Narbonne House — Attraction in Salem

I'm a Salem resident and I am on a mission to tour all the local attractions AND historical houses.

About this one:

I visited the Narbonne House in 2023 during Salem Ancestry Days. I often drive in front of it so I was very curious! I have never seen it opened, so I asked a park ranger who kindly explained that it has been closed lately because of Covid, but they plan to open it more often to the public this year.

The Narbonne House is part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, which is the first of its kind in the United States.

What it is:

The Narbonne House is an interesting example of a middle-class family home from the 1600s (built specifically is 1675 for butcher Thomas Ives). On the Salem Maritime National Historic Site website you can read all its history and of its residents across the centuries.

Entrance is from the back facing the big yard of this property. At the time of my visit, only the first floor was open to the public, that includes the kitchen, a small area that served as a shop and the living areas with a display of recovered artifacts. Because it was a special open house, there was a "special appearance" by Miss Mary Narbonne (who lived in the house until her death in 1905) who answered questions from visitors. Kudos to the actress, who answered my questions even though they were not "as if" she was Mary Narbonne (sorry, I am never good at talking to historical impersonators 😊).

There was also a park ranger who explained, among other things, the stages of the house through the various additions and modifications.

The website mentions that the "Narbonne House has not been restored to one time period. Instead, Salem Maritime is preserving it as an architectural study house to show how the structure changed over the nearly 330 years of its existence". This means that the condition of the house reflects the wear of time and it is not furnished.

PROs

This is a very interesting and of historical relevance example of a house built in the 1600s and that went through several changes and many owners and residents. It is definitely worth a visit if you find it open to the public while visiting the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.

It's free.

CONs

It is typically closed, although it might be opened more this year. The only way to know is by checking the Salem Maritime National Historic Site website or asking at the information desk of the park. --- UPDATE: this summer (2023) the Narbonne House is going to be open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays 10am-12pm --

Also, just be aware that this is not a place to visit to get a nice picture 😊 (at least the inside). It reminded me of the Gedney House, although the Narbonne House is definitely not down to its bare bones as the other...

Narbonne House. c. 1675. in the Historic Maritime District

This tallest section of the structure is the initial home, & retains the original roof & chimney. One of the unique facts making this building so special is its history of nearly 300 years of continued occupation, 200 years of which are members of one family. The house is named for Sarah Narbonne. Owned by 3 other families previously, the house was actually built for a butcher named Thomas Ives. Sarah Narbonne was born in the house, & lived there her entire life, nearly a century. She was the granddaughter of John Andrews, who had purchased the property in 1780. Sarah lived in the home with her daughter, Mary. They were both seamstresses, & they also owned a cent shop in the northeast portion of the home. After Mary's death in 1905, the home was owned by Frank Hale's family, Mary's cousins, & eventually purchased by the National Park Service. Unlike the magnificent houses that grace Chestnut Street, the Narbonne house represents people of modest means. Residents of homes like these provided the backbone of Salem’s economy before, during & after her maritime shipping supremacy.

Narbonne House is a contributing property to the Salem Maritime National Historic site, the first National Historic Site established in the...

I worked on this house in the mid-1970s before it opened to the public. We worked in the basement to insert steel rods and pump cement grout into the bottom of the chimney. The chimney is unique bc it was built one brick thick to save on bricks. We stabilized its foundation for the Park Service in order to preserve its long-term integrity. I hadn't seen it since then, but enjoyed seeing the pictures on the website. I'd like to visit in person sometime, now that...