From busy cities to tiny village enclaves, seaside vistas to streets rich with centuriesold lore, the North Shore’s neighborhoods are more than collections of roads and houses. They’re places where friendships are forged, stories are told, businesses are built, and history is made. They’re places of connection and community, each with such a distinct character that couldn’t possibly be anywhere else. Here we explore eight neighborhoods that make the North Shore one of a kind.
Salem Village Historic District
DANVERS
Not many neighborhoods are so steeped in history that they’re on the National Register of Historic Places, but that’s the case for the Salem Village Historic District in Danvers. Here, the residents live alongside—and sometimes inside—historical places, some of which have ties to the Salem Witch Trials and the American Revolution.
“There’s so much history there that people really don’t know about,” says Karen Wagner, a Danvers Historical Society trustee. “As you’re driving down the street you don’t really notice that’s Training Field, where the men from the Revolutionary War gathered before they marched off to war and where they trained with their muskets. You can barely notice the little path down to the Salem Village Parsonage site.”
But those treasures are there for those who take a closer look. Some of the neighborhood’s most striking features are the