The Pickering House

Address
18 Broad Street
Salem, MA MA United States Get Directions
Phone (978) 744-4777
Website http://www.PickeringHouse.org

When seeing Salem, start where it all began. The Pickering Foundation welcomes you to an extraordinary place.

It is not only Salem’s oldest House, but also America’s oldest Home: home to a single family for over three and a half centuries; home to carpenters, farmers, patriots, military leaders, deacons, diplomats, linguists, and statesmen. And as homes will, it changed with the times.

Built in 1660 by settler John Pickering and his wife Alice, it was a two-room farmhouse on a vast plot of land that ran all the way down to the seaport on the North River, encompassing what is today Chestnut Street and the McIntire District.

Over the next 350 years, the succeeding John Pickerings and their wives added wings, gables, and Gothic peaks. They raised ceilings, extended the roofline and created the distinctive fence. The Pickering House evolved into the warm and gracious home it is today.

Events at this venue

Today

  • Broadsides, Ballads and Fife Tunes of Salem

    The Pickering House 18 Broad Street, Salem, MA, United States

    Salem Massachusetts has a rich and diverse maritime past which played a major role in the early part of the Revolutionary War. The broadsides, ballads and fife tunes discussed during this presentation all have a connection to Salem, Massachusetts. The presentation draws on materials from his two published books, Old Salem at Sea in Ballad...

  • Finding Ourselves in Salem’s History: A Poet in High St Park

    The Pickering House 18 Broad Street, Salem, MA, United States

    Salem’s inaugural poet laureate, J.D. Scrimgeour, will speak on living in the city for three decades and how explorations of historical figures and events can help us define and understand contemporary Salem. His latest book, Poet in High Street Park is a love song to Salem by a writer who has grounded himself in the...