Newsweek Names The House of the Seven Gables ‘Best Historical Home’ in US
The Salem home, which was built in 1668, was once the residence of author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The House of the Seven Gables
Getty ImagesA historic Salem landmark - The House of the Seven Gables - has been named the Best Historical Home for 2025 in Newsweek's Readers' Choice poll.
The home, which was built in 1668, was once the residence of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne wrote about the home in his 1851 novel The House of the Seven Gables.
Throughout its life, the home's owners have included Susannah Ingersoll, Hawthorne's cousin, who owned the property for much of the 19th century. Salem philanthropist Caroline Emmerton purchased the home in 1910 and restored the house, opening it to the public as a museum and a Settlement House.
Today, the house continues to offer public tours, while also providing support services for new immigrants, including free English language and citizenship classes.
The house was named a National Historic Landmark in 2007.
"It is important that we tell stories that speak to all our visitors," said Dakota Russell, executive director of The House of the Seven Gables, in a Patch of Salem report. "Over the past few years, we have worked hard to highlight the histories of the women who lived here and of the house's indentured and enslaved laborers. We also try to give voice to the Indigenous people who were here first and to the immigrant communities who came to call Salem home."
