Health & Fitness
The Ropes Sisters, and the Ropes Mansion
The Ropes Mansion and Garden are favorite spots for many of us, but did you know the women's history story behind them?
A favorite spot in Salem for many of us is the Ropes Garden behind the Ropes Mansion (318 Essex Street). Did you know that they're a Salem women's history story?
Nathaniel Ropes purchased this house in 1768, and his descendants lived in it until the early 20th century. At that time, three unmarried sisters, Sarah Ropes, Mary Pickman Ropes, and Eliza Orne Ropes, inherited the house and returned to Salem from their home in Cincinatti to restore the family home, add modern plumbing and a kitchen, and open it as a historic house museum.
They also created a botanical garden behind the house, which they hoped would be used for botany classes and lectures.
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The Trustees of the Ropes Memorial opened the house as a museum in 1912, showcasing a fine collection of furnishings and works of art that had never left the Ropes family home. In the late 1980s, the Peabody Essex Museum assumed ownership and continues to offer regular tours of the building and grounds.
Stop by and enjoy the garden any time of year!
