Experience the bewitching town of Salem, Massachusetts this fall on the Salem Heritage Trail. 🍂🌟 Immerse yourself in the captivating history of the Salem Witch Trials while hiking through the historic neighborhood. Discover the heart of Massachusetts’ maritime heritage and explore the town’s bewitching past. Don’t miss this opportunity to step back in time and witness the magic of Salem in the fall. #Salem #SalemWitchTrial #Massachusetts #Hiking
1. Corwin House
The house alongside Essex Street, with its origins dating back to the mid-late 1600s, was significantly modified by wealthy merchant Jonathan Corwin after he purchased it in 1675. In 1692, Corwin played a role in the Salem Witch Trials as a local magistrate and a member of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which unjustly sentenced 28 people to death. The house was occupied by the Corwin family and their enslaved individuals for nearly two centuries. In 1856, it was sold to apothecary George Farrington, who highlighted its historical significance. Historic Salem, Inc. restored the house between 1944 and 1948 before transferring it to the City of Salem. Today, visitors can tour the house during the season to get a glimpse of life in Salem in 1692.
2. Witch Dungeon Museum
English settlers in Salem, cognizant of entanglement in global conflicts, established a fort near this location in 1629 due to concerns about indigenous reprisals and colonial powers’ attacks. The first fort likely featured tall wooden palisades with extensions for defense. Additional fortifications and a palisade along the town’s western end were added over the years, though the anticipated attacks never occurred. In 1897, the East Church constructed a chapel on Lynde Street, later housing the Witch Dungeon Museum in 1979. The museum offers live reenactments of witch trials and prison recreations for visitors.
3. Derby Square
The Old Town Hall, dating back to 1816 and 1817, stands as the oldest surviving municipal building in Salem. The land on which it was built was previously occupied by a mansion owned by wealthy merchant Elias Hasket Derby. Upon his death in 1799, his descendants donated the land to the city with the condition that a town hall and market house be constructed. The building’s design is attributed to architects Charles Bulfinch and Samuel McIntire. Its upper floor served as a public hall, while the first floor housed a market, reminiscent of Boston’s Faneuil Hall. City offices were located here until 1837 when a new City Hall was built nearby on Washington Street. Presently, the Old Town Hall hosts events and cultural programming.
4. East India Marine Hall
East India Marine Hall, established in 1825, serves as the central building of the Peabody Essex Museum, the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States. Founded in 1799 by a society of well-traveled ship captains, the museum initially aimed to showcase worldly wonders. Over two centuries, it has expanded to hold over a million artifacts, offering visitors a window into Salem’s rich history. In 1992, the museum merged with The Peabody Museum of Salem and The Essex Institute, creating a global-focused institution. The Salem campus boasts more than 20 historic buildings, including Yin Yu Tang, an 1800s Chinese home, and the Ropes Mansion with a charming garden on Essex Street.
5. Charter Street Cemetery
The Old Burying Ground in Salem, the town’s oldest settler cemetery established by 1637, overlooks the South River and served as a resting place for Salem’s deceased for two centuries. The earliest surviving gravestone dates back to 1673, belonging to Doraty Cromwell. Notable locals’ monuments can be found here, including Eleanor Hollingsworth, Simon Bradstreet, Nathaniel Mather, John Hathorne, Samuel McIntire, and Susanna Ingersoll. The gravestones, featuring rich carvings with motifs like winged skulls and cherubim, are some of the earliest forms of public art. Adjacent to the cemetery is the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, commemorating the 25 innocent victims of 1692. The Pickman House, built in 1672 and opened to the public in 2021, houses a welcome center.
6. Charlotte Forten Park
Located on land reclaimed from the South River, the Charlotte Forten Park, established in 2019, now serves as a modern park featuring an events plaza, river walk, and green space. It was named in honor of Charlotte Forten Grimké, a prominent 19th-century social justice activist. Grimké was a champion of women’s and people of color’s equality, education for all, and the abolition of slavery. Born into a free African-American family in Philadelphia, she attended racially integrated schools in Salem, became the first African-American teacher in Salem Public Schools, and taught formerly enslaved individuals on the South Carolina coast during the Civil War. In addition to her activism, Grimké was also a poet and essayist.
7. Salem Witch Museum
During the Salem witch trials of 1692, this location was the home of Reverend John Higginson, Salem’s First Church minister, and his daughter Ann Dolliver. While Higginson remained largely uninvolved in the turmoil, Dolliver was accused of witchcraft but never went to trial despite confessing. In 1717, residents in the eastern part of Salem separated from Salem’s First Church to establish The East Church, led by William Bentley from 1783 to 1819. The congregation eventually built a new Gothic Revival church near Salem Common, merging with Barton Square Church. The Salem Witch Museum, an early institution in the city, educates visitors on the 1692 witch trials, European witch hunts, the evolving perception of witches, and historical scapegoating.
8. Salem Common
This eight-acre park, once a swampy area with five ponds, reflects early English settlers’ tradition of setting aside common land for collective use. In the 1600s and 1700s, it served as a grazing area, school, and almshouse. In 1637, the first muster of the Massachusetts militia’s East Regiment took place here, marking the birth of the United States National Guard. In 1801, Elias Hasket Derby, Jr. transformed the swampy terrain into “Washington Square,” featuring a George Washington arch by Samuel McIntire. The park includes a replica of the arch, a cast-iron fence from 1850, and a Colonial Revival bandstand built in 1926 to celebrate Salem’s tercentenary, all recently preserved by the city of Salem.
9. Salem Maritime National Historic Site
Established on March 17, 1938, the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the first of its kind under the National Park Service, serves to highlight New England and U.S. maritime history while preserving a part of Salem, Massachusetts’ historic waterfront. This collection of wharves and structures narrates the history of Indigenous and African enslavement, colonial port towns’ development, the significance of international trade in early U.S. economy, and the link between maritime trade and industrialization. Notable buildings include the U.S. Custom House, Hawkes House, Derby House, St. Joseph’s Hall, Narbonne House, and the West India Goods Store. The park features a replica of the tall ship Friendship of Salem, offering insights into the original Friendship’s 15 voyages to various countries.
10. The House of The Seven Gables
“The House of the Seven Gables” is a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne set in a rustic wooden house with seven gables in a New England town. The 1668 mansion, built by the Turner family, served as inspiration for the book and still stands in Salem. The house was owned by Hawthorne’s cousin, Susanna Ingersoll, who was an independent businesswoman. The novel delves into themes of privilege and generational trauma. In the early 20th century, Caroline Emmerton transformed the house into a museum to support immigrants through a settlement association. Today, visitors can tour the mansion, learning about its diverse inhabitants, from the wealthy owners to enslaved and indentured laborers. The surrounding gardens house other historic structures from Salem.
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