Important Dates in Salem's History

• 1626-- Roger Conant leaves Cape Ann Colony and founds Naumkeag.

• June 24, 1629-- Naumkeag is renamed Salem. Name came from Psalm 76:2 "In Salem also his tabernacle, and his dwelling."

• July 6, 1630--Mass Bay Governor John Endicott lands at Salem.

• December 13, 1636--Salem takes up the First Muster of the East Regiment, consisting of men willing to defend Massachusetts from the Pequot Indians at the present day Salem Common. This is the beginning of the US National Guard.

• March 1, 1692-- First examinations take place in Salem Witch Trials.

• May 27, 1692--Governor Phips convenes the court to investigate allegations of witchcraft.

• June 10, 1692-- Bridget Bishop is hanged for witchcraft.

• May 1693-- Governor Phips pardons all on "Death Row" for witchcraft.

• February 26, 1775-- By raising the draw bridge, townspeople prevented Col. Leslie and his British troops from seizing patriot army stores and ammunition, hidden in North Salem. This event is the first armed resistance against British authority and is known as Leslies Retreat.

• July 10, 1786-- The Second Corps of Cadets was formed, they serve the Nation continually to 2006 when the 102nd Field Artillery (which they were reorganized as during WWI) cased their colors. 

• 1788--The First Essex Bridge connecting Salem to Beverly is erected

• April 13, 1796--Jacob Crowninshield on the ship America arrived in the US with the nations first elephant.

• July 4, 1804--Writer Nathaniel Hawthorne is born in a modest house on Mall Street.

• May 1, 1805--The Salem Light Infantry is formed.

• August 10, 1831--William Driver of Salem, nicknamed the US flag "Old Glory."

• March 23, 1836-- Salem in incorporated as a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

• May 12, 1836--Salem officially appointed itself a city marshal. Thus establishing the Salem Police.

• September 6, 1837--The Cornerstone is laid for Salem's City Hall. The building is still in use and it the nations second oldest continually used city hall buildings. It's cost was $22,878.

• August 27, 1838--Boston & Maine Rail Road Salem Depot Built.

• February 12, 1877--Alexander Graham Bell publicly debuts the Telephone at the Lyceum Hall on Church Street.

• April 18, 1861--Members of the Salem Light Infantry depart from Boston aboard the USS Constitution for Maryland to enter into the Civil War.

• April 7, 1882--Salem's B&M Train Depot catches Fire

• 1896-- The final incarnation of the Essex Bridge was built to replace the old bridge.

• 1906--E.W. Hobbs at the Salem Willows Pavilion sold Salem's first ice cream cone.

• June 17, 1913--Salem dedicates a statue near the common to its founder Roger Conant.

• June 25, 1914--A fire erupts in the "Blubber Hollow" section of Salem, it soon engulfs nearly 1/4 of the city. Calls go out to various municipal fire departments for aide. This event is known today as the Great Salem Fire.

• October 20, 1923--Joseph H. Choate statue is unveiled.

• February 15, 1935--The US Coast Guard opens an air station at Winter Island. It patrolled the coast from Canada to New York City.

• March 25, 1947--The US Navy launched the third incarnation of the USS Salem, which can be seen today in Quincy, Mass.

• August 3, 1952--Four Unidentified Flying Objects were photographed hovering near Salem Harbor Station. This photograph was taken by a Coast Guardsmen stationed at the nearby air station.

• August 29, 1970--The Coast Guard air station at Winter Island in Salem closes it's doors.

• February 22, 1982--Salem's National Guard Armory is set on Fire.

• October 8, 1982--Sack Cinema Opens in Salem. this is now CinemaSalem.

• March 1, 1985--The department store Almy's closed its doors after 123 years in business on Essex St.

• June 1989--Salem Native Jeff Juden is drafted in the 1st round (12th overall) by the Houston Astros.

• February 15, 1991--Salem's Jail closes it's doors after 379 years of service in Salem and 180 years at that location.

• November 1, 1991--Parker Brothers Closes if's Salem offices and factory, when they were bought by Hasbro.

• September 15, 1991--Jeff Juden makes his Major League Pitching Debut against the Cincinnati Reds

• August 6, 1996--Veterans Memorial Bridge is dedicated, ending more than a century of traffic problems with the old drawbridge.

• March 13, 1996--Rich's Department Stores of Salem Files for Bankruptcy and closes several stores.

• March 1997--Rich's Department Stores closes remaining stores.

• June 16, 2005--TV Land Television Network graces Salem with a statue dedicated to the television series Bewitched

• November 8, 2005--The voters of Salem by nearly 2/3 elected their first female Mayor Kim Driscoll.

• July 15, 2006--The 102nd Field Artillery cases their colors and is merged with the 101st Field Artillery, although the 102nd hasn't had a battery in 24 years their history dates back to 1786 with the second corps of cadets in Salem.

• August 18, 2008--The Bridge Street Bypass Road opens to traffic, thus completing Salem's last road.

• September 30, 2011--The Bridge Street Bypass is officially renamed in honor of the first Salem resident to die in combat since Vietnam, Sgt. James Ayube II.