Salem Massachusetts

Salem is among the most historic settlements in the United States. Commonly associated with the seventeenth-century witchcraft hysteria of Salem Village, the city itself boasts a rich and textured history with various economic, religious, and cultural highlights. This volume reveals Salem's comprehensive heritage from the 1860s to the 1950s. Salem's early strengths as a colonial community were drawn from the waters around it. Fishing was a staple industry, and shipbuilding and ocean trade bolstered the settlement economically for many years. In the nineteenth century, after war with Britain caused Salem's maritime trade to decline, the city developed into a modern commercial center. Prominent settlers favored luxurious architecture and interior design and founded the city's well-known resort and amusement center, the Willows. The vintage images presented here chronicle the city's cultural, social, and economic development over one hundred years.

The vintage images presented in this fascinating collection chronicle the city's cultural, social, and economic development over a period of one hundred years. Area historians Kenneth C. Turino and Stephen J. Schier are actively involved with historical preservation on the North Shore. Their affection for the area and knowledge of its past are evident in this remarkable new photographic history of Salem.