Audio Guide: Salem Maritime National Historic Site Tour (Self Guided), Salem

For centuries, Salem’s waterfront was where fortunes were made, ships arrived from distant lands, and goods from around the world changed hands. Today, you can walk along the same wharves where this maritime drama once unfolded.

Salem Maritime National Historic Site preserves an important part of the city’s historic waterfront and tells the story of Salem’s rise from a colonial port to one of America’s major centers of international trade. Established in 1938, it was the first National Historic Site in the United States. The site includes historic wharves, warehouses, houses, and other buildings that bring Salem’s maritime past to life.

At the heart of the site is Derby Wharf, first developed in 1762 by merchant Richard Derby and his son, Elias Hasket Derby. As their trading business grew, the wharf was extended to more than 2,000 feet. In Salem’s busiest years, more than 50 wharves lined the harbor, crowded with ships, merchants, sailors, and cargo from around the world.

One of the highlights is the Friendship of Salem, a full-scale replica of an 18th-century merchant ship. The original Friendship, launched in 1797, sailed to ports in China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Spain, and Venezuela, carrying and bringing back goods such as pepper, silk, sugar, and coffee.

Across from the wharf stands the elegant U.S. Custom House, built in 1819. Customs officials once collected duties on the goods arriving in Salem, while one of its employees was the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, who worked here as a customs surveyor. His experience later became part of the inspiration for The Scarlet Letter.

As you walk through Salem Maritime, it is easy to see that the city’s story goes far beyond the famous witch trials. Here, Salem’s history is written not only in court records and legends, but also in ships, warehouses, wharves, and the sea itself.