08/30/2026
This past Friday, NAGLY hosted its very first literary walking tour, giving ten eager youth the opportunity to step into the world of one of Salem’s most celebrated authors: Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Led by our Program Coordinator, Jennifer, and local author Paul Haney, the group explored Salem on foot, discovering the people, places, and history that shaped Hawthorne’s writing.
Our first stop was the Custom House, which served as inspiration for Hawthorne’s classic novel, The Scarlet Letter. We explored Salem’s rich maritime history and read Hawthorne’s introduction to the novel, reflecting on how much our waterfront has changed over the years.
From there, we visited The House of the Seven Gables, the historic home that inspired Hawthorne’s novel of the same name. We are incredibly grateful to the House of the Seven Gables for generously providing a complimentary tour of the house and grounds. Youth learned about daily life in 19th-century Salem, the important work of supporting immigrants both then and now, and Hawthorne’s connections to fellow literary figures including Herman Melville and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Our final stop took us down the street where Nathaniel Hawthorne was born, before we wrapped up the evening with some well-deserved sweet treats from Goodnight Fatty.
It was a wonderful afternoon of history, literature, exploration, and connection, and we are so grateful to Education Comes First for their generous support of NAGLY’s educational programming.
Thank you, Education Comes First, for believing in the power of learning and helping make memorable experiences like this possible. We cannot wait to see where our next adventure takes us.
