Project Goals

The proposed project presents an opportunity to make interpretive connections with Salem’s complex history and future.  The land that is now known as Salem was home to the Naumkeag band of the Massachusett tribe for millennia before the arrival of the English settlers.  The representation of indigenous peoples in the original Pioneer Village was through the eyes of George Frances Dow, not as they saw themselves.  In addition to creating an authentic connection with the indigenous history of the tribe, the project offers the opportunity to connect to Salem’s geological history, the colonial (also known as First Period) architecture and culture, the Revolutionary War era as represented by Fort Lee, the origins of Camp Naumkeag and the Willows as treatment sites during public health epidemics, the development of the Willows as a leisure destination, the Colonial Revival and the origination of living history in America, and the impact of and responses to climate change throughout history and into the future.

 Salem Geology

 Massachusetts Nation

  Fort Lee

 Pioneer Village Flyer

  Willows Postcard