Situated on Derby Wharf, Salem Maritime National Historic Site is a regular tourist destination that depicts Salem's maritime past. In the 1600s, Salem was founded as one of the foremost trading ports in the world, linking the Americas to India and East Asia. The historical site has been reconstructed by the National Park Service to illustrate this past. Visitors are able to walk through the old Derby and Bowditch homes, the U.S. Customs House where Nathanial Hawthorne once worked in 1846, or take a ride on Friendship, a reconstruction of an old sailing vessel, on either guided or self-guided tours. Exhibits, featuring old sailing compasses and maps, are on display at the Regional Visitors Center, which also contains a small gift shop, where books and artwork are for sale.