HSI Position on the Pioneer Village move to Camp Naumkeag Site

​Pioneer Village was constructed in 1930 as part of the Tercentenary celebrations of Massachusetts’ founding.  It is America’s first open air living history museum and enjoyed great success during the early decades of its existence.  Over the past century, attendance has waxed and waned, buildings have been repaired, constructed, and demolished, and interpretation methods have shifted with the times. Throughout this, Pioneer Village has remained a valued Salem institution.  Historic Salem is aware of the needs and issues this historic site has faced in recent years.  We recognize the City’s more recent care of this resource under the supervision of Elizabeth Peterson, and her efforts to improve attendance and interpretation of the site.  

This classroom film from the 1940s was set in Salem in 1626 and filmed at Pioneer Village.

Now, as Pioneer Village nears its 100th year, the City of Salem is proposing to move select buildings and operations from their original Forest River Park location to the Camp Naumkeag site on Collins Cove near the Salem Willows. As the city’s preservation organization, HSI has been evaluating this proposal carefully.  We have the following observations and recommendations.

• 1 The original location of Pioneer Village was selected due to community goals in the 1920s, not to replicate historical siting.  Done with care and thoughtfulness, the original intent of Pioneer Village, to be a living-history museum, can be met with equal or greater success at another waterfront site that fits current traffic and use patterns.  The proposed location is near the Willows and readily accessible from downtown and it should help forward other preservation goals, specifically related to awareness and preservation of historic Fort Lee.
• 2 ​The current location of Pioneer Village faces immediate and future threat from water inundation due to its location at sea level and the planned redirected flood waters from Canal Street.  The proposed site maintains proximity to the water, but at a higher elevation that could mitigate all but the most severe weather and water-related risks.

Pioneer Village, 1930. Photo from Historic New England Yankee Publishing Collection

• 3  We understand that an updated evaluation of historical and structural significance for the existing resources of Pioneer Village and Camp Naumkeag is being commissioned and we commend this effort and believe it to be a necessary step before additional action is taken. We also recommend that a plan be implemented to maintain buildings at both locations as the evaluations are undertaken. 
  • a) It is important to recognize the original intent of Pioneer Village as a year-round open-air commemoration site. This intent, the three-dimensional aspect of the site, and the seriousness of purpose of the creators is more significant and accurate than the ongoing characterization of the Village as “a stage set,” which diminishes the importance and viability of the Village as a teaching tool, reenactment destination and connection to the commemoration of Salem’s founding.  The continued existence of the buildings is due both to the care with which they were originally constructed and to the work of historian advocates over the past century.
  • b) Camp Naumkeag has its own unique history as a tuberculosis day camp, related to other historic health uses in the area, with original buildings that date before 1930. This site also needs an updated evaluation of significance, and it is our understanding that alternatives to demolition and other adverse impacts will be examined as part of Federal- and State-funding reviews.
• 4  We ask the City’s project team not to seek demolition of any buildings until the site evaluations have been updated and any required State and Federal reviews have been completed. This evaluation might lead the project team to incorporate some of the existing Camp Naumkeag buildings into the proposed plan; a move we would support.​

• 5  We would like public presentations to indicate which buildings exist on the Pioneer Village site, which will be moved, and the intention for the remaining buildings on the site. This should be supported by background information outlining the reasoning behind each decision. 
• 6  ​It is imperative that all buildings be documented in plan, placement, and by photographs before site changes begin.  The photographs should be retained in the City’s Planning Department files and the information added to the MACRIS listing. We recommend that an interpretive plaque be installed at the original Pioneer Village site.
• 7  In planning, and especially in budgeting, the City must take a long-term view and determine what the maintenance and management needs, costs, and funding sources will be for these, and any new buildings, and Pioneer Village as a whole, and confirm the municipal commitment to budget for them.  For example, any fees associated with the site should be dedicated to management and maintenance of the site.
• 8  As mentioned, Fort Lee must also be included in master, transportation, and maintenance planning and funding.  While the minimum standard should be that development on the Naumkeag site causes no adverse impact on this adjacent historic resource, the plan should aim higher, for collaborative interpretation and ultimately facilitating visitation between the two sites.  
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We will be pursuing resolution to the above concerns through participation at public meetings and consultations with the project team and we encourage robust community engagement.  We welcome feedback from our membership on this position and encourage the community to join us in public meetings, site visits, and other available opportunities.

The City’s project team has worked hard to inform local history and cultural professionals about their plans.  We recommend that there be substantial additional opportunity for public input and sufficient time dedicated to incorporating that input into the plan and to developing community support.  

Pioneer Village and Camp Naumkeag have been cherished local resources in Salem for many years. Each is a part of Salem’s historic fabric and the city’s residents should be able to actively participate in this process. When complete the face of both locations will be dramatically changed and have an impact on both neighborhoods. We look forward to HSI and community concerns being addressed in a transparent public process before additional actions on this project proceed.