Salem Women's
History and
Business Community
History and
Business Community
Armory Memorial Park
Description and history
Constructed on the site of the old Salem Armory, which had burned down several years earlier, the Peabody Essex Museum, in conjunction with the Massachusetts National Guard, built a Memorial Park to honor the centuries-old military heritage of Essex County. The United States National Guard traces its roots to Salem, Massachusetts, when the East Regiment of the Massachusetts Militia was formed in 1636.
The park sits across the street from the main entrance to the Peabody Essex Museum, and in front of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site Visitor Center. Elements include a time line of key military events, a replica Paul Revere Bell, interpretive signs, and a replica of the archway that served as the entrance to the Armory. The design of the park, with walkways and benches, is reminiscent of nearby Salem Common.
Armory Memorial Park was dedicated in 2002 with an impressive day-long series of events.*
A few months later, the park's “Walkway of Heroes,” located in a sheltered breezeway just outside the Visitor Center, was dedicated.* The Walkway consists of many rows of bricks divided into categories: Medal of Honor recipients, Lexington Alarm respondents, Citizen Soldier Units of Essex County, National Army Units of Essex County, the officers of the East Regiment from 1636, and prominent citizen soldiers of Essex County.
The women in the park
For the last category of names on the Walkway, veterans groups and historical societies throughout Essex County (of which Salem is the county seat) were asked to submit twenty names of men and women they wished to be recognized for their military service or for extraordinary efforts back home.* In Salem, the woman chosen was Hannah Mason, who worked with her daughters to assist her husband, David Mason, who was purchasing weapons and ammunition for the resistance movement in the days leading up to the Revolutionary War. The British went in search of these stores in 1775, leading to what is now known as “Leslie’s Retreat,” a tense stand-off at Salem’s North Bridge when the British soldiers, under the command of Captain Leslie, backed down. They departed for Lexington and Concord, still in search of Mason’s weapons, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place.
A woman Salem war hero who is not listed on the Walkway is 1LT Catherine Marie Larkin, USA NC, a nurse during World War II who was killed in a plane crash flying from one battle sector to another.
Beyond Salem, the women’s names and organizations from Essex County featured in the Walkway of Heroes are:
Andover:
• Lydia Tyler
• Samuel and Phoebe Phillips,
Soldiers Aid Society (Civil War)
• Harriet Beecher Stowe
(abolitionist, Civil War)
• Elizabeth S. Phelps
Beverly:
Hannah Rantoul
Boxford:
• Alice Austin
• Lydia Wood Spofford
Georgetown:
• Eleanor Stetson
• Mary T.M. Wildes
Gloucester:
• Natalie Hays Hammond
Haverhill:
• Hannah Duston
• 1st LT Theresa Bauman (WWII)
• Sarah D. Stover
Manchester:
• Ann Wood Kelly (flew aircraft
during WWII as part of the Air
Transport Auxiliary)
Marblehead:
• Mary A. Alley
Methuen:
• CPL Nancy K. Brain (WWII)
• PFC Sarah P. Hayden (WWII)
Middleton:
• Caroline Stiles and the Women
of Middleton (Civil War)
Nahant:
• American Red Cross (WWI)
• Soldiers Aid Society
Newburyport
• Newburyport Woman’s Club
(WWI)
• American Red Cross
North Andover:
• Female Benevolent Society
(Civil War)
• Caroline Stevens
• Sara Moore Field
Topsfield:
• Ladies of Topsfield (Civil War)
Wenham
• Adeline Dodge Cole
* Bonnie Hurd Smith, the creator of this website, was retained by the Peabody Essex Museum to work with the National Guard and the City of Salem to plan Armory Park Dedication Day. She also worked with the historical societies and veterans groups in Essex County on the Walkway, and again for the PEM on Walkway of Heroes Dedication Day.
Constructed on the site of the old Salem Armory, which had burned down several years earlier, the Peabody Essex Museum, in conjunction with the Massachusetts National Guard, built a Memorial Park to honor the centuries-old military heritage of Essex County. The United States National Guard traces its roots to Salem, Massachusetts, when the East Regiment of the Massachusetts Militia was formed in 1636.
The park sits across the street from the main entrance to the Peabody Essex Museum, and in front of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site Visitor Center. Elements include a time line of key military events, a replica Paul Revere Bell, interpretive signs, and a replica of the archway that served as the entrance to the Armory. The design of the park, with walkways and benches, is reminiscent of nearby Salem Common.
Armory Memorial Park was dedicated in 2002 with an impressive day-long series of events.*
A few months later, the park's “Walkway of Heroes,” located in a sheltered breezeway just outside the Visitor Center, was dedicated.* The Walkway consists of many rows of bricks divided into categories: Medal of Honor recipients, Lexington Alarm respondents, Citizen Soldier Units of Essex County, National Army Units of Essex County, the officers of the East Regiment from 1636, and prominent citizen soldiers of Essex County.
The women in the park
For the last category of names on the Walkway, veterans groups and historical societies throughout Essex County (of which Salem is the county seat) were asked to submit twenty names of men and women they wished to be recognized for their military service or for extraordinary efforts back home.* In Salem, the woman chosen was Hannah Mason, who worked with her daughters to assist her husband, David Mason, who was purchasing weapons and ammunition for the resistance movement in the days leading up to the Revolutionary War. The British went in search of these stores in 1775, leading to what is now known as “Leslie’s Retreat,” a tense stand-off at Salem’s North Bridge when the British soldiers, under the command of Captain Leslie, backed down. They departed for Lexington and Concord, still in search of Mason’s weapons, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place.
A woman Salem war hero who is not listed on the Walkway is 1LT Catherine Marie Larkin, USA NC, a nurse during World War II who was killed in a plane crash flying from one battle sector to another.
Beyond Salem, the women’s names and organizations from Essex County featured in the Walkway of Heroes are:
Andover:
• Lydia Tyler
• Samuel and Phoebe Phillips,
Soldiers Aid Society (Civil War)
• Harriet Beecher Stowe
(abolitionist, Civil War)
• Elizabeth S. Phelps
Beverly:
Hannah Rantoul
Boxford:
• Alice Austin
• Lydia Wood Spofford
Georgetown:
• Eleanor Stetson
• Mary T.M. Wildes
Gloucester:
• Natalie Hays Hammond
Haverhill:
• Hannah Duston
• 1st LT Theresa Bauman (WWII)
• Sarah D. Stover
Manchester:
• Ann Wood Kelly (flew aircraft
during WWII as part of the Air
Transport Auxiliary)
Marblehead:
• Mary A. Alley
Methuen:
• CPL Nancy K. Brain (WWII)
• PFC Sarah P. Hayden (WWII)
Middleton:
• Caroline Stiles and the Women
of Middleton (Civil War)
Nahant:
• American Red Cross (WWI)
• Soldiers Aid Society
Newburyport
• Newburyport Woman’s Club
(WWI)
• American Red Cross
North Andover:
• Female Benevolent Society
(Civil War)
• Caroline Stevens
• Sara Moore Field
Topsfield:
• Ladies of Topsfield (Civil War)
Wenham
• Adeline Dodge Cole
* Bonnie Hurd Smith, the creator of this website, was retained by the Peabody Essex Museum to work with the National Guard and the City of Salem to plan Armory Park Dedication Day. She also worked with the historical societies and veterans groups in Essex County on the Walkway, and again for the PEM on Walkway of Heroes Dedication Day.
