The Historic Derby Street Neighborhood - Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, MA, USA
Christmas in Salem, 2018
The Historic Derby Street Neighborhood (HDSN) consists of streets lining Derby Street, stretching from Hawthorne Boulevard to Block House Square. The neighborhood has strong ties to the maritime trade and many of its homes were built for the merchants and tradesmen that worked along the over fifty wharves that once lined the waterfront. When Salem’s wealthy merchant families began relocating to stately mansions along Chestnut Street and Washington Square, HDSN became a middle and working-class immigrant community. As the maritime trade waned, industry prevailed; multiple factories were built throughout Salem and surrounding towns, attracting an influx of immigrants. Between 1890 and 1910, Salem’s population increased by 42%, many single-family homes throughout the city were remodeled or replaced with tenements to accommodate this population surge. The largest immigrant population to settle in the Historic Derby Street Neighborhood was Polish, accounting for 8% of Salem’s overall population in 1911.

The House of the Seven Gables, the namesake of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel, played a crucial role in this community. Caroline Emmerton opened the museum in 1910 to support her adjacent settlement house, which provided classes and workshops to the local immigrant community, a role the museum still honors to this day. The Gables became a neighborhood social center and fostered interactions between Salem’s upper-class and newly arrived immigrants, unseen in other communities.

In the first half of the 20th century, Salemites advocated the need for a “national shrine” commemorating Salem’s “long extinct shipping glory.” This became a possibility with the passage of the National Historic Sites Act by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935. In preparation for the park, the City of Salem demolished several tenements, homes, and outbuildings, relocating at least three structures to other parts of the city. When the work was complete, five buildings remained: the Hawkes House, the Custom House, Forrester’s Warehouse (non-extant), the West India Goods Store, and the Derby House. On March 17, 1938, Salem Maritime became America’s first National Historic Site.  Since then the Site has continually told the stories of Salem residents and their global significance. In telling these stories, Salem Maritime has added multiple buildings within the Site’s boundaries, including the Narbonne House and St. Joseph Hall, a Polish community center.

In 1976, The Historic Derby Street Neighborhood was designated a National Historic District due in large part to the hard work of neighborhood residents, led by sisters Alice and Dolores Jordan.


This article was written and researched by Jen Ratliff for publication by Christmas in Salem, Historic Salem Inc.

Accounting for history - Salem Magazine

Salem, MA, USA

Salem Magazine, Fall 2018
Accounting for history
Old Salem Savings Bank records gain interest with age

"You meet the most interesting people in the archives of the Frederick E. Berry Library and  Learning Commons at Salem State University.
That’s where Jen Ratliff made the acquaintance of Clarence Murphy, a bank clerk who dominated national headlines in the 19th century, after he stole money from the Salem Savings Bank.
Ratliff, an archivist and Salem State graduate, encountered Murphy’s story recently while investigating 150 ledgers and 50 boxes of papers from Salem Savings Bank, which were donated to the library last December by developer Robert Dunham.
He found them in a building at 120 Washington St. that he bought from Eastern Savings Bank in 2016. The building now houses Ledger Restaurant & Bar, where a few of the historic ledgers were briefly used in the decor..."

Read More: Salem Magazine (September 2018)

Historical Haunts - Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, MA, USA


Salem Maritime National Historic Site

Historical Haunts - Things to do in Salem

As you walk through Salem, you can’t help but feel an undeniable magic. The City is alive with stories long passed. Mariners have walked these streets, returning home with treasures from the far east. Nathaniel Hawthorne wandered them, dreaming up his novels. Immigrants dragged their suitcases door to door in search of a familiar language and a piece of the American dream. There are so many tangible connections to the past to uncover, some of them may even surprise you...[1138 more words]



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