Pioneer Village, also known as Salem 1630: Pioneer Village, is a

living history museum A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recrea ...

recreating the city of Salem as it was in the 17th century. Opened in June 1930, it was the first museum of its kind in the United States. The village was created for visitors to experience the lives of early English settlers instead of reading about them. Visitors can see a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

’s shop, a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

, a saltworks, gardens, fireplaces, a Dugout, a

Wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup' ...

, and

thatched roof Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

cottages. The featured attraction upon opening was the Governor’s House, a “fayre house” representing what the house might have looked like after it had been disassembled in Cape Ann, brought over to Salem, and rebuilt for Governor John Endicott in 1628. Dimensional details for the replica had been worked out by George Francis Dow. Pioneer Village is currently operated by the City of Salem's Witch House, a 17th-century home once owned by witchcraft trials judge, Jonathan Corwin.

Site history

Joseph Everett Chandler, an architect, and George Francis Dow conceived the village as a means to demonstrate life in 1630. They "engaged other experts and architects to help pull it off" before the Tercentenary celebrations. Noted landscape architect Harlan Page Kelsey drew up the plan. Philip Horton Smith planned the restoration of the Ruck House. They created one of "America's first living history museums" which the city of Salem committed to preserve in perpetuity." The site was created in 1930 as the set for a play, held in Forest River Park in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

. Audience members sat in the park and watched the re-creation of what Salem, Massachusetts, may have looked like in June 1630 upon the arrival of

John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...

and the families of

Thomas Dudley Thomas Dudley (12 October 157631 July 1653) was a New England colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Dudley was the chief founder of Newtowne, later Cambridge, Massachusetts, and built the tow ...

and

Simon Bradstreet Simon Bradstreet (baptized March 18, 1603/4In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on March 25. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, dates between January and Ma ...

, including America's first published

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

of significance,

Anne Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet ( née Dudley; March 8, 1612 – September 16, 1672) was the most prominent of early English poets of North America and first writer in England's North American colonies to be published. She is the first Puritan figure in ...

, daughter of Thomas and wife of Simon. A replica of the

Arbella ''Arbella'' or ''Arabella'' was the flagship of the Winthrop Fleet on which Governor John Winthrop, other members of the Company (including William Gager), and Puritan emigrants transported themselves and the Charter of the Massachusetts Bay Co ...

, the flagship of the

Winthrop Fleet The Winthrop Fleet was a group of 11 ships led by John Winthrop out of a total of 16 funded by the Massachusetts Bay Company which together carried between 700 and 1,000 Puritans plus livestock and provisions from England to New England over th ...

, was also built at this time. The set was meant to be temporary, but its popularity with the people of

Essex County, Massachusetts Essex County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the state, and the eightieth-most populous in the countr ...

led to it being saved from re-development. Salem Pioneer Village, the first living history museum in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, opened in June 1930. In 2020 the City of Salem, under the leadership of Mayor Kim Driscoll, began a project that would destroy the Camp Naumkeag cultural landscape located in another part of Salem, and move some but not all of the buildings from Pioneer Village to the Camp Naumkeag site. The result would be the destruction of both historic cultural landscapes. The project violates clauses of the Rehabilitation Treatment in the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for the Treatment of Historic Properties - the standard for preservation in the United States. The project violates the clause prohibiting moving structures from one historic site to another historic site. The reasons and justifications for the project are disputed and some Salem residents are resisting the project. In 1986 the Salem Historical Commission deemed Pioneer Village historic and attempted to have it listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was not listed at that time. A 2021 inventory of historic structures reaffirmed the historic nature of the site, expanded the categories for preservation and again recommended listing Pioneer Village on the National Register. Camp Naumkeag is currently in a demolition delay period, the city has not indicated that it would consider a demolition delay for the Pioneer Village cultural landscape and the future of America's first living history museum is uncertain.

Tours and events

Tours of the village are available Saturday and Sunday, due to

Covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

reduced occupancy self-guided tours are available every 10 minutes from 12-4. Face-masks and social distancing are required. October programming normally features evening tours and performances.

In popular culture

*In 1993, Pioneer Village was used to represent 1693 Salem in the opening scene of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

'' Hocus Pocus'', released by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

References

External links

Pioneer Village Website

Salem Preservation, Inc

Town of Salem article
* {{authority control 1930 establishments in Massachusetts Living museums in Massachusetts Museums established in 1930 Museums in Salem, Massachusetts University museums in Massachusetts