The Gedney House is a historic Colonial America

Colonial America

The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...

n house, estimated to have been constructed circa 1665. It is located at 21 High Street, near the intersection of Summer Street in the Chestnut Street District

Chestnut Street District

Chestnut Street District is a historic district bounded roughly by Broad, Flint, Federal, and Summer Streets in Salem, Massachusetts. The Chestnut Street District is also known at the Samuel McIntyre Historic District, created in 1981 and containing 407 buildings, it is the city's largest district...

 Salem, Massachusetts

Salem, Massachusetts

Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...

 and operated as a non-profit museum by Historic New England

Historic New England

Historic New England, previously known as the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities , is a charitable, non-profit, historic preservation organization headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is focused on New England and is the oldest and largest regional preservation...

. The house is rarely open to the public, though private tours can be arranged.

The house was built for Eleazor Gedney, a well-to-do shipwright of the Gedney family

Gedney family

The Gedneys were among the original settlers of Salem, Massachusetts. The family patriarch, John Gedney , sailed in 1636 out of Yarmouth, England on the . One of his sons, Bartholomew, has the dubious distinction of being one of the judges who presided over the infamous witch trials. ...

, married to the sister of John Turner, builder of Salem's House of the Seven Gables.