FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2025
The House of the Seven Gables Named #1 Historical Home Tour in the U.S. by Newsweek
Salem, Mass. – On August 21, Newsweek Readers’ Choice named The House of the Seven Gables as its Best Historical Home Tour for 2025. The 357-year-old mansion topped a list of notable American houses, including the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California; the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina; and Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California.
Built in 1668 for seafaring merchant John Turner, The House of the Seven Gables has a long and storied history. Owned for three generations by the Turner family, the mansion eventually came into the hands of Susannah Ingersoll, who occupied it for much of the 19th century. Ingersoll often entertained her cousin, budding writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, at the house. It served as the inspiration for his celebrated 1851 novel, The House of the Seven Gables.
In 1910, Salem activist and philanthropist Caroline Emmerton restored the house to its original grandeur and opened it to the public as both a museum and a Settlement House, a type of social service organization that supported new immigrants to the United States. Emmerton’s work continues today with daily tours of the mansion, and admission fees supporting free English Language and Citizenship classes for local immigrant communities. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2007, and welcomes over 100,000 visitors each year.
The House of the Seven Gables is unique among historic home tours, as visitors don’t just see a single time period in the house’s history. Furnished rooms range in date from a 1668 Kitchen with a large hearth to a 1950s Settlement Worker’s Bedroom with an electric lamp. Other rooms, like the 1840s Cent Shop, are drawn from the pages of Hawthorne’s novel. In just 45 minutes, visitors walk through time with their tour guide and learn hundreds of years of history and culture.
Dakota Russell, Executive Director of The House of the Seven Gables, said the house tour is always evolving. “It is important that we tell stories that speak to all our visitors,” Russell said. “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.”
Russell said it is gratifying to have that work recognized by Newsweek and its readers, and that he hopes the attention will encourage both first-time visitors and returning guests. “Even if you have seen the house before,” he said, “I promise you there is more to our story.”
About The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association
As stewards of this iconic historic site, we aim to follow the tradition of Nathaniel Hawthorne and tell stories that reckon with the hard truths of our past, acknowledge our unique individual journeys, and remind us of our dependence on one another. As inheritors of the legacy of Caroline Emmerton and the Settlement House Movement, we aim to provide meaningful support for new immigrants, challenge misleading narratives that limit their opportunities, and empower them to write their own pages in our ongoing American story.
The House of the Seven Gables is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located at 115 Derby Street, Salem, MA. For more information, visit www.7gables.org