Sept 19-20, Salem, MA

We woke up in Marblehead this morning to an overnight low of 46 degrees. That's better. Guess the cold snap has moved on.

Homes built on the rock in Marblehead

We have a cloudy morning as we leave Marblehead and we head out of the harbor and turn left and then motor TWO MILES to Salem, Massachusetts. This is our shortest trip so far but the ports are completely different. We are now docked at Pickering Wharf Marina in the heart of the waterfront of old Salem.

FRIENDSHIP, a replica, in Salem Harbor

Rigging shed for the ship construction

Sea Captain's home from the 1700's. These bricks were made in England and brought over by ship to build this home, the first brick home in Salem

There is a lot of history in Salem. The city was founded in 1626 by fishermen and was a home port for the Georges Bank fishing.

Salem was the home of the famous witch trials in 1692 where hundreds of people were accused of being witches. The hysteria continued for nine months during which time many people were imprisoned and 20 people were put to death. It wasn't until the governor's wife was accused of being a witch that he decreed a stop to any further trials and the whole episode ended. Never the less, witches are celebrated here and there are lots of shops featuring witches stuff.

Salem has an "official witch"

Salem prospered greatly from shipbuilding and trade in the 1780-1820 period where one out of every five ships trading with the far east was from Salem. This was the primary golden age for Salem and many large homes remain that belonged to ship captains and ship owners from that era. The seafaring times came to an end as Boston, New York and Philadelphia took over as preferred ports because of their superior distribution locations.

Custom's House

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"House of the Seven Gables"

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This "folly" might make a good hot tub surround

The "House of the Seven Gables" was bought by a smart lady in the early 1900's who was looking for a source of income to support an orphanage. She bought the old house, which was about to be torn down, fixed it up and now the admissions support the orphanage. And have done so since the early 1900's. This plaque is on the orphanage across the street from the "House of the Seven Gables". We could hear the children playing and laughing inside as we walked by today.

Salem has a literary connection in that Nathaniel Hawthorne claimed to discover the diaries that led him to write "The Scarlet Letter" (pub in 1850) in the Custom's House here in Salem. He also wrote "House of the Seven Gables" and based this novel on a house in Salem which is now a popular tourist attraction.

Witches Brew Cafe

Salem in the 1900's prospered as a key manufacturing location for shoes and textiles based on cheap immigrant labor.


Salem is a nice stop and has its big tourist time during fall celebrating the connection between the witches and Halloween and being here around the time of the fall color.


Woke up in Salem to an overnight low if 53 degrees. The forecast high today is 79. Sky is clear so this is about perfect weather. Walked the downtown pedestrian mall and visited a model ship store. Must be one of the best model shops in the country and all for sale. Very expensive. Then went to the Peabody Essex Museum in downtown Salem. This museum started in 1799 as the East India Marine Society collection of artifacts and trade goods brought back to Salem in ships from Salem that traded around the world. Museum holds lots of porcelain, wood carvings, furniture and other trade goods from Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and the Northwest Coast. There are many high quality items from India, China, Korea and Japan as well as some from New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. There are many ship models, figureheads, pilot sketch books, journals and paintings collected featuring the ships of that time. Very good museum and museum store.