The House of the Seven Gables Receives Mass Cultural Council Grant
The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association has been awarded a grant of $27,700 from the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency, through its Cultural Investment Portfolio Program. This grant will support the core work of the House of the Seven Gables, including education about the rich history of Salem and support of immigrant communities on the North Shore.
Founded in 1910 by Caroline Emmerton, The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association preserves the 1668 Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, made world-famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel “The House of the Seven Gables.” Emmerton, inspired by Jane Addams and other leaders in the settlement house movement, used proceeds from tours of the mansion to provide social services for new immigrants to America.
The House of the Seven Gables continues Emmerton’s work today, welcoming over 100,000 visitors a year to its National Historic Landmark site. Guests to the site learn about Salem’s maritime history, Hawthorne’s literary legacy, and Emmerton’s role in the settlement movement. The association also provides free Citizenship and English as a Second Language classes and works to amplify the voices of Salem’s contemporary immigrant communities.
Dakota Russell, executive director of the House of the Seven Gables, said the grant from Mass Cultural Council will help the association continue its important work. “Salem, and Massachusetts at large, owes so much of its cultural identity to the contributions of immigrant groups,” Russell said. “We appreciate the partnership of Mass Cultural Council in telling those stories about our history, and in celebrating and supporting our immigrant communities in the present day.”
Mass Cultural Council has a budget of $15.7 million, including an appropriation of nearly $14 million from the state of Massachusetts and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. The agency also runs the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment.
Mass Cultural Council funds reach every community in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to promote excellence, education, access and diversity in the arts, humanities and sciences, to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the vitality of our communities and economy.
The House of the Seven Gables is open daily for guided tours at 115 Derby Street in Salem. For more information, visit https://7gables.org/.