SALEM (ante), capital of Essex co., Mass., on the Eastern railroad, and for a long time was the most populous city in the county. The harbor, though safe and spacious, has not sufficient depth of water for large vessels; the foreign commerce, formerly large, has been transferred to Boston and New York; but the coasting trade is extensive, large quantities of coal being landed here, and sent by rail to the interior. The fisheries, which ceased when the East India trade was prosperous, have again become important. Ice is shipped in large quantity. The city has an alms-house, a hospitaL'an orphan asylum, 20 churches, a high school, a state normal school for girls, a city ball, a court hubse, a dispensary. a reformatory, a custom-house, 7 national banks, 2 savings banks, and 5 • insurance companies. is a prominent interest. The streets are lighted with gas, and the city is supplied with water by aqueduct from Wenham lake, 4 in. (Us; taut. In the e. part of the city is a fine park of 8+ acres, called Washington square. Har
mony Gmve cemeterv, containing 65 acres, is in the w. part. The city is conneeted.by the Salem and Lowell railroad with Lowell, by the Eastern railroad with Boston, and by branch railroads with Marblehead, Lawrence, and Wakefield. Horse-cars run through the principal streets and to the adjacent towns. In 1774, Oct. 7, in this city, the house of representatives of the province of Massachusetts, with John Hancock in the chair, declared itself an independent political power. At the North Bridge, Feb. 14, 1775, col. Li slie. the commander, was foiled in his search for cannon and compelled to return to: Boston. More than 150 privateers sailed from this port in the revolutionary war. capturing 441 British vessels. Salem introduced and long carried on the East India trade; its merchants were among the most thriving and enterprising of any in America in the last century.