Many of New England’s colleges and universities began as State Normal Schools. These institutions were tasked with educating teachers on the “norms of curriculum” to prepare them to instruct their own classrooms, usually in primary (elementary) schools. The country’s first public normal school was founded in 1823 by Samuel Read Hall in Concord, Vermont. Following this system, Massachusetts opened its first normal school in Lexington in 1839. This normal school would eventually evolve into Framingham State College.
Salem Normal School (SNS) was founded in 1854 at the corner of Broad and Summer streets on the former site of the Registry of Deeds. Salem was selected from a pool of local cities which included Chelsea, Groveland, and North Andover due to its historic setting and thriving commercial industry.
Richard Edwards, a graduate of Bridgewater Normal School (Bridgewater State University) was the first principal (president) of the new school. The first class was comprised on seventy-two “young ladies who wish to prepare themselves for teaching.” In February 1855, more than 200 spectators attended the end of first term evaluations. Students were called upon to answer questions in front of the crowd about geometry, physiology, reading, grammar, geography, and logic; they also delivered and then critiqued literary passages. Fifty members of the first class received their diplomas in February 1856.
That same year, Salem Normal School introduced an advanced program intended to prepare students for teaching in secondary schools. The Broad Street building was renovated in 1871 to meet the growing enrollment demand. The renovation allowed the school to accommodate up to 210 students, which it reached in just two years. Ultimately, it was decided a new campus was needed and one was constructed in South Salem at the corner of Lafayette Street and Loring Avenue. The new campus opened in 1896. At this time, the school also became coeducational and enrolled the first class with male students.
This new campus allowed for the creation of a separate building to be used as a training school, known as a laboratory school, where aspiring teachers could gain classroom experience with students while earning their degrees. The Horace Mann Laboratory School opened adjacent to the Salem Normal School in 1912 and served elementary school students.
Each Massachusetts State Normal School was tasked with providing a specialty concentration such as music or home economics. Salem Normal School created a business education program as part of their Commercial Department. This trained future teachers to instruct business courses at the high school level. The program led to Salem’s first four-year degree in 1921, a Bachelor of Science in Business Education. The first class to receive four-year degrees from Salem Normal School graduated in 1925.
Salem Normal School became Salem Teachers College in 1932 with 500 students and four courses of study: Elementary, Commercial, Junior High and Special Education.
Salem State Timeline
1854 - Salem Normal School (State Normal School at Salem)
1932 - Salem Teachers College (State Teachers College at Salem)
1960 - Salem State College (State College at Salem)
2010 - Salem State University
Massachusetts Normal Schools
1839 - Lexington Normal School now Framingham State University
1839 - Barre Normal School now Westfield State University
1840 - Bridgewater Normal School now Bridgewater State University
1854 - Salem Normal School now Salem State University
1873 - Boston Normal School now University of Massachusetts Boston
1874 - Worcester Normal School now Worcester State Normal School
1895 - Fitchburg Normal School now Fitchburg State University
1897 - Hyannis Normal School now Cape Cod Community College
1897 - Lowell Normal School now University of Massachusetts Lowell
1897 - North Adams Normal School now Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
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Digitized Archives
Salem Normal School Photographs and Ephemera
Salem Normal School 50th Anniversary Photographs by E.G. Merrill
Salem State University Photograph and Ephemera Collections
Salem Normal School Course Catalogs
Salem Normal School Publications
Salem State 150th Anniversary Timeline
Salem State University History Overview
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