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Salem, MA - Essex County
Helpful Links   Town Profile   Useful Phone Numbers  

City Hall
93 Washington Street
Salem, MA 01970
(978) 745-9595

Chamber of Commerce
265 Essex Street
Salem, MA 01970
Tel: (978) 744-0004
Helpful Links

Community Website
Salem Public Library
Salem Schools

Town Profile top of page

Salem is an historic seaside community located approximately 16 miles north of Boston. From its days as one of the earliest landing sites of the English colonists, to its rise as the first major port in the United States, to its trailblazing efforts in opening up the East Indian trade, to its heyday as a thriving hub of American commerce and the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Salem's historical legacy is rich. Unfortunately, a well-known blemish on that legacy involved the infamous Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692.

Nonetheless, the City's golden years have left her modern inhabitants with architectural treasures, fine museums, and a sparkling literary heritage. Equally important, the development of Salem has produced a rich ethnic history, to which people of all races, creeds, colors and origins have contributed over the generations. Even today, Salem services children speaking no less than 20 different languages in its public school system.

Long a trading, manufacturing and retail center, Salem has been making a slow, and sometimes painful, transition to a service-based economy. The City today serves as the home of Salem State College, the North Shore Medical Center, the Essex County District Superior and Probate Courts, and Registry of Deeds, the world-famous Peabody Essex Museum, and a host of banks and other financial institutions. It is the educational, medical, legal, cultural and banking hub of the North Shore.


Useful Phone Numbers

Organization Phone Number
Police Dept., non-emergency (978) 744-0171
Fire Dept., non-emergency (978) 744-6990
City Hall (978) 745-9595
City Clerk (978) 745-9595 x.5611
Treasurer/Tax Collector (978) 745-9595 x.5621
School Administration (978) 740-1212
Public Library (978) 744-0860
Recreation (978) 744-0733
Harbormaster (978) 741-0098
Water Department (978) 745-9595 x.5674
Housing Authority (978) 744-4431
Fuel Assistance (978) 531-0767, x136
Health, Board of (978) 745-9595 x.5654

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