The Early Years
The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem was founded in 1869 as the Salem Fraternity. It is the oldest boys club in Massachusetts and the second oldest in the country. The Fraternity was created to give Salem’s youth a safe and wholesome place to spend their free time, after many Salemites had noticed young boys and girls loitering and pulling pranks in Salem’s downtown. The city was faced with “how to reach this class of young people with some wholesome attraction which would employ their evenings better and save them from the exposures of the saloon and of the street.”
In October of 1868, a few traveling Salemites were inspired after hearing of the work of the Union for Christian Work in Providence, Rhode Island and hoped to adopt some of their methods in Salem. The Salem Fraternity was formed in the early months of 1869 during a series of meetings in the parlor of Benjamin H. Silsbee.
In April, the organization opened rooms on the second floor of the Downing’s Block on Essex Street. The building featured a library, amusements room with games, and women’s room for conversations and lessons. Due to attendance, the Fraternity later became exclusive to young men and boys.
In December 1875, the Salem Fraternity incorporated with Henry Wheatland serving as the first president.
As part of the Salem Fraternity’s mission, it began a reading room and accompanying library to offer wholesome books to the children of Salem. The library grew quickly with eighty-eight regular donors, bringing the number of volumes to over 4,000 by 1881. For over a decade, it was the only free library in Salem until 1889 when the Salem Public Library was formed. A reading room for women was opened by the Fraternity in January 1879 but gradually the society transitioned to catering only to boys and men after attendance of girls and women waned.
In 1898 the Salem Fraternity reorganized, moving into the second floor of the Lyceum Building on Church Street. While in the Lyceum Building, the Fraternity hired its first employee in January 1899. Superintendent Stephen Ives Duncan made many changes to improve the function of the organization, but his service was short-lived as he died unexpectedly only six months after taking office. He was succeeded by Herbert C. Farwell, who would serve as superintendent for the next fifty years.
Less than a year after moving into the Lyceum Building, the Fraternity purchased and retrofitted 11 Central Street, a former bank building designed by Charles Bulfinch.
11 Central Street
Salem Fraternity’s new home at 11 Central Street was originally built for the Essex Bank in 1811 based on designs by Charles Bulfinch but was significantly altered in 1865. When the Fraternity purchased and retrofitted the building in 1899, they did so for less than $12,000. On the first floor, they created a gymnasium with bathing facility and locker rooms. The gym held regular exercise classes and offered games of basketball and handball for the cost of 1 cent per visit. Boys could pay an additional penny for a bath and towel. The first floor also housed a meeting room and office used by the superintendent and library.
On the second floor, the amusement room was open for two hours every evening and contained a variety of games and hosted a daily average of 70 visitors. During weeks where school was not in session the room was open an additional two hours during the day. Also, on the second floor was the classroom, where many women training to be teachers at Salem Normal School (now Salem State) would volunteer to assist boys with their schoolwork. The classroom was frequented by immigrant children to learn English.
After only ten years at 11 Central Street, the Salem Fraternity reported that they had already outgrown the space and stated that “in a reasonable time [the Salem Fraternity would] find itself able to erect a new building.” They remained in the building for another 90 years.
In the early 20th century, the Salem Fraternity began focusing on vocational training and craftsmanship. Workshops were offered in woodworking, basket making, and iron work. The Vocation Bureau was formed to place boys with permanent jobs, once they had received professional instruction and developed a skillset. By 1909, 117 boys had consistent employment.
One popular job was selling newspapers. Newsboys, known as newsies created a club at Salem Fraternity called the Newsboys Improvement Association, where for a small fee the enjoyed the Fraternity’s amenities.
Herbert C. Farwell
Herbert Cunningham Farwell was born in Clinton, Massachusetts on November 5, 1868, along with his twin brother Albert Willard Farwell. After growing up in Clinton and organizing a local boys club, Herbert decided to become a minister and entered Pennsylvania’s Meadville Theological School in 1890. After completion of the program in 1894, Farwell attended the Harvard Divinity School, where he met Professor Francis G. Peabody of Salem. Peabody recommended Farwell for the position of Superintendent of the Salem Fraternity in 1899.
After relocating to Salem, Farwell began courting Mabel Goodale, a teacher in Leominster. The couple married in May 1901 and moved to Webb Street in Salem. Together Mabel and Herbert had four children, Willard, Elizabeth, Hugh, and Christine. The family later moved to Briggs Street before settling at 16 Orne Square, where they remained until June 25, 1914, when their home was destroyed by the Great Salem Fire. The family had gone to Camp Rowley for the day when the fire occurred and traveled back to Salem to find that they, like many Salemites, had lost their home. After 1914, the Farwell family settled on Linden Avenue.
Farwell was a beloved staple of the Salem Fraternity but was probably best known for his insistence that the boys get thrift cards and begin saving for their future. Between 1921 and 1949 it was recorded that more than 280,000 individual deposits were made by the boys. In 1944, The Boys Club of America awarded Herbert C. Farwell their Gold Medal for Service to Youth.
In 1949, The Salem Fraternity celebrated Farwell’s 50th year with the organization. A celebratory booklet was created that stated: “Fifty-years in memories and friendships of good times together – basketball games, the orchestra – the band – the Boy Scouts – the various groups of different activities – always improving, always helping and training boys for better citizens, good fellowship and wholesome fun.”
Herbert C. Farwell died in 1966, at the age of 98.
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