest such installation on the East Coast. Those stationed there conducted water rescue by seaplane and monitored the coast for enemy submarines. 187 Salem men and women died during the war, in places like Guadalcanal, Normandy, New Guinea, Belgium, and Okinawa. Lt. Cmdr. Edmund W. Biros received many medals for heroism while flying in the Atlantic theater before he was killed in action in Guam in July 1944. Lt. Catherine M. Larkin became Head Nurse of a field hospital in Kolkata, India before her death in a plane crash in March 1945. After victory in 1945, veterans returned home and reintegrated into civilian life in Salem. Later, many survivors of the systematic murder of Jews across Europe moved to Salem, such as Sidney Shachnow, who came to Salem from Lithuania at the age of 16 in 1950.

1953
'The Crucible'

Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible popularizes the Witch Trials for a new generation.

1970
Laurie Cabot opens Salem’s first witch shop

Laurie Cabot, who moved to Massachusetts from California as a teenager, opened the first witch shop in America, “The Witch Shoppe” on Derby Street. Cabot began practicing witchcraft in the mid-1960s and publicly identified as one in 1969. Soon she moved her business to Essex Street, where she renamed it “Crow Haven Corner.” For decades, she has advocated for witches, including helping to secure government recognition of Wicca as a religion in the 1980s. Cabot’s success inspired more witches to visit Salem, and today as many as 1 out of 9 Salem residents identify as witches.

1978
NSGLA is Founded

The North Shore Gay and Lesbian Alliance (NSGLA) founded

1982
The first Haunted Happenings

Beginning in 1982, the city of Salem hosted a weekend-long celebration of Halloween at the end of October featuring apple bobbing, pumpkin carving, and a “Witches Brew” cocktail contest. Over time, that event has stretched to a month-long phenomenon with dozens of events, fairs, and a Haunted Happenings Parade, which have further popularized Salem as the nation’s premiere Halloween destination and bring almost a million visitors to the small city every fall.

1992
Salem Witch Trials Memorial

The Salem Witch Trials Memorial is dedicated by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel to commemorate the tercentenary anniversary of the trials.

1992
Peabody Essex Museum is Formed

The Peabody Essex Museum formed from the merger of Essex Institute and the Peabody Museum.

1993
'Hocus Pocus'

Hocus Pocus is released in theatres; it was filmed at numerous locations here in Salem.

1996
Essex National Heritage Area is created

Congress designates Essex County as a National Heritage Area in order to enhance, preserve and encourage awareness of the county’s historic cultural and natural resources and traditions.

2003
Yin Yu Tang house relocated to Salem

A house originally built in the late 1700s in Anhui Province, China, and lived in by eight generations of the Huang family, was purchased by the Peabody Essex Museum and reassembled piece by piece in Salem, opening to the public in 2003. The house is built around a central courtyard, each room outfitted with finely carved wooden shutters. Today the house is a centerpiece of the museum and an opportunity to learn about life and architecture in rural China.

2005
Kim Driscoll is elected the city’s first female mayor, a position she held until 2023

Kim Driscoll was elected Mayor of Salem, the first woman to hold the position. She was reelected four times and served until 2023, becoming the second-longest-serving mayor in Salem’s history. Her tenure was marked by the revitalization of downtown and controversies about development. She now serves as the 73rd lieutenant governor of Massachusetts.

2006
Salem Ferry begins service

In 2006, the Salem Ferry begins service with rides to and from Boston.

2007
Salem Main Streets Revitalizes Downtown

Salem Main Streets is established to revitalize downtown as a vibrant year-round retail, dining and cultural destination

2010
North Shore Community Development

The North Shore Community Development Commission is founded.

2010
Salem State College becomes Salem State University

Salem State College officially becomes Salem State University.

2012
Community Preservation Act

Salem adopts the Community Preservation Act (CPA).

2012-2022
Salem in Pop Culture

The 2010s and 20s brought a renewed focus on Salem in mass media, with many films and television shows drawing very loosely on the city’s history, such as ParaNorman (2012), The Lords of Salem (2012), Salem (2014-17), The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020), Hubie Halloween (2020), Motherland: Fort Salem (2020-2022), and Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (2022).

2013
Birthplace of the National Guard

The congressman representing Salem, John Tierney, introduced legislation designating Salem the official birthplace of the National Guard, in memory of the First Muster of the East Regiment in 1637. President Barack Obama signed it into law in 2013. Every April service members, veterans, historical reenactors, and the general public commemorate that historic event on Salem Common.

2015
Salem United is founded

Learn more here.

2016
Footprint Natural Gas Power Station

Footprint natural gas power station is built in Salem, replacing the coal-fired Salem Harbor Station built in the early 1950s.

2016
The Satanic Temple is founded

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2016
Executions During Witch Trials Location Confirmed

A team of experts confirm the location of the executions during the Salem Witchcraft Trials was at Proctor’s Ledge.

2017
Sanctuary for Peace Established

Salem becomes a Sanctuary for Peace following the approval of an ordinance by the Salem City Council and Salem voters.

2017
El Punto Urban Art Museum

El Punto Urban Art Museum begins with 50 murals in The Point.

2018
Peabody Essex Museum Opens Collection Center

The Peabody Essex Museum opens a 120,000-square-foot Collection Center in Rowley.

2019
Peabody Essex Museum Expands

The Peabody Essex Museum opens a 40,000-square-foot expansion.

2023
Members of the Massachusett at Ponkapoag recreate traditional fishing weir in Cat Cove

For the first time in centuries, members of the Massachusetts constructed a fishing weir on Salem Harbor. A fishing weir is a fence of interwoven sticks around wooden stakes designed to trap fish as the tide goes out and serve as a passive form of food collection. Members of the Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag worked with fifth graders from the Bentley school to build a weir on Cat Cove in April 2023 and returned in September to build two more weirs with the fourth graders from all of Salem’s public schools. The project is a work of cultural reclamation, reviving a traditional craft, which also seeks to educate youth about the continued Indigenous presence in the area.