Salem, Massachusetts, USA
1906

Salem, a city, port of entry, and one of the capitals of Essex Co., Mass., is pleasantly situated on a peninsula formed by two inlets of the sea, called North and South rivers, of which the former separates it from Beverly, 14 miles NNE. of Boston, on the Boston and Maine R. It has a good harbor. The town had formerly an extensive trade with India, China, Africa, and South America, but this has almost entirely disappeared, giving place to a coasting trade of some importance. The principal manufactures are of cotton goods, lumber products, machinery, leather, boots and shoes, etc. The city has an almshouse, several hospitals, an orphanage, homes for the aged, a state normal school, and a number of scientific institutions and public museums, including the East India Marine Museum, the Peabody Academy of Science, the Salem Athenaeum (in Plummer Hall), and the Essex Institute (the last with a library in 1905 of 90,000 volumes and over 310,000 pamphlets). The town has many fine old mansions dating from the colonial period and the times of its mercantile supremacy. Among its most interesting remains are the Roger Williams House, where Roger Williams resided in 1635-36, and First Church, the oldest Protestant church of America. Hawthorne and Prescott were natives of Salem. The city is closely connected with neighboring towns by electric railroad. Pop. in 1890, 30,801 ; in 1900, 35,956. Salem was founded in 1628 by John Endicott. In 1692 it witnessed the famous Salem witchcraft delusion, during which a number of persons were executed as witches on what is called Gallows Hill.

Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns ... in Every Portion of the Globe Publisher J.B. Lippincott Company, 1906

Visit Salem, Massachusetts, USA
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.