Salem's Haunted Port — Smugglers' Curse

Your investigation begins at Pickering Wharf, a central hub for 18th-century merchant ships. Developed around the wharves used by Captain John Pickering, this site was crucial for privateering during the American Revolution, with Pickering himself commanding privateers. Today, this modern development preserves the original wharf structures from the late 1700s, adjacent to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. It was here that ships from the China trade unloaded their valuable goods in the 19th century, establishing Massachusetts as a commercial power.

Continue to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, established in 1938 by the U.S. Congress to preserve Salem's maritime heritage. This 12-acre site, including four wharves and 27 buildings, was America's 7th busiest port by 1790. The Custom House, built in 1819, served as a federal customhouse until 1869. Exploring this National Historic Landmark, you discover traces of the flourishing trade that brought wealth to the city, and the power struggles that took place there.

Your journey then leads you to the House of the Seven Gables, one of New England's oldest surviving 17th-century wooden mansions, built in 1668. This dwelling, which inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1851 novel, was owned by his relatives and is associated with maritime smuggling through the Turner-Ingersoll family. A turn-of-the-century restoration by Joseph Lovering revealed a secret staircase in 1909, symbolizing the mysteries hidden behind its ancient walls, overlooking Salem Harbor.

The Custom House, a granite neoclassical building completed in 1819 and designed by Charles Bulfinch, is your next stop. This federal building processed over $24 million in duties between 1819 and 1869 during Salem's China trade peak. It was here that Nathaniel Hawthorne, author from 1804 to 1864, worked as a surveyor from 1846 to 1849, a period that deeply inspired his major work, The Scarlet Letter. Maritime exhibits, including Derby family shipping records from the 1790s, are displayed here.

Finally, your investigation concludes near the Old Burying Point Cemetery, established in 1637 and the oldest cemetery in New England continuously used since its founding. This site, also known as Charter Street Cemetery, is the burial site of five witch trial judges, including John Hathorne, ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne. The 17th-century slate gravestones and burials of numerous 18th-century maritime captains remind you of the intertwined destinies of the city. By exploring these places, you have reconstructed the links between commerce, power, and the legends that forged Salem's identity, a site listed on the National Register of Historic Places.