The Chronicles of Three Old Houses

by Caroline O Emmerton

Genres: History

61 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1908 Caroline Emmerton bought an old home on the waterfront in Salem, Massachusetts, the very house made famous some years before in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES. The house no longer had 7 gables, and was in need of a great deal of preservation and restoration work. Emerson was active in the Settlement movement, developed in order to aid new immigrants through all kinds of classes and clubs, to settle into life in their new country and neighborhood. She bought the home in order to use it to raise funds for the movement, and as a place to hold many of the associated meetings and activities.

In "Chronicles", she tells the story of the changes in the house that she discovered through research, and with the help of architectural experts, and how she was able to restore the seven gables back to life. She had two other old Salem homes moved to the property, and she describes their history as well. Today, a fourth house, Hawthorne's birthplace, resides on the site. Together this little village continues to educate and entertain the public about local architectural, literary, and maritime history, and to aid immigrants with English language and citizenship prep classes.