Historic Salem, Inc. (HSI) is one of America’s oldest civic architectural preservation groups. It was founded in 1944 to save the Corwin House, known popularly as the Witch House, when it was threatened with demolition. The Corwin House is one of the only buildings extant in Salem with a direct connection to the witch trials of 1692, so it is fitting that it was HSI’s first success story and fitting as well that HSI’s offices are right next door in the Nathaniel Bowditch House. Historic Salem has served for more than six decades as one of Salem’s key architectural/historical resources and advocates. It has been instrumental in establishing official historic districts within the city and nominating several landmarks to the National Register of Historic Landmarks. It has helped to save the Wendt House (1783) and the Pope House (1740), a rare survivor of Salem’s Quaker community. Today, HSI continues to operate as a non-profit advocacy group dedicated to preserving Salem’s rich legacy of historic houses, buildings and other properties. HSI works to ensure their architectural and visual integrity as well as their appropriate adaptive reuse. The organization participates in civic design reviews, presents annual preservation awards, provides house histories and plaques to identify historic properties throughout the city, runs educational programs and hosts a variety of social events that welcome newcomers and lifelong residents alike to our preservation community.

Click For More Information

Historic Salem’s mission is to ensure that the historic resources of Salem, Massachusetts, which are the key to its identity, its quality of life, and its economic vitality, are preserved for future generations and that new development complements the historic character of the city.

HSI recognizes that preservation involves not only houses and other structures, but also all of the resources that together form the broader fabric of Salem’s history, including landscapes, streetscapes, waterfronts, collections, and cultural traditions. These resources document our heritage. HSI will preserve them by being alert to threats, by building linkages to the city, by being a focal point for action, and by creating vehicles to promote preservation.

Education of the public is critical to making preservation an integral part of the cultural life of the city, and authentic resources are powerful teachers. HSI will undertake broad-based educational efforts, encompassing all of Salem’s neighborhoods, its schoolchildren, its homeowners, business people, and other keepers of its heritage, and its visitors.

Web Service

Secondary menu

Search form

Historic Salem, Inc