Sister Sites
The city of Salem maintains several historic sites that are either remnants of 17th century Salem or interpret the period.
Charter Street Cemetery
Established before 1637, Charter Street Cemetery is the oldest European burial ground in Salem and among the oldest in the country, though Indigenous burial sites that pre-date colonization are found in Salem. The cemetery’s historical significance was recognized in 1975 when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of Salem’s Charter Street Historic District.
Built in 1930 to mark the tercentennial of Massachusetts, Pioneer Village is America's first living history museum. The village sits on three acres of land and contains various examples of colonial architecture: dugouts, thatched roof cottages, and the Governor's Faire House. Culinary and medicinal gardens and a blacksmith shop further interpret early 17th-century colonial life.
Pioneer Village
Winter Island Park and its lighthouse have welcomed maritime visitors into Salem's harbor for centuries. Pre-contact archaeological sites have been dated to be over 6,000 years old, Fort Pickering's masonry and earthworks were established in 1643. The Park was the center of Salem's fishing trade throughout the 1620 to 1740s. In the 1930s, it became home to the United States Coast Guard and Sea Rescue Station until control was passed on to the City in 1973.