Peabody Museum of Salem

The Peabody Essex Museum was originally called the East India Marine Society. The Museum began in 1799 as an organization of Salem mariners who had sailed beyond either the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. Included in the Society's charter was the intention to establish a "cabinet of natural and artifical curiousities."

In 1825 the Society and its collection moved to the East Marine India Marine Hall. In the late 1860s, the Society, now called the Peabody Academy of Science after benefactor George Peabody, received the natural history and archeology collections of the Essex Institute, also in Salem. The Peabody Academy of Science's historical collections were transferred to the Essex Institute.

During the early 20th century the Peabody Academy of Science changed its name to the Peabody Museum of Salem. After much discussion, the Peabody Museum and the Essex Institute merged in July 1992 to form the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM).