DJDJ - Custom House

Nathaniel Hawthorne, in The Scarlet Letter, introduces his story in a place called the Custom House. He was actually an employee of this building from 1847-1849. During his stay in Salem, he wrote the famous book about a condemned Adulterer in a Puritan Bostonian society. Salem was an important early-American seaport, and the Custom House was used to collect taxes in imported goods.

Salem, MA Maritime National Historic Site

Mr. Hawthorne Himself