The Salem Club Records

THE SALEM CLUB RECORDS, 1895-1922

Series List

Scope and Content Note

The Salem Club records document the activities and organization of this Salem, Massachusetts, club. The collection has been divided into four series.

Series I. Record Books includes bylaws, reports of meetings, and lists of visitors to the club.

Series II. Business Papers consists of papers of nominating committees and the Board of Directors, proposals for membership, lists of resident and non-resident members, reports of the treasurer and secretary, and financial statements and mortgages.

Series III. Correspondence includes letters of acceptance of membership and resignations from membership in the club. Among the correspondence is a letter from the White House dated May 13, 1909 written by the secretary to William Howard Taft accepting honorary membership for the President in the Salem Club, and a letter dated July 8, 1909 from Commander Albert L. Key of the U.S.S. Salem accepting an offer of hospitality of the Salem Club during the visit of that ship to the city of Salem. Also included in the miscellaneous correspondence are letters transferring members to non-resident member status.

Series IV. Miscellaneous includes announcements of activities, programs, and a volume of photographs of the building.

Historical Sketch

The Salem Club was established in 1895 as a social club located in a house on Washington Square, which was built by John Forrester in 1818-1819 and owned by George Peabody from 1834 to 1895. This private men's club featured a dining room, a billiard room, and a full schedule of social, cultural, and educational programs.

People who signed the agreement of membership at the time of adoption of the bylaws became members of the club. Thereafter, admission to the club was by election. No person under the age of 21 was admitted to the club. Membership was limited to people who, for more than six months of the year, resided, or had a regular place of business, within ten miles of City Hall in Salem. People outside this area were eligible as non-resident members. Annual dues for members were $30 and for non-resident members, $10.

Arthur L. Harrington was the first president of the Salem Club. A cook and staff of servants were employed so that meals could be served, and a number of rooms were available for members who wished to reside at the club. The Salem Club went out of existence in 1927 and the property was conveyed to the Bertram House for Aged Men.

Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in Philcat. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Copyright

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Manuscript Librarian in the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Preferred Citation

The Salem Club Records, MSS 284, Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

Provenance

The record books were donated by the Salem Club on November 16, 1927. The visitors' books were donated by Chester F. Voorhees on May 27, 1964. The photograph album was donated by J. Foster Smith on April 24, 1931. The remainder of the collection is from an unknown source.

Processing Information

Collection processed by Marion Clark, March 1996. Updated by Tamara Gaydos, December 2015.

Related Material

McAllister, Jim. "Salem Tales: Botable Salem Structures." Salem Massachusetts. Salem Web, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015. http://www.salemweb.com/tales/structures.php

Foster-Smith, J. President's address at the annual dinner, Jan. 10, 1920. E S1 C5 S3 1920 3