Zoom Lecture!

Sunday, March 14 — Jennifer Ratliff

Unheralded and Unknown They Sleep: Salem's Forgotten Almshouse Burial Ground

Please register at pickeringhouse1@gmail.com.

Salem is often celebrated for its history of millionaire merchants and their mansions, but there is another side to the city’s past, that of Salem’s poorest residents: the aged, disabled, ill, or transient, that were relegated to a harsh life at the City Almshouse.

The last almshouse built in Salem, opened in 1816 on Collins Cove to provide housing and support for the city’s impoverished, many of whom were expected to work the adjacent City Farm to offset the cost of their stay. This site was active for over a century and included a small burial ground which would have served as the only option for those who were unable to afford a funeral or that had no family to claim their remains. Unfortunately, few know of this land’s former purpose and significance, as there is very little evidence of the Almshouse or its burial ground. Join us to learn more about the important history of this site and how we can preserve its memory.

Salem historian Jen Ratliff has dedicated herself to uncovering and sharing the forgotten stories of our collective past. While earning a B.A. from Salem State University in Public History, she created multiple exhibits and digital projects for both Salem Maritime National Historic Site and Salem State University, spotlighting items from their archives and the unique stories behind them. Jen is currently pursuing an M.S., concentrated in Archives Management, from Simmons University. She shares her love for local history on her blog, History by the Sea, as well as her Facebook group, Salem History Exchange.

Don't miss Professor Joanne Pope Melish speaking about Charlotte
Forten and Race in the "Free" American North, as we celebrate Forten's
legacy.

Celebrating Charlotte Forten
https://www.salemstate.edu/calendar/celebrating-charlotte-mar-02-2021

We invite members of Salem State University, and the broader
community, to join us in celebration of the life and accomplishment of
Charlotte F. Forten. The program will include performances and a
virtual discussion, Race in the “Free” American North in the 19th
Century, led by associate professor of nineteenth century U.S. history
at the University of Kentucky Dr. Joanne Pope Melish.

Register for this virtual event.
https://salemstate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__ngTVzf6TI247pDtSruHwQ

Come celebrate the 245th anniversary of Leslie's Retreat, a milestone moment in Salem’s involvement in the American Revolution.

Choose to march with invading redcoats or resistant colonial militia in Salem’s fourth annual community celebration of “Leslie’s Retreat,” the 1775 powder alarm in which Essex County militia and townspeople stopped a force of British regulars from stealing their cannons. The re-enactment is followed by an informal reception*,

If you’d like to join the redcoats, don your favorite red jacket or scarf or period attire, and meet at Hamilton Hall at 11:15am to march to Leslie’s Retreat Park on the North River.

If you’d like to stick with the colonists, gather at First Church at 11:30am at the conclusion of the regular service (all are welcome to join the regular service at 10:30am!) and march to stop the regulars at the North River. Homemade costumes and musical instruments are most welcome.!

In the event of foul weather, redcoats will march, but the re-enactment will take place inside The First Church in Salem, ​316 Essex Street​.

*Reception will begin at roughly 12:00pm at First Church following the re-enactment.

Other events:

Women of Purpose, 315 ½ Essex Street.
1-3pm Meet Patriot and Loyalist women and learn about their important roles in the war effort.

4-7pm 2nd annual Toast the Resistance with Larry Young & Friends- O'Neil's Pub 120 Washington St Sing along to 18th century tunes while you raise a glass to the resistance. Family friendly

A special thanks to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, who will ring alarm bells from the church steeple to commemorate the event.

Sponsored by the Leslie's Retreat Committee, Leslie’s Retreat & Salem Resistance, First Church in Salem, Hamilton Hall, Historic Salem, Inc., Salem Night Tours, The Pickering House, The Salem Athenaeum, Salem Night Tours, O'Neils Irish Bar, Wicked Running Club, Abbott Public Library, Old Marblehead Houses, Custom House Marine Museum, The Witch House and Salem Historical Society

On January 1, 2020, the National Park Service, the City of Salem, Essex National Heritage Commission, and the Salem Historical Society invite locals and community members to participate in First Day Hike, a national initiative established by America’s State Parks to get people outdoors and connecting with places in their own backyards. This will be the fifth year that Salem community members have participated in First Day Hike.

This year’s hike will begin at 12:00pm at the National Park Service Regional Visitor Center, 2 New Liberty Street. This year’s hike will focus on the importance of the Custom House to Salem’s history. David Moffat from the Salem Historical Society will lead the hike through the downtown district stopping at a few of the locations of past Custom Houses along the way. The hike will finish at the 1819 Custom House at Salem Maritime National Historic Site, followed by an optional walk up and back on Derby Wharf. This event is free and open to hikers of all ages. 

“I would like to thank the National Park Service and the Essex Heritage Commission for organizing this First Hike event. It has become a new Salem tradition and a great way to start off the New Year,” says Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll.  

“Join your community by tromping around town as part of the First Day Hike.  We've done this for five years, so now it’s a custom! This year, plan to unwrap the history of Custom Houses in Salem,” says Salem Maritime National Historic Site Superintendent Paul DePrey.    

Essex National Heritage Commission CEO Annie Harris says, “Over the past five years, Salem’s First Day Hike has become very popular and we are thrilled to partner on this wonderful event that gets people outside, enjoying the rich heritage of their community.”

In 2019, close to 55,000 people from across the nation kicked off the New Year with a First Day Hike. While State Parks entice millions of visitors year-round, a First Day Hike in many states offers a family-friendly event with a unique perspective of what nature has to offer. America’s State Parks is the website host for First Day Hikes in 2020. Find additional information on hundreds of First Day Hike opportunities across the country at www.stateparks.org.

The story of Salem shipping often focuses on the truly successful like the Derbys, the Crowninshields, and the Cabots. What about those captains who were just trying to get by? What were the stresses and realities of a life at sea in Salem at the turn of the nineteenth century?

Come hear the story of Nathaniel Hathorne Sr., Nathaniel Hawthorne’s father, one of the less fortunate of Salem’s scions. David Moffat, local historian, museum professional, and co-founder of the Salem Historical Society, will explore his life through the records of his voyages, his home, and his legacy reflected through the prism of his son’s literary career.

Trustee and co-founder Diana Dunlap at the Jeremiah Lee Mansion at Marblehead Museum for a talk entitled “Cinders and Suds: Servant Life at the Lee Mansion.” Diana will be at the mansion from 10:00-4:00 as she discusses how a midday meal was prepared and how chores were conducted to maintain the household of one of New England’s wealthiest families.

On Wednesday evening, September 25, author Robert Booth, one of our new trustees, will be giving a talk at the Ipswich Historical Society focusing on the Smithsonian’s reinterpretation of feminist and African-American history regarding the Choate-Caldwell House originally located at 16 Elm St. Ipswich, which now resides at the Museum of American History as their largest single artifact on permanent display. The talk will begin at 7:30.

Members of The House of the Seven Gables are invited to enjoy the Salem Celebrates the Fourth fireworks display as well as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthday from the seaside lawn.

Please feel free to bring your own picnic, blanket, and lawn chairs for a front-row seat to the City of Salem’s extraordinary fireworks display over the harbor. A cash bar will be provided from 6:00-9:15pm. NO outside alcohol is permitted on the grounds. Cake to celebrate Hawthorne’s birthday will be cut and served at 8:00pm.

This event is by invitation-only and only for members of The House of the Seven Gables and their friends and family.

To become a member of The House of the Seven Gables, please visit 7gables.org,

You are hereby summoned to Salem Common at 9:00 a.m. for the reading of the Declaration of Independence. Erik Rodenheiser will read the document while accompanied by Bob Kendall on the piano. Music and audience singing will be led by Maureen Dalton.

Join Historic Salem, Inc. in celebrating 75 years of Historic Salem’s preservation successes and recognizing their partners in preservation!
​
Indian, Indonesian, & Chinese small plates​
Dancing
Cash bar

Creative cocktail attire.

Tickets are $75 for HSI members and Christmas in Salem volunteers, $100 for non-members.

RSVP by May 24th and be entered to win a complimentary House History & Plaque to keep or to give as a gift!

Tickets available online.

Join the Friends of the Downtown Salem Historic Cemeteries at Charter St Cemetery in the morning for a clean up and public outreach with information about current conservation efforts and distribution of flyers about the cemetery's history. At noon they will move to Howard Street and repeat the process there! They will have water and lemonade for all of the thirsty workers, and will provide gloves and trash bags, but participants are welcome to bring their own! Please note that there is a city wide clean up happening that day, so please check in with the Friends when you arrive so they can teach you how to safely navigate the sites. Thank you!

June 1 kicks off the monthly 17th Century Saturdays celebration in Essex County and at The House of the Seven Gables. First period homes from around the region will be offering special activities all day.

The Gables will offer free garden passes on June 1. With the garden pass, you can enjoy Living History Labs in the 1682 Hooper-Hathaway House, and unique shopping in the Museum Store, located in the c.1655 Retire Beckett House. Take in the architecture, seaside views, and the annual exhibit Pop! Goes The Gables.

Guided tours of The House of the Seven Gables will be included with regular, paid admission.

Check out the offerings for our new Arts and Mysteries Revealed on first Saturdays. Uncover the secrets and techniques of trades, chores & crafts of the past. Historical trade demonstrations will vary each month.

For more information about 17th Century Saturday events around the region, please visit northofboston.org.

To celebrate National Preservation Month, the Peabody Essex Museum Phillips Library is hosting an Open House at the Phillips Library Reading Room. The event will focus on items in the collections that are associated with the Ropes Mansion, located at 318 Essex Street.

Items on view will include original manuscripts related to the building’s provenance and history, photographs documenting changes through time, materials related to preserving the Ropes Mansion into the 21st Century, objects owned by past residents of the house, and much more! For more information, contact research@pem.org.