Arts & Culture
The Peabody Museum of Salem grew from Salem’s maritime past and from collections first assembled by the East India Marine Society, founded in 1799 by captains and merchants involved in overseas trade. Centered in East India Marine Hall on Essex Street, built in 1824–25, the institution evolved from the Peabody Academy of Science, organized in 1868 with support from George Peabody of London, into the Peabody Museum in 1915. Its collections spanned natural history, ethnology, and maritime history, including material from Hawaii, Japan, the Marquesas Islands, and New Zealand. After later consolidations, it became part of the Peabody Essex Museum in 1992, while preserving what is regarded as the oldest continuously operating museum collection in the United States.
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Salem, Massachusetts · United States
