Salem, Massachusetts
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Image:Salem, MA Seal.jpg Salem is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 40,407. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex CountyTemplate:GR. The name Salem is related to the Hebrew word shalom and the Arabic word "Salam", both meaning 'peace'.
Many people associate the city with the Salem witch trials of 1692, which the city embraces both as a source of tourism and culture - police cars are adorned with witch logos, a local public school is known as the Witchcraft Heights Elementary School, the Salem High School football team is named The Witches, and Gallows Hill, a site of numerous public hangings, is currently used as a playing field for various sports.
However, Salem's real importance in American history lies at its status as an often used port for East Indies trade. The city played a leading role in the American China trade.
Image:Salem mass.jpg One of Salem's most notable sons was Nathaniel Bowditch, who published The New American Practical Navigator. This work began as Bowditch's corrections of John Hamilton Moore's navigation tables. He found over 8000 innacuracies while sailing from Salem to the East Indies. The book, still in use, is in its 78th printing.
Image:House of the Seven Gables (front angle) - Salem, Massachusetts.JPG Salem is home to The House of the Seven Gables, made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was born in Salem in 1804. Hawthorne worked in the Customs House by Pickering Wharf, which would serve as insipiration for the opening scene in The Scarlet Letter. The city is also home to a large collection of Federal Style mansions. Many of these were the work of architect and woodcarver Samuel McIntire, for whom the city's largest Historic District is named.
Tourists know Salem as a mix of important historical sites, New Age and Wiccan boutiques, and kitschy Halloween-witch-themed attractions. Controversy arose in 2005 when TV Land—a cable television network featuring old sitcom re-runs—erected a bronze statue of Elizabeth Montgomery, who played the comic witch "Samantha" in the 1960s series Bewitched. A few special episodes of the series were actually filmed in Salem, and TV Land said that the statue commemorated the 35th anniversary of those episodes. Controversy arose; some felt the statue was good fun and appropriate to a city that promotes itself as "The Witch City" and contains a street named "Witch Way." Others objected to the use of public property for what was transparently commercial promotion. Some felt that the statue trivialized history by encouraging visitors to recall a sitcom rather than the tragic Salem witch trials. Local historian John Carr was quoted in Time Magazine as saying "it's like TV Land going to Auschwitz and proposing to erect a statue of Colonel Klink."
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History
Salem was founded around 1626 by a company of fishermen led by Roger Conant. He was later supplanted by the governor sent by the Massachusetts Bay Company, John Endicott.
At the time of the Salem witch trials, the present day city of Salem was named "Salem Town". Most of the accused in the trials lived in the nearby "Salem Village", part of which is now named Danvers, Massachusetts. Salem Village included all of Danvers and Peabody, Massachusetts, and parts of present-day Beverly, Massachusetts.
In 1790, Salem was the sixth largest city in the country. Large parts of Salem were destroyed in the fire of 1914.
Geography
Image:Salem ma highlight.png Salem is located at 42°31'1" North, 70°53'55" West (42.516845, -70.898503)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.8 km² (18.1 mi²). 21.0 km² (8.1 mi²) of it is land and 25.8 km² (9.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 55.09% water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 40,407 people, 17,492 households, and 9,708 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,926.1/km² (4,986.0/mi²). There were 18,175 housing units at an average density of 866.3/km² (2,242.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.37% White, 3.15% African American, 0.22% Native American, 2.00% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 6.74% from other races, and 2.47% from two or more races. 11.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 17,492 households out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.5% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $44,033, and the median income for a family was $55,635. Males had a median income of $38,563 versus $31,374 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,857. 9.7% of the population and 6.3% of families were below the poverty line. 12.2% of those under the age of 18 and 7.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Points of interest
Image:Nathaniel Hawthorne statue - Salem, Massachusetts.JPG
- Nathaniel Bowditch House
- Crowninshield-Bentley House
- John Tucker Daland House
- Gedney House
- Nathaniel Hawthorne Birthplace
- The House of the Seven Gables
- Misery Islands
- Peabody Essex Museum - A major museum of Asian art and culture, as well as a leading museum of early American maritime trade and whaling. Its collections of Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese art, and in particular Chinese export porcelain, are among the finest in the United States.
- Pickering House, Broad Street
- Ropes Mansion
- Salem Maritime National Historic Site - The only remaining intact waterfront from the U.S. age of sail.
Further reading
- In the Devil's Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, Mary Beth Norton, Knopf, 2002, hardcover, 432 pages, ISBN 037540709x
External links
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