Joshua Ward House

Attn: Call ahead to book your tour! Set back from the street, with a large, sloping front yard, The Joshua A. Ward House is an impressive, three story, brick Federal-style structure that is now the home to businesses; Higginson Book Company, and Carlson Realty. It has been restored beautifully, thanks to a grant by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. There is a lovely wooden central staircase that leads up to the other floors. There are offices on the first floor, in both the library and the parlor. ( We peeked into the entry way for a better look!) Some of the magnificent woodwork was done by Samuel McIntire. We saw mail boxes in the foyer, and offices in the various rooms on the first floor. This large brick mansion was built for a retired sea captain turned merchant, Joshua Ward in the mid 1780s. George Washington stayed here while visiting Salem in October, 1789, the honored guest of Joshua Ward. In the late 19th century, this structure became an upscale hotel, called The Washington Hotel. As land near downtown is valuable, changes were coming for this property, with a building in need of TLC. Sometime in the 20th century, a multi-storied commercial building was constructed on the large front, sloping yard of the Joshua A Ward House, perhaps a sign of the mansion/hotel's coming demise. In the 1970s, when most of America lost its mind and started to tear down wonderful old structures, a commercial developer submitted a proposal to the Salem Redevelopment Authority, to tear down this mansion, and build another commercial building behind the one already standing in the former front yard.