400+ Years. Endless Stories.
February 9, 2026
Written By:
Jess Shada
Written for the Special Edition 2026 Salem 400+ Visitor Guide – get yours here!
We invited Salem businesses to share the history tucked inside their walls, corners, and unexpected nooks. What came back was a sweep of the city’s story: sea merchants and lighthouse keepers, trolley lines and maritime trade, bank vaults and chocolatiers, filming locations, and even the first long-distance phone call.
The Satanic Temple
“The Satanic Templeʼs headquarters was built in 1868 and later operated as the Dubiel Funeral Home, where corpses were embalmed on-site.”
Salem Trolley
“Our routes follow Salem’s old electric trolley lines, which once carried shoppers and workers along Washington and Essex Streets. Today’s Salem Trolley keeps that historic connection alive while showing visitors the city’s modern landscape.”
Schooner Fame
“FAME sails from Pickering Wharf Marina on Salem’s South River Channel, which once extended all the way to today’s Post Office. “Front Street” earned its name because it ran along the waterfront, even though the water is no longer visible from there.”
Stepping Stone Inn
“Our B&B was built 180 years ago by Naval Officer Abraham True, a presidential appointee who oversaw the Customs House and was Nathaniel Hawthorneʼs boss. The plot we now share with the Salem Witch Museum was once home to an accused witch at the end of the Salem Witch Trials.”
The Chocolate Pantry
“Salem began importing global food products in the 1630s and 1640s, and our shop sits on historic Derby Street, once the heart of that bustling food-import scene.”
Gulu-Gulu Café
“Our space once served as the headquarters of The Salem Gas Light Company (founded 1850). It housed a multi-floor showcase of modern gas-powered appliances, celebrating gas as necessary fuel for homes and businesses even as the city began transitioning to electric lighting at the turn of the 20th century.”
Jenni Stuart
“Our boutique and workshop is located on Front Street, where the hustle and bustle of Salemʼs waterfront once lined warehouses filled with exotic teas, spices and silks from around the world. Today, we carry Salemʼs legacy of fine jewelers forward as the only working goldsmith shop downtown.”
Salem Witch Museum
“We are located on the Salem Common in an 1846 Gothic Revival building that once housed the Second Church of Salem. This site was also the homestead of Reverend John Higginson, Salem’s elder minister during the 1692 witch trials.”
City Hall
“Salem City Hall, the second-oldest City Hall in America, was built in 1837 following incorporation as a city on land owned by the Town of Salem’s Cemetery Association. It cost $22,878.”
Turnerʼs Seafood
“Our restaurant at 43 Church Street is steeped in history, once home to Bridget Bishopʼs apple orchard and the Salem Lyceum, site of Bell’s first long-distance phone call and the words of Thoreau and many more.”
Bakers Island Light Station
“Our lighthouse stands on Bakers Island at the location approved by President George Washington in 1796.”
Diehl Marcus & Company
“We’re housed in a grand 1811 Bulfinch- designed building that was originally Salem’s first bank, a hub for goods moving along the city’s maritime trade routes. A century later, through generous donation, the building became home to the Salem Fraternity, a community space that supported local children and teens from the early 1900s through the 1980s.”
Punto Urban Art Museum
“We work in The Point, the neighborhood that had to be completely rebuilt after the Great Salem Fire of 1914, a blaze that destroyed more than 1,300 buildings in a single day and reshaped the city. Today, the organization helps steward this community’s ongoing story of resilience, creativity, and renewal.”
The House of the Seven Gables
“Built in 1668, The House of the Seven Gables helped inspire Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel and remains one of America’s most storied historic homes. The site later became a settlement house serving Salem’s immigrant communities.”
Ledger
“Ledger lives inside the 1818 Salem Savings Bank, complete with one of the oldest surviving bank vaults in New England. Diners today sit inside a building where Salem residents once stored their life savings.”
Harbor Sweets
“Harbor Sweets began in the 1970s inside a former apothecary warehouse, and visitors can still see the original apothecary cabinet in our Salem shop. Today, the factory continues to hand-make chocolates in a space filled with old-Salem charm and a few stories of its own.”
Hawthorne Hotel
“The Hawthorne Hotel starred in the 1970 Bewitched episodes filmed in Salem, and fans still visit today to see one of the show’s most iconic locations. Opened in 1925, it remains a landmark at the center of the city’s story.”
Witch Board Museum
“For decades, Parker Brothers manufactured Ouija boards right here in Salem, alongside classics like Monopoly and Clue. The Salem Witch Board Museum carries forward that history, showcasing how spirit boards evolved from folk tradition to pop-culture phenomenon.”
Even More Salem 400+ Stories
Salem Historical Tours
“Our walking tour company and gift shop are located in the 1805 Custom House located on Central Street. Prior to the current 1819 Custom House on Derby Street, custom agents had an office in our building and would walk down to the harbor at Front Street, that was the front of the old harbor, and tax the cargoes on the ships.”
Mahi Cruises
“In the 18th century, the area now known as Pickering Wharf was the center of international trade in Salem, home to some of the nation’s most influential merchants. Mahi Cruises has been on Pickering Wharf for more than a decade; we are honored to continue Salem’s seafaring legacy.”
Coach House
“We’re in the former home of 19th-century Salem sea merchant Ephraim Augustus Emmerton, built in the 1800s and restored into a boutique hotel.”
Chambers of Terror
“We are located on Pickering Wharf and the longest continually running haunted attraction in Salem, 32 years!”
Peabody Essex Museum
“As the oldest continually operating museum in the United States, we’ve both witnessed and helped shape 225 years of Salem history. Whether it’s a house that witnessed the witch trials, a giant 200-year-old turtle, or a child’s drawing, it’s our job to collect the objects that tell Salem’s stories.”
Jolie Tea
“Salem’s prominence in the global tea trade can be celebrated at Jolie Tea Company, located on historic Derby Street, the epicenter of Salem’s maritime story.”
Jaho
“We’re located next to one of the oldest ports in the US and a major trading hub of coffee, tea, spices and other valuables with Asia and the West Indies.”
The First Church of Salem
“The mind-boggling history of Salem and its most influential residents can be found within the grey Gothic-style granite walls of the First Church in Salem, Unitarian Universalist, at 316 Essex Street, where worshippers still gather today.”
Kakawa Chocolate House
“We are part of the Downing Block (173–177 Essex Street), in a building by Salem architect Enoch Fuller and in the original home of the first Boys Club of America, originally called the “Salem Fraternity,” founded in 1869.”
Coffee Time Bake Shop
“We’re a multigenerational family bakery on Bridge Street Neck, a densely packed neighborhood where businesses and homes, large and small, have been side by side for hundreds of years.”
Photos 1, 2, 3, 4, & 6, The Salem News Historic Photograph Collection, Salem State University Archives and Special Collections.
Photos 5 & 7, Nelson Dionne Salem History Collection, Salem State University Archives and Special Collections.
Archival photos are provided by the Salem State University Archives and Special Collections, whose stewardship of rare and historical materials connected to the City of Salem and beyond helps bring our history to life.
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