Camp Naumkeag
Camp Naumkeag near the Salem Willows began as a tuberculosis health day camp. Six years later the first buildings were built on the site. After the camp's buildings were destroyed by fire in 1930, it was rebuilt as the Salem Health Camp.
From 1944 to 1946, the camp was used by the Carpenter Street Home for Children. In 1946, the Rotary Club bought the buildings for the Salem Girl Scouts. The Girl Scout organization used the camp for the next 18 years, but decided in 1964 there wasn't enough land at the site and left the camp. A volunteer group, the Naumkeag Associates, Inc. ran the camp starting in 1964.This group was able to keep the camp open with various fundraising efforts until the camp was taken over by the city of Salem in 2002.
Salem's Park and Recreation Commission took over the operation of this city-owned area, with the manager of Winter Island doing the bookings for family and business outings at the camp.
Starting in 2011, the Salem YMCA leased the camp for summer day camp. In 2020, the YMCA stopped the use of the camp due to code violations.
Project "The Pioneer Village Living History Museum" has been in motion since 2017 to bring Pioneer Village to the site of Camp Naumkeag due to flooding concerns and incorporation of representation from the Massachusetts tribe. The relocation will be done via a barge and a new visitor center, "Gateway Pergola" with a narrative history of the village, and stories of indigenous and settler societies of Salem. The Massachusetts tribe has been involved in the project every step of the way.
More information can be found at salemma.gov/418/Camp-Naumkeag-Pioneer-Village.
See Also
- "Salem camp runs on volunteers", Salem Evening News, June 12, 1989.
- "City operates Camp Naumkeag at Salem Willows", Salem News, May 17, 2002.
- A history of health (Naumkeag Camp) by Jerome Curley Salem Patch
- "History on the move - Pioneer Village to be relocated to Camp Naumkeag site by barge" Salem Evening News June 4, 2026, p. A01
- Vertical File in Salem Collection- Camp Naumkeag
