House of the Seven Gables

The House of the Seven Gables is a seventeenth-century mansion on Derby Street in Salem, Massachusetts. The timber structure shows multiple gabled fronts and faces the harbor and the bay beyond with its rooms.

Ship owner John Turner built the residence in 1668 and three generations of his family occupied it into the eighteenth century. Caroline Emmerton acquired the property at the beginning of the twentieth century and converted it into a museum with an educational mission.

The novel setting brought the building to a wide readership and turned it into a symbol of early American life. Visitors see furniture and everyday items from settler times and experience the domestic culture of wealthy merchant families at the harbor.

Tours lead through the interior rooms and the garden, and the writer's birthplace is accessible as well. The site opens daily and welcomes visitors from late morning until early evening.

The educational center still offers English courses and citizenship preparation for newcomers today, continuing the social work that began here over a century ago. This part of the operation remains unknown to many visitors, even though it runs alongside the museum activities.