History is for Everyone

MA, USA

Peabody Essex Museum

Museum

One of the oldest continuously operating museums in America, founded in 1799 by Salem sea captains. The maritime collections document the port's global trade networks and wartime privateering economy. Holdings include logbooks, navigational instruments, and captured ship inventories from the Revolutionary period.

What Happened Here

Founded as the East India Marine Society, the museum's early members were required to have sailed beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Many were former privateers.

Visiting Today

Address

161 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970

Hours

Tue-Sun 10am-5pm

Admission

$20 adults, free for Salem residents

Accessibility

Fully accessible with elevators to all floors

Connected Events

Feb 1775
Leslie's Retreat

Colonel Alexander Leslie

Apr 1775
Apr 1775
Captain John Derby Carries News to London

Elias Hasket Derby, Captain John Derby, Sarah Derby

Sep 1775
Salem Privateering Operations Begin

Elias Hasket Derby, Captain John Derby, Sarah Derby

May 1776
First Derby Privateer Sails

Elias Hasket Derby, Captain John Derby, Sarah Derby