Mapping a Century of Salem, 1926-2026 examines the transformation of Salem over the past 100 years. Curated by Salem State University’s College of Arts and Sciences and Frederick E. Berry Library and Archives, the exhibit focuses on the last one hundred years of Salem’s fascinating history, exploring key themes and highlighting the individuals, institutions, communities, and characteristics that make one of the country’s oldest cities also one of its most interesting.

The exhibit begins by looking back at how the city celebrated the 300th anniversary of its founding, before launching into an examination of several developments and themes that have characterized its last hundred years.

Using a wealth of archival materials, oral histories, photographs, and ephemera, Mapping a Century of Salem details how the Salem of the 1920s-1940s functioned as a walkable, “fifteen-minute” city, and it devotes considerable space to documenting how a variety of Salem’s communities navigated the trials of the Great Depression, a global war, and the transition to the second half of the twentieth century.

The exhibit devotes considerable time and space to celebrating the ways that migrants and new immigration patterns have shaped the city’s culture over these years, outlining the debates over the destruction and preservation of urban renewal, and documenting the development of the city’s (sometimes uneasy) embrace of its “Witch City” identity.

Mapping a Century of Salem, 1926-2026 draws upon the expertise and creativity of Salem State University’s faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, administrators, and staff. Representatives from more than a dozen departments and offices, as well as some external partners, played key roles in the research, writing, and design of the exhibit. We hope that you find that their exhibit offers something to those who have lived in Salem all their lives and to those who are visiting only for the day.