Derby House, part of Salem Maritime National Historical Park

DERBY HOUSE HISTORY

The Georgian-style Derby House was the home of Elias Hasket Derby, the wealthiest merchant in Salem in the late 1700s (some say he was the first millionaire in the United States). The house was a wedding present from his father, Richard Derby, when he married Elizabeth Crowninshield in 1761. The Derbys and their seven children and at least two slaves lived in the house for nearly twenty years (slavery was abolished in Massachusetts in 1783).

While he never went to sea, Elias Derby owned more than a dozen ships, and he had stakes in many more. He made much of his money during the American Revolution as a privateer. These were state-sanctioned pirates who were encouraged to prey on British merchant ships. After the war, he took his newfound riches and rolled them into an import business. His ships traveled the world to bring exotic goods back to Salem. He holds the distinction of being the first New England merchant to trade with China.

The Derbys moved to a larger house on Essex Street in 1780 and used their Derby Street house as a rental until selling it to Henry Prince in 1796. Prince lived in it until 1827. The house had multiple owners during the ensuing years and was even used as a tenement house for Polish immigrants during the mid-1800s when the entire surrounding area became a Polish community. In 1928 the house was purchased and restored by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. Ten years later the organization donated it to the National Park Service for the new Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the very first National Historic Site in the National Park system. The park’s designation was changed to Historical Park in July 2025.

DERBY HOUSE GUIDED TOURS

The Derby House is open to the public by guided tour only, and these are typically held on weekends from mid-May until the end of September between 9:30 AM and 12 PM. There are no set tour times, so just show up at the house. Space is limited and spots are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have to wait, the back of the house where exhibits are located is always open. Keep in mind that times and dates can change, so be sure to get the current schedule on the National Park Service’s official Basic Information web page for Salem Maritime National Historical Park.

Two floors of the Derby House are visited on the tour. The rooms are decorated as they might have been when the Derbys lived in the house. The furnishings are mainly period antiques and high-quality reproductions, but there are two items on display that are original to the house: a fan and a sewing table that belonged to Elizabeth Derby. The following are photos of the house’s interior.