Essex Heritage

Essex Heritage, formally the Essex National Heritage Commission, is a Salem-based nonprofit federally authorized to manage the Essex National Heritage Area, which takes in all 34 cities and towns of Essex County across the North Shore and Merrimack Valley. Its mission is to preserve and enhance the region’s historic, cultural and natural resources, and it does so by promoting heritage experiences, telling important stories, offering educational programs and awarding grants to partner organizations.

The heritage area holds two national parks, Salem Maritime National Historic Site and Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, along with the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, state parks, conservation land and many museums and historic houses. Essex Heritage is the only way to reach Bakers Island Light Station off Salem, offering summer tours, overnight stays in the assistant keeper’s house or campground, and volunteer opportunities. It also promotes the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway.

What to Know

• Congress created the Essex National Heritage Area in 1996.
• Visitor Center Grants help fund 13 welcome centers across the county, from Gloucester to Lawrence.
• The Salem Heritage Trail, featured by Essex Heritage, guides visitors through more than 400 years of Salem history.
• Its land acknowledgement recognizes the Pawtucket band of the Massachuset Tribe as the region’s original inhabitants.
• Recent support includes a Cummings Foundation grant and Mass Humanities funding for Revolutionary War maritime research.