Salem


Region Type Maps & Charts (if available, no international)
North America, New England Seaport, City Salem

City (1990 pop. 38,091; 2000 pop. 40,407), (cap.) Essex co., NE Mass., on an inlet of Massachusetts Bay; 42º32'N 70º52'W. Its once famous harbor has silted up. Salem has electronic, leather, and machinery industries, and tourists are drawn to its many historical landmarks.

In 1626, Roger Conant led a group from Cape Ann to this site, called Naumkeag by the Native Americans. Salem’s early history was darkened by the witchcraft trials of 1692, in which Samuel Sewall was a judge. From colonial days through the clipper ship era, Salem was world famous as a port and a wealthy center for the China trade. It was a privateering base in the Amer. Revolution and in the War of 1812. Nathaniel Hawthorne was overseer of the port from 1846 to 1849.

Shipping declined after the War of 1812, and the city turned to manufacturing. The Peabody-Essex Institute. (est. 1848) has an excellent library and historical collections.

Sources

Robert A. McCaughey

Compiler

Peter Richards

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