Pickering House

Located at 18 Broad Street, this house has been owned and lived in by ten successive generations of Pickerings, making it the oldest house in the United States to have been continuously occupied by one family. The most famous family member to reside there was Col. Timothy Pickering(1745-1829).

The first part of the house was built in 1651 and the building was added on to many times over the years. Gables were added in 1722 and the roofline extended in the back. The front facade was rendered Gothic-like in 1841 by John Pickering (1777-1846) and the cut-out fence with finial-capped posts were added then also.

The house contains many magnificent heirlooms. In the library are letters from George Washington and other prominent early statesmen. The house and property were deeded to a charitable foundation in 1951, called the Pickering Foundation.

The Pickering House is opened to the public on a limited basis.
Chronological Order of the Owners: 1) John and Elizabeth Pickering (1651-1657). Carpenter and farmer, he built the house in 1651. 2) John and Alice (Flint) Pickering (1657-1671). 3) John and Sarah (Burrill) Pickering. 4) Timothy and Mary (Wingate) Pickering (1722-1778). 5) John Pickering (1778-1811) 6) John and Sarah (White) Pickering (1811-1846) 7) John and Mehitable (Cox) Pickering 8) John and Anna Dane (Varney) Pickering (1888-1947) 9) John and Ruth (Benson) Pickering (1947-1965) 10)John and Sarah (Coughlan) Pickering (1965-1997) 11. Henry Pickering (1997) Caretakers Tag and Sherrie Goodhue took over as caretakers in 1998.

A new lecture series began in January of 2014 at the Pickering House monthly on Sunday afternoons. Local historians will present lectures to attendees on various Salem history topics.

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