The Pickering House
Welcome to Salem’s Oldest Home! When seeing Salem, start where it all began. The Pickering Foundation welcomes you to an extraordinary place!
It is not only Salem’s oldest House, but also America’s oldest Home: home to a single family for over three and a half centuries; home to carpenters, farmers, patriots, military leaders, deacons, diplomats, linguists, scientists, and statesmen. And as homes will, it changed with the times.
Built in 1660 by settler John Pickering — a carpenter form Coventry, England — and his wife Elizabeth, it was once just a two-room farmhouse on a vast plot of land that ran all the way down to the seaport on the North River, encompassing what is today Chestnut Street and the McIntire District.
Over the next 350 years, the succeeding John Pickerings and their wives added wings, gables, and Gothic peaks. They raised ceilings, extended the roofline, and created the distinctive fence, to evolve into the warm and gracious home it is today.
You are cordially invited to come and see a piece of Salem history that is very much alive!
Donate with Paypal to help support this Home and Mission:Upcoming Events
Cereal Chats: Children’s book readings from Author Kathleen Fox
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Open to Pickering Foundation members only until 2 weeks prior to event, when tickets will open to the public. Members: refer to Members-Only email for details.
11:30 am at Pickering House: 18 Broad Street, Salem
Members: $20, Non-members: $25
Chowder Lecture: Pickering’s Kidnapping and the Pennamite Wars with Kathleen Earle
Sunday, March 23, 2025
Open to Pickering Foundation members only until 2 weeks prior to event, when tickets will open to the public. Members: refer to Members-Only email for details.
11:30 am at Pickering House: 18 Broad Street, Salem
Members: $20, Non-members: $25