The first Quaker Meeting House (Federal Garden area) in Salem, Massachusetts was built during the autumn of 1688 by Quaker Thomas Maule. Much of the building was constructed using old timber repurposed from other buildings. Over the years, until sometime around 1860 when it was moved to the grounds of the Essex Institute, the building was used as a small home by several families, a barn, cow barn, hen house, and finally a wood shed. Several children were born in the building between 1775-1787.