Salem is an historic seaside community located approximately
16 miles north of Boston. From its days as one of the earliest
landing sites of the English colonists, to its rise as the first
major port in the United States, to its trailblazing efforts in
opening up the East Indian trade, to its heyday as a thriving
hub of American commerce and the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Salem's historical legacy is rich. Unfortunately, a well-known
blemish on that legacy involved the infamous Salem Witchcraft
Trials of 1692. Nonetheless, the City's golden years have left
her modern inhabitants with architectural treasures, fine museums,
and a sparkling literary heritage.
Equally important, the development of Salem has produced a rich
ethnic history, to which people of all races, creeds, colors and
origins have contributed over the generations. Even today, Salem
services children speaking no less than 20 different languages
in its public school system. Long a trading, manufacturing and
retail center, Salem has been making a slow, and sometimes painful,
transition to a service-based economy.
The City today serves as the home of Salem
State College, the North
Shore Medical Center, the Essex
County District Superior and Probate
Courts, and Registry of
Deeds, the world-famous Peabody
Essex Museum, and a host of banks and other financial institutions.
It is the educational, medical, legal, cultural and banking hub
of the North Shore.
