NPS photo
The West India Goods Store sells the same types of goods that were available in early 19th century Salem.
The term “West India Goods Store” was used in Salem as a generic term for a retail shop selling items from all over the world, not just the Caribbean.
This store was built by Captain Henry Prince about 1804 and was probably first used as a warehouse, where Prince kept goods like pepper, coffee, water buffalo hides, and tortoise shells that he imported from the East Indies. The first documented use of this building as a West India Goods Store was in 1836. The structure underwent numerous changes throughout its history, including two moves, before it was rehabilitated in 1928 by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now Historic New England). The National Park Service acquired the property in 1937.
