Updated February 2024
Background
Pioneer Village is an open-air museum re-creating 17th-century life that was established with private funding in time to commemorate the Massachusetts Tercentenary in 1930. In 2021, the City of Salem first publicly proposed moving most of the Village from its original location in Forest River Park in South Salem to the site of Camp Naumkeag, a former tuberculosis outdoor camp created in 1910 in the Salem Willows area.
Following advocacy by the Salem Historical Commission (SHC) and Historic Salem, Inc. (HSI), the following have been achieved:
- A greater understanding of the history and significance of both Pioneer Village and Camp Naumkeag through updated professional historical surveys
- Structural evaluation(s) of Camp Naumkeag buildings
- Submission to the SHC by the City of a Business Plan for Pioneer Village at the new site
- Anticipated consultations with the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) due to City of Salem contemplated bond financing
Historic Salem Inc. Position and Outstanding Questions Summary
Both Pioneer Village and Camp Naumkeag are significant Salem historical and cultural resources as evidenced by the Form As prepared by The Public Archeology Laboratory, Inc. (PAL) and are likely eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. As such, HSI advocates for their protection, maintenance, and interpretation to the greatest extent possible and to the highest level of preservation practice.
Ideally, Pioneer Village and Camp Naumkeag would be preserved in their current locations. At this point, the properties have either failed (Camp Naumkeag) or are at risk of failing (Pioneer Village) due to a combination of a lack of maintenance and/or flood risks. While significant intervention is warranted, and moving of historic structures could be an effective strategy under the right conditions, history has also proven that a commitment to maintenance and support is critical. Consequently, although moving Pioneer Village might be one solution to the threat of climate change, it is not clear what other alternatives were considered, and in any event, would be an exercise in futility unless the City of Salem commits to its future with an adequate budget for its maintenance, staffing and promotion before any move were made.
Position
We recognize that the buildings at Pioneer Village are at risk in their present coast-line site due to impacts from forecasted climate changes resulting in sea level rise and as reflected in current FEMA flood maps. As a result, some significant intervention is required to preserve them into the future.
We note that the Massachusetts Historical Commission has opined that Pioneer Village is eligible for the National Register “under Criterion A at the state and local levels, and under Criterion C at the local level, and that it meets Criteria Consideration F.” (Letter from MHC to the SHC, April 28, 2023.) Criterion A includes association with an event; Criterion C includes properties significant as representative of culture or technology, and Criterion F includes commemorative properties. The Salem Historic Commission has concurred with the finding of eligibility.
While HSI understands that some preservation advocates believe that the significance of Pioneer Village is as a cultural landscape, we note that MHC further adds: “The overall landscape is deteriorated and overgrown, and with the introduction of [nearby] modern elements, the integrity of the overall setting, feeling, and design is compromised,” and that other preservation advocates concur with MHC’s opinions as to its significance:
We note that the public discussions on this important project have been limited to SHC meetings and primarily focused on the Demolition Delay for Camp Naumkeag.
Outstanding Questions
Some questions continue to be unanswered. While the potential move of Pioneer Village to the Camp Naumkeag site is the most studied option by the City of Salem, the significant questions that remain are:
- What are the costs of the potential move, including site costs and soft costs?
- Was the project scope and funding for this or any other option approved by the Salem City Council (note $2 million in “FY21 mid” Capital Improvement Plan)?
- Were alternatives studied at the current site, which might also involve moving the buildings within Forest River Park, and were those costs determined? We note that while the recent National Park Service 2021 guidance in the 2021 publication “Planning for a Changing Climate” emphasizes flexibility in responding to changing climate conditions, it also calls for identifying and evaluating potential adaptation strategies (page 13, Paragraphs 4 and 5).(1)
- The reuse of one of the buildings at Camp Naumkeag has been studied. Is there a commitment to preserve at least one of the buildings at Camp Naumkeag?
- It is important that sufficient funding be available to interpret the site successfully and to maintain the buildings in any new location, even within the Forest River Park. Historic Salem, Inc. has consistently asked to see an operational business plan, which was completed in June 2023.
We noted in our letter to the SHC of July 17, 2023, the following:
The Section of the Report titled “Operating Budget – Staffing” (page 40) includes the following statement: “Site Maintenance and supplies, utilities, marketing and public outreach and reinvestment in the site would be funded through City of Salem departmental budgets.”
This is very concerning as it indicates that if the Pioneer Village buildings were to be relocated to the Naumkeag site, there would be no detailed multi-year funding plan to maintain the buildings, instead funding would rely nebulously on “departmental budgets.” Similarly, if Pioneer Village were to remain in place, there would need to be a detailed operating and capital funding commitment from the City to maintain and interpret the site.
HSI continues to maintain that any plan for Pioneer Village should be clear about project costs and funding and should also commit to dedicated funding for the preservation, maintenance, and interpretation of the Village.
We also encourage the City of Salem to hold a public forum where the public can be fully informed about the project. We understand that such a forum may take place early in 2024 and hope that our outstanding questions can be addressed then if not before.
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(1) The Memorandum to the Salem Historic Commission from Oudens Ello Architecture addresses the applicability of the NPS Guidelines to the proposed move, but not to on-site solutions.
