The Pedrick Store House

Sullivan, Judith

This report contains a historical overview of the Pedrick Store House of Salem Maritime National Historic Site as well as recommendations for the treatment and use of the facility. The Pedrick Store House, a late 18th-century timber-frame structure formerly situated near the foot of Ferry Lane in Marblehead, Massachusetts, was acquired by the Salem Maritime National Historic Site in July 2003. Previously owned by the Town of Marblehead, the building had been slated by the town for immediate demolition to make room for the construction of a new harbor master’s office. The Friends of Tucker’s Wharf, a local ad-hoc committee, had lobbied for the structure’s preservation and adaptive use. Prior to Salem Maritime’s involvement, the Friends had succeeded only in securing commitments from the town that representative building artifacts would be salvaged and incorporated into the new structure. However, in 2003 Town Meeting voted to raze the building. Salem Maritime NHS then offered to document the dismantling of the building, and to remove and store the structural frame and any historical artifacts for future use at the park. Because of the imminent threat to the building, it was disassembled and removed prior to the completion of the usual formal historic structure report. However, field drawings and photographs of its in-situ condition were compiled, as well as detailed physical documentation of each discrete element of historic fabric. The purpose of this project was to prepare an incremental historic structure report that would contain a “Historical Background and Context” section and a “Chronology of Development and Use” section, incorporating archival research, physical research, and a determination of character-defining features.

The Pedrick Store House

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