On July 4, 1804, one of America's most prominent writers - Nathaniel Hawthorne - was born in a modest house on
Union Street in Salem. This house, which was eventually moved a few blocks down the street to The House of the Seven Gables, has been restored as it might have appeared in 1808.
Although he spent only a few years in this house, the events that took place here would affect him for the rest of his life. One of the most dramatic days involved his father, a sea captain, who sailed on many ships out of Surinam. When Nathaniel was four years old, his father left for a voyage to South America, never to return. In 1808, Hawthorne's father died in Surinam of yellow fever. Soon after, Nathaniel Hawthorne's mother sold the house, and moved her children to her parent's home. The furnishings presented in the house underscore the beginnings of this - now famous - writer. They illustrate the life of a Salem family of modest means, and the maritime roots of his forebears.
This model has been recently remastered and enhanced with a layout.
Hawthorne lived in this house for only a few years. His fatherdied during a sea voyage in 1808 of yellow fever. His mother soldthe house and moved to another located in Salem. She became overlyprotective of her son, the result being the young Nathaniel becameshy and bookish.
After many years of writing, Hawthorne wrote The ScarletLetter in 1850. The immediate success of the book allowed Hawthorneto devote himself to writing. Hawthorne's other major work isThe House of the Seven Gables, published in 1851. Hawthorne passedaway on May 19.
The House of the Seven Gables in Salem, Massachusetts,has always been associated with Nathaniel Hawthorne and his famousnovel by that name. His spinster cousin, Susan Ingersoll, livedin this old Elizabethan house built in 1668, and Hawthorne wasone of the few men permitted to cross the threshold. He wroteThe Scarlet Letter in Salem, but The House of the Seven Gableswas written in a cottage in the Berkshires. Hawthorne once servedas the surveyor of the Port of Salem, and his desk at the CustomHouse is still in place.