The roots of the Peabody Essex Museum date to the 1799 founding of the East India Marine Society, an organization of Salem ship captains and supercargoes who had sailed near or beyond either the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. The society’s bylaws included a provision for the establishment of a cabinet of “natural and artificial curiosities,” which we would now call a museum. Society members came back to Salem with a diverse collection of objects from the Pacific Northwest, Asia, Africa, Oceania, India and elsewhere. By 1825, the society had moved into its own building, East India Marine Hall.

In the late 1860s, the Essex Institute refined its mission to the collection and presentation of regional art, history and architecture. In so doing, it transferred its natural history and ethnological collections to the East India Marine Society’s descendent organization, the Peabody Academy of Science (the “Peabody”). In turn, the Peabody, renamed for its benefactor, the philanthropist George Peabody, transferred its historical collections to the Essex.

In the early 20th century, the Peabody Academy of Science changed its name to the Peabody Museum of Salem and continued to focus on collecting international art and culture. Capitalizing on growing interest in early American architecture and historic preservation, the Essex Institute acquired many important historic houses and was at the forefront of historical interpretation.

With their physical proximity, closely connected boards and overlapping collections, the possibility of consolidating the Essex and the Peabody had been discussed over the years. After in-depth studies showed the benefits of such a merger, the consolidation of these two organizations into the new PEM was confirmed in July 1992.

True to the spirit of its past, PEM is dedicated to creating a museum experience that celebrates art and the world in which it was made. By presenting art and culture in new ways, by linking past and present and by embracing artistic and cultural achievements worldwide, the museum offers unique opportunities to explore a multilayered and interconnected world of creative expression. It has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating and collecting museum in the United States.