In 1786 a cadet company was organized in Salem, Massachusetts. After numerous changes in designation it was known in 1873 as Second Corps of Cadets, Second Division. The company had served during the Civil War for a short time at Fort Warren, Massachusetts. In 1915 the Second Corps of Cadets was changed to artillery. It was called into Federal service for the World War in 1917. In 1920 it was reconstituted as a unit of the Massachusetts National Guard.

In 1890 the Corps acquired the property of Francis Peabody on Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts for use as a head house. The Corps added a drill shed to the back of the building to provide space for training and storage of equipment. The encampments were held for many years at Ipswich, Woburn, South Reading (now Wakefield), Magnolia, and Essex, but in 1896 the Corps purchased a farm in Boxford comprising more than 100 acres and held its encampments there.

The Second Corps of Cadets and Company H, 8th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, shared occupancy of the armory after 1908. Both of these military organizations had long and honorable traditions of service to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the nation. Members of both organizations participated in the Civil War and Spanish American War. In 1907, both units became part of the Massachusetts National Guard. During World Wars I and II, they served as members of the 26th (Yankee) Division, Massachusetts National Guard. Members of the Second Corps have also served in Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, and Iraq. By the 1970s, the Second Corps was the First Battalion, 102nd Field Artillery, Massachusetts National Guard. In 1988, the 102nd was combined with the 101st Field Artillery, and headquartered in Lynn. In 1996, the 102nd was separated from the 101st, and today, the Corps is again the First Battalion, 102nd Field Artillery, Massachusetts National Guard, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts.

In 1982, the head house of the Salem Armory was destroyed by fire. Many of the records of the Second Corps were lost in the blaze. The drill shed survived, and in 1994 it was converted into the Salem Visitor Center, which is operated by the National Park Service. In 2002, the Peabody Essex Museum created Armory Park on the site of the head house to honor of the citizens of Essex County who have served their country since the organization of the volunteer militia in 1629.