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Construction
Construction : Introduction
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Material prepared by:
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Jan Arabas,
Department of Art
Middlesex Community College, Bedford and Lowell, MA
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Until 1818,
the Customs Service rented a variety of buildings in Salem for use as
a custom house. Custom revenues provided a substantial portion of government
income throughout the later part of the eighteenth century and the beginning
of the nineteenth. The Salem customs agents, responsible for a bustling
port, collected large tariffs on imports and were also charged with storing
bonded goods.
In 1818,
the Treasury Department allocated funds for the purchase of a lot and
construction of a new customs building along Derby Wharf. Treasury agent
William F. Lee, then Collector of the U.S. Customs at Salem, was designated
to oversee the project and selected Perly Putnam, a Weigher and Gauger,
and Jonathan P. Saunders, the Surveyor of the Port, to draw plans for
the new building and oversee construction.
Credits:
Salem Maritime National Historic Site for scanning portions of the H.S.R.
Page citation: http://www.hawthorneinsalem.org/page/10146/
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