NPS photo
Boxes, bags, casks, and crates fill the Public Stores.
Built at the same time and connected to the Custom House, the three-story Public Stores was a bonded warehouse. It was used by the
Customs Service to hold cargo for merchants until they were able to pay the duties on their goods. Cargo came into Salem in barrels, crates, bags, and chests. Within these plain containers were goods that made many Salem merchants wealthy, including pepper, tea, porcelain, silks, Indian cotton textiles, spices, and ivory.