In the early 1900s, Salem witnessed an influx of immigrants, mostly of Polish and Eastern European descent.  Recognizing the need for social services for the new Americans, Caroline O. Emmerton began a Settlement program to support and assist these new immigrants in their transition into American life and culture.  Using Jane Addams’ Hull House in Chicago as her model, Emmerton’s Settlement program focused on English language skills, vocational training, homemaking, nutrition, well-baby care, and early childhood education for the newly arriving immigrants and their children.  Plays, pageants, and historical reenactments provided an understanding of American history and Salem’s place in the founding of the nation.  For new immigrants, enrolling in these classes and programs meant making their way towards a better life in a new community.

The House of the Seven Gables and its Trustees have recently reaffirmed Emmerton’s visionary settlement model to better address the needs of the community in the 21st century.  Today’s focus is on youth from immigrant communities, their families, and at-risk teens.  Partnering with the Salem Public Schools and other likeminded non-profits, we are able to support this target population.  Programs include English language instruction that builds reading, writing, vocabulary, and cognition skills; first jobs training that allows teens to earn a paycheck in a safe and supportive environment, while learning the skills necessary to keep a job; enrichment experiences that expose teens to the performing and visual arts while strengthening creativity, curiosity, and confidence; educational support in the form of scholarships, tutoring, SAT preparation, and college orientation, to help each young person reach his or her full potential. Finally, The Gables Settlement Building is the home of the Salem Prep, Salem Public Schools’ alternative high school.  This highly structured, intensive therapeutic learning environment provides an ideal environment for academic success, social/emotional growth, and vocational skill development in a small school environment.

Vision Statement :  To be a leader in the community by leveraging our strengths as a premier historic and literary site.

Mission Statement :  The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 1910, is the catalyst that creates valued educational opportunities for our communities by interpreting, strengthening and preserving our unique historic legacies and site, with emphasis on under-served immigrant youth and their families.

Core Values :

We value the legacies of Caroline Emmerton, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Salem

We value the historic preservation of our site: buildings and gardens

We value being a center of and for the community

We value education as a central tenet of our programming

We value long-term sustainability for the Association.