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The Salem Preservationist
Reporting historic preservation developments in the greater Salem area.
"Looking backward and forward to a Greater Salem"
 SPI and History Alive! Open the Village to public tours on August 4, 2007 (photo courtesy Rex Passion) SPI Lease on Pioneer Village extended through May '08 By John Goff At its regular monthly meeting at 5 Broad Street, Salem in January, 2007, the Salem Park & Recreation Commission voted to extend Salem Preservation Inc. (SPI)'s lease to restore and manage Pioneer Village from May '07 through May '08. SPI had been operating since 2003 on a short term lease to restore and manage the village, and presented arguments in December 2006 and January 2007 that longer term lease(s) would be required to be able to accelerate the Village's restoration. SPI proposed that a minimum twenty (20) year lease will be required to be able to guarantee security and proper management of a major village restoration. To support the transition from a short term to long term lease, the Park and Recreation Commission voted to extend SPI's current short term lease by one year, and then to issue a new Request For Proposals (RFP) for 20 year management and restoration of the property. Salem Preservation Inc. is collaborating with a number of other non-profits to accelerate both restoration and full-time re-opening of the museum property. During the summer of 2006, it hired professional roof thatcher William Cahill of Ohio to re-thatch the English Wigwam, and Scenery Houses 2, 3, and 4. It is currently working with History Alive! of Gordon College, the Danvers Alarm List Company (DALCO), Boy Scout Troop 83 of the Salem Boy Scouts, and others to both restore and operate the property. History Alive! has designed a special "Folkways" program, and has been opening the village to public tours on the Seventeenth Century Saturdays (see below). The Danvers Alarm List Company (DALCO) which owns and operates the 17th century Rebecca Nurse Homestead property in Danvers has also been opening the Museum Shop on the property with SPI, as a satellite branch of the Endecott Shop. Salem's Boy Scout Troop 83 has also been playing a lead role working to restore the village, and to reconstruct missing historic features. Eagle Scout candidates have been constructing bridges, repairing fences, and performing other needed tasks (see below). Prior to the January vote, Lief Rochna, a Salem businessman, expressed interest in taking over the management of Pioneer Village. For more information, see the Salem Gazette, January 19, 2007, article Group retains lease on Pioneer Village by Lisa Guerriero.  Boy Scouts logo Boy Scouts Make Multiple Commitments to Restore Pioneer Village by John Goff 2007, the Centennial Year of Scouting, has introduced a number of exciting new Scouting opportunities and possibilities in Salem, involving Salem in 1630: Pioneer Village. Salem's Boy Scout Troop 83 has worked with Salem Preservation, Inc. to enable Eagle Scout candidates to undertake restoration projects at Pioneer Village in order to attain Eagle Scout rank. The collaborations began in the Spring of 2007, with Ben Dibble and Nate Corbeil undertaking new projects in the village, located in Forest River Park. Ben Dibble supervised a much needed program of phragmites removal, field clearing, fence repair, tree removal, and fire hydrant testing in the village. Nate Corbeil supervised a program that involved removal of two rotted and inaccessible pedestrian bridges, and their replacement with two brand new bridges, constructed with materials provided by a City of Salem CDBG grant. (see related article below). They should last for at least 40 years under normal wear, and promise to provide handicapped accessibility to the village in a way that looks distinctly 17th century in character. In addition to the Eagle Scout projects described above, Salem Troop 83 in April 2007 voted to make a 5 year commitment to Salem Preservation Inc.'s ongoing restoration and improvement of Pioneer Village between the years 2007 and 2012. Many more restoration projects are being planned to more fully restore the village to its earlier grandeur. In addition, Boy Scouts from nearby Peabody are also planning to restore missing dugout structures and to undertake other projects to benefit Eagle Scout programs in Peabody as well. Salem Preservation, Inc. thanks its Boy Scout and Eagle Scout partners for assisting in the restoration of Pioneer Village, one of the city of Salem's Most Endangered Historic Resources.  Folkways! procession crosses new Eagle Scout Bridge (the east bridge) on August 4, 2007 (Photo courtesy Rex Passion) Old Bridges replaced with New Accessible Bridges at Pioneer Village by John Goff Two new "Eagle Scout Bridges" were constructed at Pioneer Village in 2007 using materials provided by the City of Salem's CDBG grant, labor donated and coordinated by Boy Scout Troop 83, and architectural design services donated by Historic Preservation & Design of Salem, MA. One of the bridges (the East Bridge) crosses a man-made stream that has traditionally been used to demonstrate colonial clothes laundering processes. The other (the West Bridge) crosses a gully that drains the nearby little league and Forest River Park parking area after it rains or snows. Both new bridges were designed to provide handicapped accessibility to the village, and easier circulation of wheelbarrows and wheeled vehicles in the village. Each has a new 6 inch thick timber deck made of pressure treated lumber for strength and longevity. The decks are secured to below-grade poured concrete footings for flood resistance. Each bridge has a superstructure (hand-rails and braces) made from manilla rope lashings and small maple trees that were cut and crafted on the property. The goal was to introduce new bridges that are 17th century in character. We think they are a great success! Thank you City of Salem, Eagle Scout Nate Corbeil, and Boy Scout Troop 83!  Folkways actors associated with Gordon College's History Alive! opened Pioneer Village to the public on four special Seventeenth Century Saturdays between June and September in 2007. History Alive! also produces Cry Innocent! At Salem's Old Town Hall. (Photograph courtesy Rex Passion, ) Salem in 1630: Pioneer Village Opened During 17th Century Saturdays by John Goff A new tourism initiative called "17th Century Saturdays" took Essex County by storm in 2007. 17th Century Saturdays is part of the regional Escapes North cultural tourism program. It is run by the North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Peabody Essex Museum in partnership with the Essex National Heritage Commission and Historic New England. The underlying idea was to begin to promote Essex County's high concentration of early settlement sites by encouraging multiple museums to offer complementary programming on special days. In Salem, the Witch House operated by the City of Salem, Gedney House operated by Historic New England, John Ward House operated by the PEM, Narbonne House operated by the National Park Service, and Salem in 1630: Pioneer Village operated by SPI all offered special programs. Special tours of Salem in 1630: Pioneer Village were offered on the first Saturdays in June, July, August and September, between 11:00am and 3:00pm. Modest admission prices were charged to support the village operations and restorations: $5.00 adult, $4.00 senior and $3.00 per child admission. To provide a high quality educational and tourism experience in 2007, SPI collaborated with Gordon College's History Alive! to create a new program, "Folkways: A Day in the Life of the Early Colonists." New replica 17th century costumes were also custom researched, designed and fabricated by Cherry Dawson, Milliner. The "Folkways" experience introduced 21st century visitors to Salem's 17th century settlement history, as well as to 17th century Crime & Punishment, Education & Worship, and Love & Courtship by providing a series of Vignettes of Village life, that were audience-interactive. Many Puritan era daily activities such as gardening, herb use, clothing repair, games and entertainment, blacksmithing and ironworking, were visible on the 17th Century Saturdays, and the open village days were met with good public turnout and rave reviews.
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