Salem dates to 1626, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #3 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
47 places in town are on the National Register, among them 8 National Historic Landmarks and ten historic districts with 1,381 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1773.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Salem’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Salem is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs put Salem near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Salem’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Salem’s 397 sits above most of its state (89% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 1,777 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1626.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Salem’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 8 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
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, Nahumkek, Neumkeage) 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 to the 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.
Passages that mention Salem, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Salem, Massachusetts1924 · page 399Read the page →
Read the text
HE establishment of the town of Beverly and the Salem Village and Middle Precinct parishes left the people living on Rial Side without any religious parish, except the town of Salem, from which it was separated by Danvers River, being practically isolated. Salem will¬ ingly assisted in remedying the conditions, and, Feb. n, 1711-2, voted that the inhabitants of Rial-side be allowed, with some of their neighbors of the Village, on the northward of Frost-fish
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Salem, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Salem. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1888Salem sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Salem.
Every building
Salem, building by building, 1890–1906
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1626, according to Wikidata. Salem’s post office opened in 1773, and the first U.S. census counted 7,921 people here in 1790.
How does Salem rank for history?
Salem is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #3 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Salem?
47 listings, 8 of them National Historic Landmarks: 28 buildings, among them the Nathaniel Bowditch House (a National Historic Landmark since 1965), 15 historic districts with 1,381 contributing buildings, 3 sites, and 1 structure. 1,777 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Salem?
51% of Salem’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1938.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (7), the National Register of Historic Places (47), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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