Hand-Painted Signs that Celebrate Salem, Massachusetts

Salem "Cove" size sign in Anchor Black, paired with manila Crown and Wall Doorstop. Made by hand in our Massachusetts studio.

 

By Michele Cobban Barden | Notes from the Coastal Studio

Walk to the end of Derby Wharf on a quiet morning and you'll understand why Salem became one of the most important cities in early America. It wasn't the witch trials. It was the harbor.

Most people know Salem by its darkest chapter — the witch trials of 1692, in which twenty innocent people were executed and hundreds more were imprisoned based on accusations that should never have been taken seriously. Their suffering was real. Their names deserve to be remembered. We carry that history with us when we work in Salem, and we carry it with reverence.

But Salem is also something else entirely — something older, richer, and less often told.

A City Built on the Sea

Before the tourists and the ghost tours, before the Halloween crowds that fill Essex Street every October, Salem was one of the most important port cities in the American colonies. Ships left Salem Harbor carrying rum, timber, and fish, and returned laden with pepper from Sumatra, silk from China, and cotton from India. At its peak in the late 18th century, Salem was among the wealthiest cities in the young United States — not because of its dark history, but because of its relationship with the sea.

Derby Wharf — one of the oldest surviving wharves in America — still stretches into Salem Harbor today. The Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the first National Historic Site established by the National Park Service, preserves that waterfront heritage for the people who want to find it beneath the surface of Salem's more famous story.

Gary and I studied cartography and geography together at Salem State University, and we were fortunate to have a professor who had spent years researching the trade goods that moved through the Port of Salem. That knowledge never left us. I spent time in the archives at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), taking notes directly from the Salem Custom House logs — the actual records of the ships, their cargo, and the ports they came from. The handwriting in some of those logs may well have been Nathaniel Hawthorne's, who worked as a surveyor at the Custom House in the late 1840s. You don't forget something like that.

Salem is also how I came to the North Shore in the first place. I arrived as a student, and other than for graduate school, I never really left.

We live in a neighboring town and have loved this city for most of our adult lives. When we make a Salem sign, we are not making a souvenir. We are making a marker for people who feel the same way about this place that we do.

The Signs We Make for Salem

At Odd Cod Studio, we celebrate Salem the way we celebrate every place we make signs for — by putting its name on wood, painting it by hand, and letting the place speak for itself.

Our Salem sign collection covers the city's geography the way we know it — not just the famous name but the neighborhoods, the waterways, and the landmarks that locals know by heart.

Salem — the city itself, in several colorways. A straightforward declaration for anyone who loves this place.

Salem Harbor — where the merchant ships came and went for two centuries. One of our most historically resonant signs.

Salem Sound — the body of water that connects Salem to the wider Atlantic. A quieter, more coastal piece.

Salem Willows — the beloved waterfront park on the northeastern edge of the city, where Salem families have gathered for generations. Cotton candy, arcade games, and the smell of the sea (and popcorn).

Salem Common — the historic green at the center of the city, framed by Federal-style architecture and centuries of public life.

Derby Wharf — our most directly maritime Salem sign. Named for Elias Hasket Derby, one of America's first millionaires and the merchant whose global trading ventures helped make Salem a great port city.

Pickering Wharf — the working waterfront reimagined as a gathering place. A name that still carries the memory of Salem's working harbor.

Juniper Point — a quieter corner of Salem's coastline, tucked away from the crowds and known to the people who know where to look.

Misery Island — actually two islands sitting in Salem Sound, accessible only by water, known to the paddlers and sailors who make the crossing. One of those place names that belongs entirely to the people who know this stretch of coast.

Gallows Hill — we make this sign because the place is real and its history must be acknowledged. Twenty innocent people lost their lives in 1692. This sign is not decoration. It is a marker of something that happened, made with the same craft and care as everything else we make, and with the seriousness that history demands.

And for those who want to go even deeper into Salem's history — our Naumkeag Channel Sign. Naumkeag was the name the Naumkeag people gave to this place long before the Puritans arrived and renamed it. It means "fishing place" — a quieter, older, and entirely coastal identity for a city the world knows by a different name. It is, in many ways, the most honest sign we make for Salem.

Our Salem collection spans all three of our sign formats. Our Salem Channel Sign brings the city's name into our slimmer 6×25 format — the same hand-painted craft, a different proportion that works beautifully above a doorframe or along a shelf. And for those who want to celebrate Salem by its zip code, our Cove Sign in 01970 is one of our most popular pieces — compact, precise, and immediately meaningful to anyone who calls this city home.

Ropework for a Maritime City

Salem's history is inseparable from rope. The rigging that filled its harbor, the lines that tied its merchant ships to Derby Wharf, the nets that brought in the catch — rope was the material that made the maritime economy run.

At Odd Cod Studio, our ropework collection is rooted in the same tradition. Every wreath, doorstop, bowl, and wall piece is hand-tied using traditional marlinspike seamanship techniques — the same knots that Salem's sailors would have recognized.

A hand-tied Turk's Head wreath in natural manila rope on a Salem front door feels completely right. It belongs there in a way that a seasonal wreath never quite does — because it comes from the same tradition as the city itself.

Derby Wharf — Beyond the Sign

Our connection to Derby Wharf goes beyond signs. Michele's original Derby Wharf artwork — the lighthouse rising from the historic breakwater — appears across three pieces in our collection.

Our hand-screened Salem tees carry the image on cotton, available in short and long sleeve. Our Salem holiday ornament brings it to the tree. And our Derby Wharf Headland Sign carries it in hand-painted wood.

Three pieces. One place. All made by hand in our Massachusetts studio.

Finding Your Salem Piece

Our full Salem collection is available at oddcodstudio.com. We also bring our signs, ropework, and apparel to markets along the coast throughout the year — including Salem itself.

We are especially excited to be part of Salem Arts Festival this year — June 6 and 7, Downtown Salem. Saturday 11 AM–7 PM, Sunday 11 AM–6 PM. It's our first two-day festival and we'd love to see you there.

If you are looking for a piece that celebrates the real Salem — the port city, the historic waterfront, the place that existed before and after its darkest chapter — we make it by hand, one sign at a time.

Shop our Salem collection at oddcodstudio.com

Odd Cod Studio is a handmade coastal craft business based on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Every piece is painted, tied, or engraved by hand by Michele and Gary Barden. Michele and Gary are both members of the International Guild of Knot Tyers - North America.