Historical Markers and War Memorials in Salem, Massachusetts
Lawrence and Salem areXXXXXXXX the county seats for Essex County
Salem is in Essex County
Essex County(278) ► ADJACENT TO ESSEX COUNTY Middlesex County(298) ► Suffolk County(330) ► Hillsborough County, New Hampshire(38) ► Rockingham County, New Hampshire(137) ►
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Alexander Graham Bell
Inventor of the apparatus which first transmitted speech through long lines of electrified wire lived from 1873 to 1876 in a house on this spot owned by Mrs. Mary Ann (Brown) Sanders
In these years but not chiefly in . . . — — Map (db m159755) HM
This house was built in 1750 by
Capt. John Hodges, a West Indies
trader. In 1788, it passed to his son,
Capt. Benjamin Hodges.
Benjamin Hodges (1754 – 1806) was one of Salem’s most distinguished sea captains of the . . . — — Map (db m115326) HM
Captain William Driver
1803 — 1886
In 1831 he named our Flag
Old Glory
A Gift to the City by the
Patriotic School Children of Salem
1968 — — Map (db m161189) HM
The grassy strip of land extending into the harbor in front of you was once a busy commercial wharf. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, cargoes from around the world were unloaded on the wharf and stored in warehouses until they were sold.
Central . . . — — Map (db m86465) HM
The grassy strip of land extending into the harbor in front of you was once a busy commercial wharf. In the late 1700’s and early 1800s, trade goods from around the world were loaded, unloaded and stored here.
Build in 1784, Central Wharf was . . . — — Map (db m86467) HM
These quiet backyards of historic houses once formed a neighborhood—and a history—all their own.
For a hundred years, a cluster of flats and tenements lined a 200 foot dead-end alley called Custom House Place. Though predominantly Irish in . . . — — Map (db m186240) HM
The Derby House is the oldest brick house still standing in Salem, and one of the finest examples of Georgian colonial architecture in the United States.
Merchant and fleet-owner Richard Derby built the house in 1762 as a wedding present for . . . — — Map (db m62546) HM
The Derby House is the oldet surviving brick building in Salem, and one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the city.
Wealthy merchant Richard Derby, Sr. built this house in 1762 as a wedding present for his second son, Elias . . . — — Map (db m186237) HM
The wharf in front of you was Salem’s longest, and was once one of the busiest in the nation. During the War of Independence, American privateers sailed from here to prey on British ships on the high seas. After the war, fleets of trading vessels . . . — — Map (db m86544) HM
The wharf in front of you was Salem’s longest, and was once one of the busiest in the nation. The first 800 feet of the wharf was begun in 1762 and completed about 1770 by Capt. Richard Derby, Sr. (1712-1783), one of the wealthiest merchants in . . . — — Map (db m86545) HM
Built
1824
Peter Edgerly
Truckman & Trader
& his wife
Vashti "Vesta" C. Boynton
The Edgerly Family Home
1824 - 1833
Timothy Brooks III — Grocer
Asa Brooks, Jr. — Hardware
Luke Brooks, Jr. — . . . — — Map (db m186231) HM
In the Revolution the first armed resistance to the Royal authority was made at this bridge 26 Feb. 1775 by the people of Salem. The advance of 300 British troops, led by Lt. Col. Leslie and sent by Gen. Gage to seize munitions of war, was here . . . — — Map (db m48471) HM WM
The Friends Burying Ground is Salem's third oldest and smallest cemetery. Its earliest existing gravestone is dated 1702 for Cestofor Foster. Members of the locally well-known Southwick family are also buried here. On this site in 1718 the Religious . . . — — Map (db m197170) HM
Gardner-Pingree House
has been designated a National Historic Landmark This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America 1974 National Park Service United States Department of the . . . — — Map (db m186227) HM
Designed by Samuel McIntire and built for the merchang Gideon Tucker in 1808. Purchased by the Father Theobald Mathew Total Abstinence Society in 1894. Restored by Moses Alpers in 1982 "to preserve this piece of Salem history." — — Map (db m186229) HM
At 1:37 PM on June 25th, 1914, Box 48 was pulled for a fire in the Korn Leather Factory on this site at number 57 Boston Street in an area known as Blubber Hollow, followed at 1:41 PM by a general alarm.
This was the start of the Great Salem . . . — — Map (db m103628) HM
In commemoration of the enterprise and resolute spirit with which Salem arose from her ashes looked calamity in the face and rebuilt her walls on this spot in the pathway of the great fire of June 25, 1914. Which swept from the west to the water’s . . . — — Map (db m97366) HM
This house was built about 1811 for Benjamin W. Crowninshield, 1772-1851, member of Congress and Secretary of the Navy under Madison and Monroe.
Here was born William Crowninshield Endicott, 1826-1900, Justice of our Supreme Judicial Court and . . . — — Map (db m155203) HM
This house, formerly located at 10 Liberty Street, was once the home of Mormon pioneer and local church leader Nathaniel Henry Felt (1816-1887).
Born and raised in Salem, Nathaniel and his brother John ran a tailoring business at 217 Essex . . . — — Map (db m33724) HM
Built in 1811-1812 as a single family McIntire style brick double house of Federal Period construction for the Joseph Fenno family. In 1822 the northern and southern houses were split into separate ownerships and each experienced ownership changes . . . — — Map (db m186226) HM
Joseph Story House
has been designated a
National
Historic Landmark
This site possesses National significance
in commemorating the history of the
United States of America
1975
National Park Service
United States . . . — — Map (db m186217) HM
Here, in defiance of King George III, local minutemen hid 17 cannons, and were confronted by 300 British troops under command of Colonel Leslie. The Redcoats were routed, with only Joseph Whicher of Salem being wounded. This was the first open . . . — — Map (db m47991) HM
In this building on February 12, 1877
Alexander Graham Bell
presented the first public demonstration
of long distance telephone conversations.
Following the demonstration the first
news dispatch sent by telephone originated
. . . — — Map (db m115324) HM
On the northwest corner of Essex and North Streets sits the Jonathan Corwin House ("Witch House") (1642-1675), a high style First Period house built for a late 17th c. merchant who served as a judge for the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Nearby at 9 . . . — — Map (db m161190) HM
The modest house in front of you is one of the oldest in Salem. Built here in 1672, the Narbonne House is also one of America’s few surviving middle-class homes of the 1600s.
The builder and first owner was a”slaughterer,” or butcher, Later, . . . — — Map (db m62543) HM
The modest house in front of you is one of the oldest in Salem. Built in 1675, the Narbonne House is one of America's few surviving middle-class homes from the 17th century.
Thomas Ives, the building's first owner was a "slaughterer" or . . . — — Map (db m186241) HM
For decades, the main attraction on the line was the Willows Pavilion. This unusual looking structure boasted a roller skating rink and a 300-seat, second-floor restaurant. In the rear tower, a camera obscura projected scenes from the surrounding . . . — — Map (db m85995) HM
Elias Hasket Derby, Salem’s prosperous ship-owner, and his bride Elizabeth Crowinshield began their married life in the brick house behind you in 1762. Seven children later, in 1780, Derby began building a much larger structure on the site in front . . . — — Map (db m62549) HM
“I was a means, through grace assisting me, to stop the flight of those few that then were here with me, and that by my utter denial to go away with them, who would have gone either for England, or mostly for Virginia.” — — Map (db m17985) HM
The first congregation of the Church of England gathered in Salem in 1626. Driven underground by the puritans, it re-emerged in 1733 as Saint Peter's Parish, built on land given by Philip English, one of the accused Salem witches. Just before the . . . — — Map (db m47989) HM
Salem Common was originally a nine-acre parcel of swampy land used for grazing livestock and training the local militia. In 1637, the first regiment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony militia to muster (train) was the East REgiment. This volunteer . . . — — Map (db m186220) HM
If Salem was once a prosperous world seaport, it was not due to the geography of the harbor, but to the enterprise of her mariners, tradesmen, and merchants. Unlike other major ports such as New York, Salem Harbor had no major river to link it . . . — — Map (db m86540) HM
If Salem was once a prosperous world seaport, it was not due to the geography of the harbor, but to the enterprise of her seamen, tradesmen, and merchants.
Unlike other major ports such as New York, Salem Harbor had no major river to link it . . . — — Map (db m86541) HM
Welcome to Salem Maritime National Historic Site. The site was established in 1938 to preserve the wharves and historic buildings associated with Salem's contributions to the economic development of the young United States.
From its founding in . . . — — Map (db m86459) HM
Salem Maritime National Historic Site-Welcome to Salem Maritime National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park System. Since 1938, this park has preserved the wharves and historic buildings associated with Salem’s prosperous years of overseas . . . — — Map (db m86463) HM
Salem Willows is named for the European white willow trees planted here in 1801 to form a shaded walk for patients convalescing at the old smallpox hospital. Later the area became a park. During the first half of the 20th century Restaurant Row on . . . — — Map (db m85992) HM
Salem Willows Park is truly one of the city’s treasures. The 35-acre waterfront site, located at the tip of the Salem peninsula, is named for the European white willow trees that were planted in 1801 for the benefit of patients at the nearby . . . — — Map (db m86190) HM
There are three sides of inscription:
Time will not dim the glory of their deeds
Then a panel that says Erected by Laurier Associates and dedicated to the 2105 volunteers of St. Joseph Parish — — Map (db m97367) WM
The home in which author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 once stood near this spot. The Georgian-style house, two-and-a-half stories high and two byas wide, was built for blacksmith Jonathan Phelps between 1745 and 1750. In 1772, . . . — — Map (db m186223) HM
Here are buried
Captain Richard More
Mayflower Passenger
Governor Simon Bradstreet
Reverend John Higginson
Chief Justice Benjamin Lynde
Justice John Hathorne
of the Witchcraft Court — — Map (db m51923) HM
Inside this impressive building were the offices of the United States Customs Service collectors, inspectors, and other officials. It was here that ship’s captains and owners paid duties on imported goods, ordinarily about 5% of their value. . . . — — Map (db m23857) HM
Inside this impressive building were the offices of the United States Customs Service collectors, inspectors, and other officials. It was here that ship’s captains and owners paid duties on imported goods and conducted other business.
Before . . . — — Map (db m86927) HM
Here stood from 1634 until 1673
The First Meeting House
erected in Salem.
No structure was built earlier
for congregational worship
by a church formed in America.
It was occupied
for secular as well as religious uses.
In it . . . — — Map (db m85825) HM
By 1780, the nearly 20-year-old brick Derby House behind you was small and out of fashion for a family growing in size and wealth. The Derbys hired noted architect Samuel McIntire to design and build an enormous 5,000 square foot, three-story . . . — — Map (db m186239) HM
Step Back In Time You stand on the threshold of possibly the finest collection of pre-twentieth century houses in America. A one-mile, 45-minute walking tour winds through the district bearing the name of one particularly famous architect and . . . — — Map (db m161193) HM
The Pedrick Store House, originally located on Marblehead Harbor, was built by Marblehead merchant Thomas Pedrick (1736-1802) in about 1770. It was first used as a store house for salt and goods from the cod fish trade, with a sail loft on the . . . — — Map (db m86521) HM
Salem's Point neighborhood was originally known as Stage Point for wooden fish-drying “stages” along the peninsula.
Stage Point was a center for Salem’s early maritime business, and key to her historic economic development.
. . . — — Map (db m115319) HM
In 1692, nearly two hundred people in the Salem area were accused of witchcraft, then considered a crime. Twenty of the accused were tried and executed – victims of fear, superstition, and a court system that failed to protect them.
This . . . — — Map (db m85901) HM
Hayden Hillsgrove Stonemason
This memorial is dedicated to the enduring lessons
of human rights and tolerance learned from
the Salem witch trials of 1692.
The Salem award foundation for human rights
and social justice gratefully . . . — — Map (db m162188) HM
Three rods west of this spot
stood, from 1718 until 1785,
The Town House.
Here Governor Burnet convened
The General Court in 1728 and 1729,
a Town Meeting held here in 1765
protested against The Stamp Act,
and another in 1769, . . . — — Map (db m85899) HM
Here stood the Salem gaol
built in 1684, used until 1813
razed in 1957
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During the witchcraft
persecution of 1692, many
of the accused were
imprisoned here. One of
them, the aged Giles
Cory (b. 1611), was pressed
to . . . — — Map (db m85900) HM
This Ground
the first place set apart in
Salem
for the burial of the dead,
and, since 1637, known as
The Burying Point.
Contains the graves of
Governor Bradstreet,
Chief Justice Lynde,
and others whose virtues,
honors, courage, . . . — — Map (db m162187) HM
In the late 1700s and early 1800s Salem’s ships reached out to the world. From this wharf alone between 1785 and 1799, shipowner Elias Hasket Derby dispatched 170 trading vessels on pioneering voyages to China, India, the East Indies, and the . . . — — Map (db m86538) HM
To commemorate the faithful service
of the
Twenty Third Regiment
Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
at
Roanoke Island • New Berne • Kinston • Whitehall • Goldsboro • Wilcox Bridge • Wrenns Mills • Heckmans Farm • Arrowfield Church • . . . — — Map (db m186218) WM
Dedicated to those who died in the service of their country
2 columns of names for World War II
2 Columns of names for Korea
2 columns of names for Vietnam
1 column for Iraq
1 column for Afghanistan — — Map (db m97383) HM
Captain Henry Prince (1764-1846) built the store across the street about 1800 while living in the brick house next door, which he purchased from famed merchant Elias Hasket Derby. It is assumed Prince used the store as a warehouse for cargo. . . . — — Map (db m186246) HM
If you visited Salem’s waterfront in the late 1700s or early 1800s you would have been impressed not only by the ships and their exotic cargo, but also by the variety of artisans and craftsmen who worked on the wharf. Sail makers, riggers, rope . . . — — Map (db m86536) HM
Not until the later 1800s did we have photographs of sailing vessels berthed along wharves here, but by then we had declined as a world port. The shallow harbor could not accommodate the clipper ships and larger vessels that dominated the seas after . . . — — Map (db m62541) HM
The earliest photographs of Salem's wharves date from the late 1800s, as the great age of sail was coming to an end. Salem achieved its greatest trade successes in the early 1800, and saw a decline throughout the 19th century. One reason was the . . . — — Map (db m186242) HM
Roll of honor 1917-1918
Then two rows of names
World War I
Donated by the city of Salem Rededicated by Mayor Anthony V. Salvo November 11, 1986 — — Map (db m97368) WM