FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2026
The House of the Seven Gables Announces Nathaniel Hawthorne Museum
Salem, Mass. — The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association plans to celebrate Nathaniel Hawthorne’s legacy by transforming the author’s birthplace into a new interactive museum. In an announcement on July 4, the organization launched a $1 million fundraising campaign for the project.
Executive Director Dakota Russell unveiled plans for the Hawthorne Museum at the “Celebrate the Fourth” event at The House of the Seven Gables on Independence Day. Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in a Georgian-style house on Salem’s Union Street. The home was moved to The Gables’ historic campus in 1958 to save it from destruction.
Since its move to The Gables, the birthplace house has been staged with period furnishings and open to visitors as a self-guided experience. “In years past, they didn’t feel they had to explain Hawthorne,” Russell said, “because everyone read him. Today, this is where many guests are learning about him for the first time.”
The new museum will preserve the historic feel of the house, while also telling stories from Hawthorne’s life and reflecting on the impact of his work. Personal artifacts, including the desk on which Hawthorne wrote much of The Scarlet Letter, will be prominently featured. Interactive multimedia exhibits will enhance the experience. Galleries will explore Hawthorne’s deep connection to Salem and his enduring influence on later writers and artists.
The museum exhibits are being developed in cooperation with Boston-based firm Amaze Design, known for their work at the Concord Museum in Massachusetts and the American Writers Museum in Chicago. The design phase of the projects was funded by grants from the Nancy Foss Heath and Richard B. Heath Educational, Cultural, and Environmental Foundation and the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, as well as private donations.
It is estimated that the next phase of work, the fabrication and installation of the exhibits, will cost approximately $1 million. José Nieto, President of The Gables’ Board of Trustees, said raising these funds could be a challenge. “The federal grants we would typically seek for this project have become scarcer,” he said, “and there is more competition for the ones that remain.” Despite all this, Nieto believes lovers of Hawthorne and those who appreciate his profound impact on American literature will step up to help The Gables meet its fundraising goals.
Limited opportunities for gallery sponsorship and donor recognition within the Hawthorne Museum are available. More information on supporting the effort can be found on The Gables’ website or by calling Director of Development Pamela Feltus at (978) 306-7014.
About The House of the Seven Gables
Built in 1668 by seafaring merchant Captain John Turner, The House of the Seven Gables served as the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel of the same name. Since 1910, The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association has operated as both a museum and a Settlement House, preserving this iconic American landmark and providing meaningful support to immigrant communities on Massachusetts’ North Shore—empowering everyone to write their own pages in our ongoing American story. For more information, visit www.7gables.org.