House of the Seven Gables

• The House of the Seven Gables was built in 1668 for Capt. John Turner, a successful merchant, and remained in his family for three generations. "Facing south toward the harbor, it was at first a two-room, two-and-one-half-story, central-chimney plan with two "Gothic" cross-gables in front" according to Tolles in his book, Architecture in Salem.

• The house was altered and added onto for many years, adding a wing and a garret with three gables.
• We are perhaps most familiar with the house through Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous book The House of the Seven Gables.
• In 1908, the house was bought by the House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association, founded by Caroline O. Emmerton who used the admission fees to help support the Association's nearby settlement house. The Association was set up to help support immigrant's families, especially Polish immigrants, with services like literacy and job placement and was a community center for social activities as well. Today it still has many active programs.

See Also

• Vertical File in Salem Collection - House of the Seven Gables

• The Turner-Ingersoll House, aka the House of the Seven Gables Hawthorne in Salem website

• House of the Seven Gables Museum website

• Chronicles of Three Old Houses by Caroline O. Emmerton

• "New visitor center opens at House of the Seven Gables" Salem Evening News, Aug. 13, 1994, p.1

• "New Gables director wants to reconnect with North Shore" Salem News, Apr.3, 2008, p.2

• "Gables to celebrate pick as national historic landmark" Salem News, Sept. 17, 2007. p.A2

• Architecture in Salem by Bryant F. Tolles, Jr., p. 63