UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
MASSACHUSETTS
Essex County

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Salem is situated at an elevation of 8 m on the North Shore of Greater Boston. First settled by Europeans in 1626, it became one of the most significant seaports in early American history. The city's population was 44,480 at the 2020 census.

Native Americans lived in northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European colonization of the Americas. The peninsula that would become Salem was known as Naumkeag by the native people who lived there at the time of contact in the early 1600s. Colonists settled Naumkeag in 1626 when a company of fishermen] arrived from Cape Ann led by Roger Conant. Two years later, John Endecott replaced him by order of the Massachusetts Bay Company. These "New Planters" and the "Old Planters" agreed to cooperate, and to recognize this peaceful transition to the new government, the name of the settlement was changed to Salem, the hellenized name of Shalem (שׇׁלֵם), the royal city of Melchizedek, which is identified with Jerusalem. In 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Charter was issued creating the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Salem's harbor was defended by Fort Miller in Marblehead from 1632 to 1865, and by Fort Pickering on Winter Island from 1643 to 1865. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Salem was involved in the Atlantic slave trade, surpassing Boston in terms of the town's engagement with the triangular trade. Beginning in 1701 there was a steady political and social effort in Massachusetts to end slavery and by 1770 the practice was almost eliminated, with many slaves winning their freedom. One of the most widely known aspects of Salem is its history of witchcraft allegations. The infamous Salem Witch Trials began in 1692, and 20 people were executed because of the false accusations. By 1790, Salem had become the sixth-largest city in the country, and a world-famous seaport. It had a large cod fishing industry, conducted off the Newfoundland Banks. Salem was incorporated as a city on March 23, 1836. Shipping declined throughout the 19th century. Boston and New York City eclipsed Salem and its silting harbor. Consequently, the city turned to manufacturing. The Great Salem Fire of 1914 destroyed over 400 homes and left 3,500 families homeless but spared the historic concentration of Federal architecture on Chestnut Street. Today Salem is a residential and tourist area that is home to the House of Seven Gables, Salem State University, Pioneer Village, the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, Salem Willows Park, and the Peabody Essex Museum (see also Peabody, MA). It features historic residential neighborhoods in the Federal Street District and the Charter Street Historic District.

The first Quaker Meeting House [left, no. 4170: top picture] was built during the autumn of 1688. Much of the building was constructed using old timber repurposed from other buildings. On the glass, the picture is labeled Salem's First Church. Until recently, this building was reputed to be the "Old First Meeting House" of 1634, but that has been disproved. Meetings were held in this building for nearly 30 years. Despite the small number of attendees, by 1714 additions were made after the Meeting House was considered inadequate in size. Over the years, until sometime around 1860 when it was moved to the grounds of the Essex Institute, the building was used as a small home by several families, a barn, cow barn, hen house, and finally a wood shed. The current building, now part of the Peabody Essex Museum and erected in 1865 to resemble a Post-Medieval or First Period structure, is a reconstruction of the Quaker Meeting House and may contain some of the original timber framing. It is a very early example of an architectural re-creation.

The lower picture is labeled Old Witch House 1635–1850. At some point after the turn of the 20th century, a storefront addition was added. At times, it was known as the Roger Williams House or the Jonathan Corwin House. The appearance of the building was greatly changed by a restoration which began in 1944. It was restored to look as it would have in the 17th century and the gambrel roof was altered.At the same time it was moved back about 11 metres when the adjacent street was widened. The Witch House was completed and opened as a public museum in 1948. It is now a museum operated by the City of Salem and is open seasonally.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem,_Massachusetts; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaker_Meeting_House_(Peabody_Essex_Museum), https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/amp/media/first-quaker-meeting-house-of-salem-mass-c9540c; https://housecrazysarah.life/the-salem-witch-house/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witch_House]