Editing Salem, Massachusetts (section)

==History==

{{For timeline|Timeline of Salem, Massachusetts}}
[[File:Roger Conant, N Washington Sq, Salem (493755) (11363034976).jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of [[Roger Conant (colonist)|Roger Conant]], founder of Salem]]
[[Image:Nathaniel Hawthorne statue - Salem, Massachusetts.JPG|thumb|upright| ''Nathaniel Hawthorne'' by [[Bela Pratt]]]]
[[File:Salem shipping colonial color.jpg|thumb|Scene along the Salem waterfront, {{circa|1770–1780}}]]

=== Naumkeag ===

[[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] lived in northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to [[European colonization of the Americas]]. The peninsula that would become Salem was known as ''Naumkeag'' (alternate spellings Naemkeck,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=John|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100693021|title=A description of New England; or, The observations, and discoveries of Captain Iohn Smith (admirall of that country) in the north of America, in the year of our Lord 1614; with the successe of sixe ships, that went the next yeare 1615; and the accidents befell him among the French men of warre: with the proofe of the present benefit this countrey affoords; whither this present yeare, 1616, eight voluntary ships are gone to make further tryall.|date=1837|publisher=P. Force|location=Washington}}</ref> Nahumkek,<ref>{{Cite web|title=The south part of New England as it planted this yeare, 1634|url=https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:q524n611v|access-date=2021-11-09|website=www.digitalcommonwealth.org|language=en}}</ref> Neumkeage<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Perley|first=Sidney|url=http://archive.org/details/indianlandtitles00perl|title=The Indian land titles of Essex County, Massachusetts|date=1912|publisher=Salem, Mass. : Essex Book and Print Club|others=The Library of Congress}}</ref>) by the native people who lived there at the time of contact in the early 1600s. Naumkeag was a major settlement for the indigenous group that controlled territory from the [[Merrimack River|Merrimack]] to the [[Mystic River|Mystic]] rivers. The English and other Europeans referred to them as the [[Naumkeag people]]. There are probable indigenous settlement sites near the mouths of the North, South, and Forest rivers in Salem.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Massachusetts Historical Commission|title=MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report: Salem|url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc/mhcpdf/townreports/Essex/sal.pdf|journal=Mass Historical Commission}}</ref>

The contact period was a disastrous time for the Naumkeag. Many Naumkeag died in a war with the [[Tarrantine]] and as a result of a [[virgin soil epidemic|smallpox epidemic]] in 1617–1619, including their powerful sachem [[Nanepashemet]]. The disease had probably been contracted by members who came into contact with European fishermen or explorers. Their strength was reduced just prior to the arrival of English settlers in 1626 to what became modern-day Salem. In 1633, a second smallpox epidemic struck, killing two of Nanepashemet's successors, [[Montowampate|Montowompate]] and [[Wonohaquaham]], and leaving his remaining heir [[Wenepoykin]] scarred. So it was that English settlers met little resistance on their arrival in Salem. Although [[Wenepoykin]] would join [[Metacomet]] in [[King Philip's War]] in 1675, the English settlers at this point had the numerical superiority to defeat Metacomet's indigenous coalition.

It was not until 1686, when the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] Charter was recalled by [[James II of England|King James II]] in the creation of the [[Dominion of New England]] that Wenepoykin's heirs pressed their claim to the land of Salem, for which they were paid twenty pounds.<ref name=":0" />

=== English colonization ===

Colonists settled Naumkeag in 1626 when a company of fishermen<ref name="Phippen">Phippen, George D. "Old Planters of Salem" ''Hist. Coll. of the Essex Institute'' Vol. 1, 97 et seq.</ref> arrived from [[Cape Ann]] led by [[Roger Conant (Salem)|Roger Conant]]. Conant's leadership provided the stability for the settlers to survive the first two years, but [[John Endecott]] replaced him by order of the [[Massachusetts Bay Company]]. Conant stepped aside and was granted {{convert|200|acre|km2}} of land in compensation. These "New Planters" and the "Old Planters"<ref name="Phippen" /><ref>The four Old Planters are John Balch, Roger Conant, Peter Palfrey, and John Woodbury. Crawford, Mary Caroline, ''Famous families of Massachusetts''. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1930, Chap 6</ref> agreed to cooperate because of the diplomacy of Conant and Endecott. To recognize this peaceful transition to the new government, the name of the settlement was changed to Salem, the [[Hellenization|hellenized]] name of [[Salem (Bible)|Shalem]] (שָׁלֵם), the royal city of [[Melchizedek]], which is identified with [[Jerusalem]].<ref>Richard Gildrie, ''Salem Massachusetts 1626-1683'', 4.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Salem|title=Salem|work=TheFreeDictionary.com}}</ref>

In 1628, Endecott ordered that the [[Great House (Cape Ann)|Great House]] be moved from Cape Ann, reassembling it on Washington Street north of Church Street.<ref name="JGoff">{{cite book |last1=Goff |first1=John |title=Salem's Witch House: A Touchstone to Antiquity |date=2009 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=at1-CQAAQBAJ|isbn=978-1-61423-286-5}}</ref> [[Francis Higginson]] wrote that "we found a faire house newly built for the Governor" which was remarkable for being two stories high.<ref>Felt, J.B. (1827) ''Annals of Salem'' W.&S. B. Ives</ref> A year later, the Massachusetts Bay Charter was issued creating the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] with [[Matthew Craddock]] as its governor in [[London]] and Endecott as its governor in the colony.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Craddock's letter to Endicott|last=Young |first= A.|year=1846| title=Chronicles of the First Planters of the Colony ... |publisher= C.C. Little & J. Brown |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/chroniclesoffirs00younuoft#page/128/mode/2up}}</ref> [[John Winthrop]] was elected Governor in late 1629, and arrived with the [[Winthrop Fleet]] in 1630, one of the many events that began the [[Great Migration (Puritan)|Puritan Great Migration]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.greatmigration.org/new_englands_great_migration.html|title=About the Great Migration|last=FASG|first=Robert Charles Anderson|website=www.greatmigration.org|access-date=2017-10-10|archive-date=2020-09-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902152149/http://www.greatmigration.org/new_englands_great_migration.html}}</ref>

In 1639, Endecott, among others, signed the building contract for enlarging the meeting house in Town House Square for the first church in Salem. This document remains part of the town records at City Hall. He was active in the affairs of the town throughout his life. [[Samuel Skelton]] was the first pastor of the [[First Church of Salem]], which is the original Puritan church in America.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstchurchinsalem.org/longhistory22.html |title=Barz-Snell, Rev. Jeffrey, "A 'Short' History of the First Church in Salem," First Church in Salem, Unitarian Web Site, Retrieved 4 February, 2011  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726055958/http://www.firstchurchinsalem.org/longhistory22.html |archive-date=2011-07-26 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| editor-last=Marsh |editor-first=D. W. |title=Genealogy of the Marsh Family Outline for Five Generations |page= 1 |publisher= Press of J. R. Williams |location= Amherst, MA |year= 1886}}</ref> Endecott already had a close relationship with Skelton, having been converted by him, and Endecott considered him as his spiritual father.<ref>Upham, William Phineas, ''Papers Relating to the Rev. Samuel Skelton,'' 1875.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Harrison |first=Bruce H. |title=The Family Forest Descendants of Rev. Samuel Skelton |page= 4 |publisher=Millisecond Publishing |location=Kamuela, HI |year= 2004}}</ref>

[[Salem Harbor|Salem's harbor]] was defended by [[Fort Miller (Massachusetts)|Fort Miller]] in [[Marblehead, Massachusetts|Marblehead]] from 1632 to 1865, and by [[Fort Pickering]] on [[Winter Island]] from 1643 to 1865.<ref name=AFN1>{{cite web|title=Massachusetts – Fort Pickering|url=https://www.northamericanforts.com/East/ma.html#pickering|publisher=American Forts Network|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref> During the 17th and 18th centuries, Salem was involved in the [[Atlantic slave trade]], surpassing [[Boston]] in terms of the town's engagement with the [[triangular trade]]. Beginning in 1701  there was a steady political and social effort in Massachusetts to end slavery and by 1770 the practice was all but eliminated, with many slaves winning their freedom.<ref>[[#dilworth2011|Dilworth, 2011]], p. 28</ref>

In 1768, [[Samuel Hall (printer)|Samuel Hall]]  established Salem's first print shop and founded ''[[The Essex Gazette]]'' Salem's first newspaper, and the third to emerge in Massachusetts.<ref>[[#thomas1874a|Thomas, 1874]], v. 1, p. 177</ref><ref>[[#buckingham1|Buckingham, 1850]], v. 1, p. 217</ref>

=== Witchcraft Trials ===
{{main|Salem witch trials}}
One of the most widely known aspects of Salem is its history of witchcraft allegations, which started with [[Abigail Williams (Salem witch trials)|Abigail Williams]], [[Betty Parris]], and their friends playing ''"with a [[Mirror|Venus glase]] & an Egg"'' to learn ''"what trade their sweet harts should be of."''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Breslaw |first=Elaine G. |title=Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies |year=1997 |page=89}}</ref> The infamous Salem witch trials began in 1692, and 19 people were executed by hanging because of the false accusations; [[Giles Corey]] was [[Crushing (execution)|pressed to death]] for refusing to plead innocent or guilty, thus avoiding the noose and instead dying an innocent man.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/people?group.num=G01|title=Salem Witch Trials Notable Persons|website=salem.lib.virginia.edu}}</ref> Salem is also significant in legal history as the site of the [[Dorothy Talbye Trial]], where a mentally ill woman was hanged for murdering her daughter because Massachusetts made no distinction at the time between insanity and criminal behavior.<ref>{{cite book
|author= Albert Christopher
|url=https://archive.org/details/romanticstorypu01addigoog
|page= [https://archive.org/details/romanticstorypu01addigoog/page/n202 131]
|title=The Romantic Story of the Puritan Fathers: And Their Founding of New Boston
|publisher=L.C. Page & Co.
|access-date=2007-11-14
|year = 1912}}</ref>

[[William Hathorne]] was a prosperous entrepreneur in early Salem and became one of its leading citizens. He led troops to victory in [[King Philip's War]], served as a magistrate on the highest court, and was chosen as the first speaker of the House of Deputies. He was a zealous advocate of the personal rights of freemen against royal emissaries and agents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/philip/21-end/ch22.html|title=Soldiers in King Philip's War, Chapter 22|website=www.usgennet.org}}</ref><ref>Anderson, Robert, ''The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1633,'' Entry for William Hathorne, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 1999.</ref> His son Judge [[John Hathorne]] came to prominence in the late 17th century when witchcraft was a serious felony. Judge Hathorne is the best known of the witch trial judges, and he became known as the "Hanging Judge" for sentencing accused witches to death.<ref>Starkey, Marion, ''The Devil in Massachusetts,'' Knopf, Doubleday, 1969.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Life%26Times/Family/Paternal/Introduction.html#JohnHathorne|title=The Paternal Ancestors of Nathaniel Hawthorne: Introduction|website=www.hawthorneinsalem.org|access-date=2011-02-10|archive-date=2020-12-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205092910/http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/Life%26Times/Family/Paternal/Introduction.html#JohnHathorne}}</ref>

===American Revolution===

On February 26, 1775, [[Patriot (American Revolution)|patriots]] raised the drawbridge at the North River on North Street, preventing British Colonel [[Alexander Leslie (British Army officer)|Alexander Leslie]] and his 300 troops of the [[64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot|64th Regiment of Foot]] from seizing stores and ammunition hidden in North Salem. Both parties came to an agreement and no blood was shed that day, but war broke out at [[Battles of Lexington and Concord|Lexington and Concord]] soon after. A group of prominent merchants with ties to Salem published a statement retracting what some interpreted as [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalist]] leanings and professing their dedication to the American cause, including Francis Cabot,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crawford |first1=Mary Caroline |title=Famous Families of Massachusetts |date=1930 |publisher=Boston, Little, Brown |chapter-url=http://library.albany.edu/preservation/brittle_bks/Crawford_Familiesv1/Chpt9.pdf |chapter=The Cabot Family |access-date=2016-07-19 |archive-date=2019-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408100500/https://library.albany.edu/preservation/brittle_bks/Crawford_Familiesv1/Chpt9.pdf  }}</ref> William Pynchon, Thomas Barnard, E. A. Holyoke, and William Pickman.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jkgSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA127 |title=The Loyalists of Massachusetts and the Other Side of the American Revolution |first= James H. |last=Stark |year= 1910 |publisher=The Salem Press Co. |isbn=978-0-7222-7679-2 |access-date=2012-11-10}}</ref>

[[File:Salem Harbor Fitz Hugh Lane.jpeg|thumb|''Salem Harbor'', oil on canvas, [[Fitz Hugh Lane]], 1853, [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]]]]
During the [[American Revolutionary War]], the town became a center for privateering. The documentation is incomplete, but about 1,700 [[Letters of Marque]] were granted during that time, issued on a per-voyage basis. Nearly 800 vessels were commissioned as privateers and are credited with capturing or destroying about 600 British ships.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/privateers.html|title=John Fraylor. Salem Maritime National Historic Park|publisher=Nps.gov|access-date=2012-09-03}}</ref> Privateering resumed during the [[War of 1812]].

===Trade with the Pacific and Africa===

{{Further|East India Marine Society}}
Following the [[American Revolution]], many ships used as privateers were too large for short voyages in the coasting trade,{{sfn|Trow|1905|p=xx}} and their owners determined to open new avenues of trade to distant countries. The young men of the town, fresh from service on the armed ships of Salem, were eager to embark in such ventures. Captain Nathaniel Silsbee, his first mate Charles Derby, and second mate Richard J. Cleveland were not yet twenty years old when they set sail on a nineteen-month voyage that was perhaps the first from the newly independent America to the [[East Indies]]. In 1795, Captain Jonathan Carnes set sail for [[Sumatra]] in the [[Malay Archipelago]] on his secret voyage for [[black pepper|pepper]]. Nothing was heard from him until eighteen months later, when he entered Salem harbor with a cargo of pepper in bulk, the first to be so imported into the country, and which sold at the extraordinary profit of seven hundred per cent.<ref name=Trow1905 >{{cite book | last = Trow | first = Charles Edward | title = The old shipmasters of Salem | chapter-url = https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028839152/cu31924028839152_djvu.txt | publisher = G.P. Putnam's Sons |location= New York and London | oclc= 4669778 | pages = xx-xxiii| chapter= Introduction | year = 1905 }}</ref> The [[Empress of China (1783)|''Empress of China'']], formerly a privateer, was refitted as the first American ship to sail from [[New York (state)|New York]] to [[China]].

By 1790, Salem had become the sixth-largest city in the country, and a world-famous [[seaport]]—particularly in the [[Old China Trade|China Trade]]. It had a large cod fishing industry, conducted off the Newfoundland Banks. It exported [[codfish]] to Europe and the [[West Indies]], imported [[sugar]] and [[molasses]] from the [[West Indies]], [[tea]] from China, and products depicted on the city seal from the [[East Indies]]—in particular Sumatran pepper. Salem ships also visited [[Africa]] in the slave trade—[[Zanzibar]] in particular. They also traveled to [[Russia]], [[Japan]], and [[Australia]].
[[File:Crowninshield's Wharf no frame (edit).jpg|thumb|left|''Crowninshield's Wharf'' at Salem, painting by [[George Ropes]].  Ropes, a mute, was the son of a sea captain and the nephew of prominent Salem ship owner [[Peirce–Nichols House|Jerathmiel Peirce]].  This painting is in the collection of the [[Peabody Essex Museum]].]]

The sail frigate {{USS|Essex|1799|6}} was built at one of [[Enos Briggs]]'s shipyards on [[Winter Island]] in 1799.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.salemma.gov/veterans-services/pages/salem-frigate|title=The Salem Frigate &#124; salemma|website=www.salemma.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.salemweb.com/tales/briggs.php|title=Enos Briggs at SalemWeb.com}}</ref>

The neutrality of the United States was tested during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. After the [[Chesapeake–Leopard affair|''Chesapeake–Leopard'' affair]], Congress passed the [[Embargo Act of 1807]]. [[President of the United States|President]] [[Thomas Jefferson]] closed all ports, an economic blow to the seaport town of Salem. The embargo was the starting point on the path to the [[War of 1812]]. Both the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] and [[First French Empire|France]] imposed trade restrictions to weaken each other's economies. This disrupted American trade and tested the United States' neutrality. [[Royal Navy]] ships frequently interdicted U.S. merchant ships trading with France and seized their goods, and at times would [[Impressment|impress]] American sailors.<ref name= Gilbert />
[[File:1820 Salem Massachusetts map bySaunders BPL 12094.png|thumb|Map of Salem, {{circa|1820}}]]

The Federal period (1788–1845) marks the beginning of U.S. international relations.<ref>Vanita Shastri, ''The Salem–India Story'' (2009)<!-- Put source as cite, not promoted as singlular account of this history --></ref> Salem had established trade relations with merchants in distant lands, which were a source of livelihood and prosperity for many. Charles Endicott, [[Sea captain|master]] of Salem merchantman [[Friendship of Salem#Namesake|''Friendship'']], returned in 1831 to report Sumatran natives had plundered his ship, [[homicide|murdering]] the first officer and two crewmen. Following public outcry, President [[Andrew Jackson]] ordered the [[USS Potomac (1822)|''Potomac'']] on the [[First Sumatran Expedition]], which departed [[New York City]] on August 19, 1831.

In another direction, diplomat [[Edmund Roberts (diplomat)|Edmund Roberts]] negotiated a treaty with [[Said bin Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman]] on September 21, 1833.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Cotheal |first= Alexander I. |date= 2008-01-17 |title= Treaty between the United States of America and the Sultân of Masḳaṭ: The Arabic Text |journal= [[Journal of the American Oriental Society]] |volume= 4 |issue= 1854 |pages= 341–343 |jstor= 592284}}</ref> In 1837, the sultan moved his main place of residence to [[Stone Town|Zanzibar]] and welcomed Richard Waters, a resident of Salem, as a [[Consul (representative)#United States consuls in the early years|United States consul of the early years]].<ref name= Gilbert>{{cite book | last= Gilbert | first= Wesley John | others= Thesis advisor, Professor Kirk Swinehart | title= Our Man in Zanzibar: Richard Waters, American Consul (1837–1845) | url= http://wesscholar.wesleyan.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1674&context=etd_hon_theses | access-date= May 3, 2012 | type = B.A. Thesis | series= Departmental Honors in History |date= April 2011 | publisher= [[Wesleyan University]] | location= Middletown, Connecticut | page= 20
| quote= Note 23: Of the two hundred registered Salem vessels in 1812, all but fifty-seven were destroyed in the war. <!--War of 1812?  -->James Duncan Phillips, ''Salem and the Indies; the Story of the Great Commercial Era of the City'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1947), 422.}}</ref>

===Legacy of the East Indies and Old China Trade===

{{Further|Peabody Academy of Science}}
The [[Old China Trade]] left a significant mark in two historic districts, [[Chestnut Street District]], part of the [[Samuel McIntire]] Historic District containing 407 buildings, and the [[Salem Maritime National Historic Site]], comprising 12 historic structures and about 9 acres (36,000 m<sup>2</sup>) of land along the waterfront in Salem. [[Elias Hasket Derby]] was among the wealthiest and most celebrated of post-Revolutionary merchants in Salem. Derby was also the owner of the Grand Turk, the first New England vessel to trade with [[China]] and the second, after the ''Empress of China,'' to sail from the United States. Thomas H. Perkins was his supercargo and established strong ties with the Chinese and garnered the Forbes fortune through his illegal opium sales.

Salem was incorporated as a city on March 23, 1836,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.salempd.org/history.htm |title=Salem history |publisher=Salempd.org |date=2010-05-13 |access-date=2012-11-10  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130112082322/http://www.salempd.org/History.htm |archive-date=2013-01-12 }}</ref> and adopted a city seal in 1839 with the motto "''Divitis Indiae usque ad ultimum sinum''", [[Latin]] for "To the rich East Indies until the last lap." [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] was overseer of Salem's port from 1846 until 1849. He worked in the U.S. Custom House across the street from the port<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salemweb.com/guide/tour/attract5.shtml |title=Salem Massachusetts – Sites and Attractions Tour |publisher=Salemweb.com |access-date=2012-09-03}}</ref> near Pickering Wharf, his setting for the beginning of ''[[The Scarlet Letter]]''. In 1858, an [[amusement park]] was established at Juniper Point, a peninsula jutting into the harbor. Prosperity left the city with a wealth of fine architecture, including [[Federal architecture|Federal-style]] mansions designed by one of America's first [[architect]]s, Samuel McIntire, for whom the city's largest historic district is named. These homes and mansions now make up the greatest concentrations of notable pre-1900 domestic structures in the United States.

Shipping declined throughout the 19th century. [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] and [[New York City]] eclipsed Salem and its [[silting]] harbor. Consequently, the city turned to manufacturing. Industries included [[Tanning (leather)|tanneries]], shoe factories, and the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company. The [[Great Salem Fire of 1914]] destroyed over 400 homes and left 3,500 families homeless but spared the historic concentration of Federal architecture on Chestnut Street. A memorial plaque on a drugstore building marks the former site of the Korn Leather Factory, which burned in the fire.

===Air Station and the National Guard===

[[File:Muster at Coast Guard Air Station Salem in 1952.jpg|thumb|upright|Coast Guard Air Station Salam, 1952]]

[[Coast Guard Air Station Salem]] was established on February 15, 1935, when the [[United States Coast Guard]] opened a new [[seaplane]] facility in Salem because there was no space to expand the [[Coast Guard Air Station Gloucester|Gloucester Air Station at Ten Pound Island]]. [[Coast Guard Air Station Salem]] was located on [[Winter Island]], an extension of [[Salem Neck (Massachusetts)|Salem Neck]] which juts out into [[Salem Harbor]]. [[Search and rescue]], hunting for [[derelict (maritime)|derelict]]s, and [[medical evacuation]]s were the station's primary areas of responsibility. During its first year of operation, Salem crews performed 26 medical evacuations. They flew in all kinds of weather, and the radio direction capabilities of the aircraft were of significant value in locating vessels in distress.

During [[World War II]] (1939–1945), air crews from Salem flew [[neutrality patrol]]s along the coast, and the Air Station roster grew to 37 aircraft. [[Anti-submarine]] patrols flew regularly. In October 1944, Air Station Salem was designated as the first [[Air-Sea Rescue]] station on the eastern seaboard. The [[Martin PBM Mariner]], a hold-over from the war, became the primary rescue aircraft. In the mid-1950s, [[helicopter]]s came, as did [[Grumman HU-16 Albatross]] amphibious [[flying boat]]s (UFs).

The air station's missions included search and rescue, law enforcement, counting migratory waterfowl for the U.S. Biological Survey, and assisting icebound islands by delivering provisions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-412372/Coast-Guard-Air-Station-Salem.html|title=Manta – Rediscover America's Small Business|work=Manta}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uscg.mil/d1/units/ascapecod/history.htm|title=USCG Air Station Cape Cod, MA|work=uscg.mil}}</ref>

The station's surviving facilities are part of Salem's Winter Island Marine Park. Salem Harbor was deep enough to host a [[Edward Robert Armstrong#Seadrome|seadrome]] with three sea lanes, offering a variety of take-off headings irrespective of wind direction unless there was a strong steady wind from the east. This produced enormous waves that swept into the mouth of the harbor and hampered water operations. When the seadrome was too rough, returning amphibian aircraft used the [[Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Beverly]]. Salem Air Station moved to [[Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod|Cape Cod]] in 1970.

In 2011, the City of Salem completed plans for the {{convert|30|acre|adj=on}} Winter Island Park<ref>{{cite web|last=Lytle |first=Stewart |url=http://salem.patch.com/articles/benefits-concerns-discussed-at-wind-turbine-hearing |title=Benefits, Concerns Discussed at Wind Turbine Hearing – Salem, MA Patch |publisher=Salem.patch.com |date=2011-08-03 |access-date=2012-09-03}}</ref> and squared off against residents who are against bringing two power-generating windmills to the tip of Winter Island.<ref>{{cite web |last=Goff |first=John |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/news/lifestyle/columnists/x1145375982/John-Goff-Salem-windmills-revisited |title=John Goff: Salem windmills, revisited – Salem, Massachusetts – Salem Gazette |publisher=Wickedlocal.com |date=2010-12-04 |access-date=2012-09-03  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113044505/http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/news/lifestyle/columnists/x1145375982/John-Goff-Salem-windmills-revisited |archive-date=2012-11-13 }}</ref> The Renewable Energy Task Force, along with the Energy and Sustainability Manager, Paul Marquis, have recommended the construction of a 1.5-megawatt power turbine at the tip of Winter Island,<ref>{{cite web|last=Davis |first=Brendan |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/features/x1260731137/Wind-turbine-project-moves-forward-in-Salem?img=2#axzz1UlBIsVsO |title=Wind turbine project moves forward in Salem – Salem, Massachusetts – Salem Gazette |publisher=Wickedlocal.com |date=2011-06-16 |access-date=2012-09-03}}</ref> which is the furthest point from residences and where the winds are the strongest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salem.com/Pages/SalemMA_BComm/metdata|title=City of Salem, MA – Winter Island Meteorological Tower Data|author=City of Salem, MA|work=salem.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213014439/http://www.salem.com/Pages/SalemMA_BComm/metdata|archive-date=2014-12-13}}</ref>

The 30-acre park has been open to the public since the early 1970s. In 2011, a master plan was developed with help from the planning and design firm, Cecil Group of Boston and Bioengineering Group of Salem. The City of Salem paid $45,000 in federal money.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/plan-calls-for-amphitheater-other-fixes-at-winter-island/article_2b6d2eb7-35c6-515d-9186-dfe90df378e9.html |title=Plan calls for amphitheater, other fixes at Winter Island » Local News » SalemNews.com, Salem, MA |publisher=Salemnews.com |date=2012-08-30 |access-date=2012-09-03}}</ref> In the long term, the projected cost to rehabilitate just the barracks was $1.5 million. But in the short term, there are multiple lower-cost items, like a proposed $15,000 kayak dock or $50,000 to relocate and improve the bathhouse. This is a very important project since Fort Pickering guarded Salem Harbor as far back as the 17th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/governor/pressoffice/pressreleases/2012/2012430-port-compact.html |title=Patrick-Murray Administration Creates Ports of Massachusetts Compact |publisher=Mass.gov |date=2012-04-30 |access-date=2012-09-03}}</ref>

===National Guard birthplace and architecture===

[[File:First Muster 1637.jpg|thumb|First Muster, Spring 1637, Massachusetts Bay Colony.]]
In 1637, the first muster was held on [[Salem Common Historic District (Salem, Massachusetts)|Salem Common]], where for the first time a regiment of militia drilled for the common defense of a multi-community area,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ng.mil/news/archives/2010/04/041310-salem.aspx |title=The National Guard – Guard celebrates 373rd First Muster on Salem Common |publisher=Ng.mil |date=2010-04-10 |access-date=2012-09-03  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607092441/http://www.ng.mil/news/archives/2010/04/041310-salem.aspx |archive-date=2012-06-07 }}</ref> thus laying the foundation for what became the [[Army National Guard]]. In 1637, the General Court of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] ordered the organization of the Colony's militia companies into the North, South and East Regiments. The colonists adopted the English militia system, which obligated men between the ages of 16 and 60 to own arms and take part in the community's defense.<ref name="defense.gov">{{cite web|title=Defense.gov News Article: Salem Takes Honor as National Guard's Birthplace|url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/id/119052/|work=defense.gov}}</ref><ref name="Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch">{{cite web|author=Sgt. 1st Class Don Veitch|date=20 August 2010|title=Salem designated as birthplace of the National Guard|url=https://www.army.mil/article/44060|work=army.mil}}</ref>

Each April, the Second Corps of Cadets gather in front of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, where the [[corpse|body]] of their founder, Stephen Abbott, is buried. They lay a wreath, play "[[Taps (bugle call)|Taps]]" and fire a [[21-gun salute]]. In another annual commemoration, soldiers gather at Old Salem Armory to honor soldiers who were [[death|killed]] in the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]]. On April 14, 2012, Salem celebrated the 375th anniversary of the first muster on Salem Common, with more than 1,000 troops taking part in ceremonies and a parade.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salemnews.com/local/x2108297794/Musters-375th-anniversary-today |title=Muster's 375th anniversary today » Local News » SalemNews.com, Salem, MA |publisher=Salemnews.com |date=2012-08-30 |access-date=2012-09-03}}</ref>

[[Samuel McIntire]] was one of the first architects in the United States, and his work is a prime example of early [[Federal-style architecture]]. The [[Chestnut Street District|Samuel McIntire Historic District]] is one of the largest concentrations of 17th and 18th century domestic structures in America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.salemweb.com/guide/arch/mdistrict.php|title=McIntire Historic District|website=www.salemweb.com|access-date=2017-10-11}}</ref> It includes McIntire commissions such as the [[Peirce-Nichols House]] and [[Hamilton Hall (Salem, Massachusetts)|Hamilton Hall]]. [[The Witch House]] or Jonathan Corwin House ({{circa|1642}}) is also located in the district. Samuel McIntire's house and workshop were located at 31 Summer Street in what is now the Samuel [[Chestnut Street District|McIntire Historic District]].