Shortly after midnight on a cold December in 1903, James G. Ryan, walking on Essex Street in Salem, heard screams from a 
woman obviously in great distress. “Help! Help! Will someone come and help me!?” They came from 71 Essex St., where elderly Mary Narbonne lived by herself in an ancient house crammed with valuable antiques.
Ryan rushed through the open front door and dashed up the stairs. What he saw horrified him: 79-year-old Mary Narbonne in a state of hysteria, bleeding profusely from her mouth and nose.
The Victim, Mary Narbonne
Mary Narbonne was a well-known figure in Salem, a descendant of several of Salem’s oldest families. She lived at 71 Essex St. all her life with her widowed mother, Sarah, a seamstress, who passed away in 1890 at age 95. Sarah was something of a celebrity in Salem. Her birthday was noted every year in newspapers around New England. Mother and daughter lived in the house for well over 100 years.
Sarah Narbonne sitting in her front room
Mary suffered from rheumatism and hearing loss but remained active in the Second Church (Unitarian) on Salem Common (where the Witch Museum is today) as a member of the women’s alliance. She was widely respected in Salem for the care she gave to her mother when just the two of them lived in the house. She and her mother both loved gardening.
Mary Narbonne
Since her mother’s death, Mary lived alone. She was acutely aware of the dangers of living alone and took care to bolt and chain her doors at night. She kept her front door chained even during the day.
The Cent Shop
While her mother was alive, mother and daughter ran a cent shop in the house, where they sold buttons, pins and ribbons. The Dutch door to the shop is still there on the side of the house facing Essex Street. But the house was as famous for its contents as much as for its elderly owners. Visitors might knock on the door just to see the artifacts that included 150- year-old solid mahogany chairs with leather seats, a hand-painted pearlware tea set, a family Bible printed in 1679, and silver spoons dating from 1725.
Dutch door of the Cent Shop at the Narbonne House
The constant visitors annoyed Mary, especially if they offered to buy artifacts.
“This place is my home and was that of my people for generations; everything in it is dear to me…” she told The Boston Weekly Globe in 1890.
The Narbonne House
Built in 1672, the Narbonne House is one of the oldest houses in Salem and in the country. Mary Narbonne’s family had inhabited the house since 1780, passing ownership down through four generations. The original house features a steeply pitched roof and is of simple design, with a large room on the main floor and a room above that. The original chimney and cellar are intact. Long 19-pane windows adorn the second floor and 15-pane windows, nine on the lower sash, six on the upper, are found on the first floor. A lean-to along the east side of the house was added later and is still clearly visible from Essex Street accentuating the pitch of the roof. A gambrel-roof addition at the back of the house was added about 1725.
Front of the Narbonne House on Essex Street
Mary Narbonne’s bedroom was on the second floor of the addition.
The house stands in stark contrast to the grand mansions of Salem merchants. In the years since it was built, the house has been inhabited by butchers, weavers, mariners, tanners, traders and seamstresses, in a congested neighborhood of narrow streets and tiny lots near the Salem waterfront.
Because of the narrowness of the Narbonne lot, the side of the house faces Essex Street, and the front door faces westward opening onto a small yard.
The Crime
On that December night, the assailant broke in through a door at the back of Mary Narbonne’s house. He removed the putty from an adjacent windowpane, slid the glass out, reached in and unbolted the lock. Once inside, he made his way upstairs to her room at the back of the house, bypassing the many heirlooms and antiques along the way. Mary was quite hard of hearing, but a flash of light from his lamp awoke her and she saw a man at the foot of her bed.
In one of the greatest understatements ever recorded, she asked the intruder, “What is wanted?” At least this is how The Boston Globe reported it.
If he responded, she couldn’t hear it.
He grabbed at her shoulders, and she screamed. Desperate to muffle her cries, he clamped his hand over her mouth, and she bit down hard on his fingers, possibly drawing blood.
Enraged, the assailant punched her repeatedly in the face, leaving her bloodied and dazed. He then ran downstairs and out the front door.
Help Arrives
Bleeding heavily, she dragged herself to her bedroom window and called for help to no avail. She then made her way to a window closer to the Essex Street side of the house, alerting Ryan. Blood stained the windowsill where she leaned out.
Soon police arrived, followed by Dr. C. A. Ahearne, who lived nearby. City Police Marshall Jesse Field, overseeing the crime scene, stayed with her until morning.
Mary’s injuries were not life threatening in themselves but, given her age and the absolute shock of the attack, Dr. Ahearne feared for her life.
It was widely believed that Mary Narbonne kept large amounts of money in the house. That could have been the aim of the intruder. Police suspected that the man must have been familiar with the layout.
Escape
Despite the hour, Essex Street was far from asleep. A streetcar from the Boston & Northern Street Railway Company passed the Narbonne House just after midnight, making its final run for the night A streetlight illuminated the northern side of the house.
Mr. Ryan, mentioned earlier, was walking east from his home at the corner of Essex and Turner Streets, returning to his job as night custodian at the police station. He had come home for his midnight “lunch.” At the same time, three men on Essex Street approached the Narbonne house from the other direction. They, too, heard the screams and came running.
These men and Ryan arrived at 71 Essex St. at the same time, yet none saw a man exiting the house. When the assailant fled through Mary Narbonne’s front door, leaving it open, which way did he go?
Map of the neighbornood in 1911
At that time, a large tenement house and several smaller homes stood behind the Narbonne house where the Salem Maritime National Historic Site is today. Police questioned the residents there, identified as “Polanders” in the Salem Evening News, an intimation of the growing presence of Polish immigrants in the neighborhood. Residents said they heard the screams but saw nothing.
It is unlikely the assailant went that way.
Most likely he hopped the fence separating Mary’s yard from her neighbor’s house to the west, ran through his back yard, and then escaped onto Orange Street.
Police searched for a suspect with a badly bitten hand, but the intruder was never found.
The Narbonne House Today
Mary Narbonne recovered from her injuries. Her only concession to the attack was that she refused to live in her house alone. She died 15 months later on March 21, 1905. Her funeral was held at the Second Church (Unitarian).
The Second Church (Unitarian). Mary Narbonne’s funeral was held here.
The house and belongings were passed on to her nephew Gardner Narbonne of Los Angeles, where he had many of the household items shipped. Narbonne rented the house to his cousin Frank Hale, eventually conveying the title to him. Later, Hale then conveyed it to his daughter. The National Park Service acquired the house in 1964.
Interior of the Narbonne House today. The glass case exhibits artifacts found in the back yard.
Today, the house is part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and serves as a laboratory for studying colonial architecture and archaeology. It is open to the public only occasionally. Archaeological digs in the back yard have uncovered a treasure trove of artifacts, some dating from the 17th century. They include ceramics, redware, glassware and animal bones. Straight pins, nails and thimbles have been recovered from inside the house, perhaps remnants from the cent shop.
About the Author
James F. Lee, the author of this story, is a freelance writer and blogger whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, and AAA Tidewater Traveler Magazine. He can be reached at www.jamesflee.com.
Images
Narbonne House, Wilfred A. French, photographer, ca. 1885-1895, Historic American Building Survey (HABS), Library of Congress (LoC), Prints and Photographs Division (P&P Div.), HABS MASS, 5-SAL, 51–15. Dutch door, Wilfred A. French, photographer, HABS, LoC, P&P Div., HABS MASS, 5-SAL, 51–16. Map, Atlas of the City of Salem, Massachusetts, Walker Lithograph and Publishing Company, Digitized in Atlascope, Leventhal Map and Education Center at Boston Public Library, accessed 26 October 2024 via https://atlascope.org. Sarah Narbonne, Photographer unknown, HABS, LoC, P&P Div., HABS MASS, 5-SAL, 51–22. Newspaper, The Boston Globe, 14 Dec 1903, p. 3, accessed from Newspapers.com, 27 Oct 2024. Narbonne House rear (south), National Park Service, nps.gov Collection, {{PD-US}}; Narbonne interior, National Park Service, nps.gov Collection, {{PD-US}}. Second (East) Church, ca. 1910, Detroit Publishing Company Collection, P&P Div., LoC, www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016811063.
Sources
“The Narbonne House,” Pickled Fish and Salted Provisions, Vol. II, No. 10, October 2000, Salem Maritime National Historic Site, National Park Service.
“Fought Brute Off With Her Teeth,” The Boston Globe, 14 Dec 1903, p. 3.
“Brutal Assault. Miss Mary Narbonne Beaten in Bed by a Cruel Thug,” The Salem Evening News, 14 Dec 1903. p. 1, retrieved by Reference Department, Salem Public Library, 23 Oct 2024.
“Miss Narbonne Dead, Aged 81,” The Salem Evening News, 22 March 1905, p. 8, retrieved by Reference Department, Salem Public Library, 25 Oct 2024.
“Old Homes and Families, Salem Houses that Recall Great Names,” The Boston Weekly Globe, 23 Sug 1890, p. 8, accessed from newspapers.com 14 Oct 2024.
