1956 Map of Salem

About this map

Salem and the surrounding North Shore towns are documented here in a period of significant mid-century expansion, where the historical maritime identity meets the modernizing highway age. The map illustrates the complex waterway network of the Danvers River and its tributaries, including the Waters River and Porter River, defining the geography of Danversport and Beverly. On the western hills, the extensive grounds of the Danvers State Hospital and St Johns Preparatory Sch dominate the landscape near Hathorne. In Salem, the layout of the old city is preserved alongside notable landmarks such as the House of Seven Gables and the State Teachers College. The mapping of numerous local schools and cemeteries, like the sprawling Harmony Grove Cemetery and Puritan Lawn Cem, offers a detailed record of the community's social and memorial landscape before later twentieth-century development further altered these Essex County towns.