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Salem, Massachusetts

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Template:Infobox Town MA Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex CountyTemplate:GR. Home to Salem State College, Salem Willows Park and the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem is a residential and tourist area.

File:House of the Seven Gables (front angle) - Salem, Massachusetts.JPG
The House of the Seven Gables.

Many people associate the city with the Salem witch trials of 1692, which the city embraces both as a source of tourism and culture -- police cars are adorned with witch logos, a local public school is known as the Witchcraft Heights Elementary School, the Salem High School football team is named The Witches, and Gallows Hill, a site of numerous public hangings, is currently used as a playing field for various sports.

Tourists know Salem as a mix of important historical sites, New Age and Wiccan boutiques, and kitschy Halloween-witch-themed attractions. Controversy arose in 2005 when TV Land—a cable television network featuring old sitcom re-runs—erected a bronze statue of Elizabeth Montgomery, who played the comic witch "Samantha" in the 1960s series Bewitched. A few special episodes of the series were actually filmed in Salem, and TV Land said that the statue commemorated the 35th anniversary of those episodes.

Many felt the statue was good fun and appropriate to a city that promotes itself as "The Witch City," and contains a street named "Witch Way." Others objected to the use of public property for what was transparently commercial promotion. Some felt that the statue trivialized history by encouraging visitors to recall a sitcom rather than the tragic Salem witch trials. Local historian John Carr was quoted in Time Magazine as saying "it's like TV Land going to Auschwitz and proposing to erect a statue of Colonel Klink."

History

File:Roger Williams House, Salem, MA.jpg
Williams House in c. 1910

Native Americans called the area "Naumkeag," meaning "eel land." Salem was founded at the mouth of the Naumkeag River in 1626 by a company of fishermen from Cape Ann led by Roger Conant, and incorporated in 1629. The name "Salem" is related to the Hebrew word "shalom" and Arabic word "salam," both meaning "peace." Conant was later supplanted by John Endicott, the governor assigned by the Massachusetts Bay Company. Salem originally included much of the North Shore, including Marblehead, set off in 1649. Most of the accused in the Salem Witch Trials lived in nearby "Salem Village," now Danvers. "Salem Village" also included Peabody and parts of present-day Beverly. Middleton, Topsfield, Wenham and Manchester-by-the-Sea, too, were once parts of Salem.

On February 26, 1775, patriots raised the the drawbridge at the North River, preventing British Colonel Alexander Leslie and his troops from seizing stores and ammunition hidden in North Salem. During the Revolution, the town became a center for privateering. By 1790, Salem was the sixth largest city in the country, and a world famous seaport -- particularly in the China trade. Codfish was exported to the West Indies and Europe. Sugar and molasses were imported from the West Indies, tea from China, and pepper from Sumatra. Salem ships also visited Africa, Russia, Japan and Australia. During the War of 1812, privateering resumed.

Salem Harbor in 1907

Prosperity would leave the city with a wealth of fine architecture, including Federal style mansions designed by Samuel McIntire, for whom the city's largest historic district is named. Incorporated a city in 1836, Salem adopted a city seal in 1839 with the motto "Divitis Indiae usque ad ultimum sinum" -- "To the farthest port of the rich East." Nathaniel Hawthorne was overseer of the port from 1846 until 1849. He worked in the Customs House near Pickering Wharf, his setting for the beginning of The Scarlet Letter. In 1858, Salem Willows Park was established, an amusement park on land jutting into the harbor.

But shipping would decline through the 19th century. Salem and its silting harbor were increasingly eclipsed by Boston and New York. Consequently, the city turned to manufacturing. Industries included tanneries, shoe factories and the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company. Large parts of the mill town were destroyed in the Great Salem Fire of 1914, which began in the Korn Leather Factory. More than 400 homes burned, leaving 3,500 families homeless. But much of Salem's architectural legacy survived, helping it develop as a center for tourism.

Notable Inhabitants:

  • Peabody House in c. 1905
    Peabody House in c. 1905
  • Lafayette Street in 1910
    Lafayette Street in 1910
  • Naumkeag Mills in c. 1910
    Naumkeag Mills in c. 1910

Geography

Salem is located at 42°31′1″S 70°53′55″E / 42.51694°S 70.89861°E / -42.51694; 70.89861Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (42.516845, -70.898503)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.8 km² (18.1 mi²). 21.0 km² (8.1 mi²) of it is land and 25.8 km² (9.9 mi²) of it (55.09%) is water. Located beside Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, Salem is drained by the Naumkeag River.

Demographics

Essex Street in c. 1920

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 40,407 people, 17,492 households, and 9,708 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,926.1/km² (4,986.0/mi²). There were 18,175 housing units at an average density of 866.3/km² (2,242.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.37% White, 3.15% African American, 0.22% Native American, 2.00% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.74% from other races, and 2.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.24% of the population.

There were 17,492 households out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.5% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.95.

Pickering House in c. 1905

In the city the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,033, and the median income for a family was $55,635. Males had a median income of $38,563 versus $31,374 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,857. About 6.3% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

Nathaniel Hawthorne by Bela Pratt

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Further reading

  • In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, Mary Beth Norton, Knopf, 2002, hardcover, 432 pages, ISBN 037540709x

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