Salem Sites
Witchcraft Hysteria
Pickering wharf
Salem
Salem City Guide
Salem Postcard Tour
Salem News
Salem Witchcraft Papers
Our Salem Vacation Photos
Photos- Part 1
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Salem is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts.
As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 40,407.
It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County6.
The name Salem is related to the Hebrew word shalom, meaning 'peace'.
Many people associate the city with the Salem witch trials of 1692,
which the city utilizes as a tourist attraction.
However, Salem's real importance in American history lies at its status as
an oft-used port for East Indies trade.
The city played a leading role in the American China trade.
Salem is also commonly confused with the Salem on the soap opera
Days of Our Lives, of which there is no relation.
Salem Maritime National Historic SiteOne of Salem's most notable sons
was Nathaniel Bowditch, who published The New American Practical Navigator.
This work began as Bowditch's corrections of John Hamilton Moore's navigation tables.
He found over 8000 innacuracies while sailing from Salem to the East Indies.
The book, still in use, is in its 78th printing.
The House of the Seven Gables.
Salem is home to The House of the Seven Gables made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne who was born in Salem in 1804.
The city is also home to a large collection of Federal Style mansions.
Many of these were the work of architect and woodcarver Samuel McIntire,
for whom the city's largest Historic District is named.
Tourists know Salem as a mix of important historical sites, New Age "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.
Controversy arose;
some felt the statue was good fun and appropriate to a city that promotes itself
as "Witch City" and contains a street named "Witch Way."
Some 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.
