The Witch House of Salem Salem, Massachusetts

Table Of Content

• The Puritans Beliefs
• Clowning for Novices: History and Practice With Rose Carver
• Inside Sally Jessy Raphael’s $6.5 Million Elizabethan Style Estate in Pawling, NY
• Visiting The Witch House in Salem Massachusetts
• Children under 6 are freeCONTACT US:MAIL:310 1/2 Essex Street Salem, Massachusetts  01970EMAIL: epeterson@salem.com
• Salem Witch House Pictures, Images and Stock Photos
• How a migrant farmworker built generational wealth, penny by penny

There are photos of the house as far back as 1901 with visible signs on the house calling it the Witch House, which indicates that it acquired the nickname a long time ago. There’s a writing desk next to the bed, a chair in the far corner, and several bassinets near the bed. The bedroom to the right of the foyer has a big beautiful white canopy bed in the corner.

The Puritans Beliefs

The house remained in the Corwin family for many generations and has been renovated many times since then. When Corwin’s grandson, George, died in 1746, his widow removed the gables from the house, added some extra rooms and replaced the peaked roof with a gambrel that covered the entire frame. Some historians used to believe that the house was built in the 1630s and that religious leader Roger Williams lived in the house while he was preaching in Salem. What I do like about the tour is that it provides a very rare glimpse into a first period home. There aren’t a lot of these houses remaining and it was wonderful to walk through the house, peer out its windows and listen to the creaky floorboards under your feet. The woman selling the tickets said they only do guided tours in the spring, summer and early fall.

Replica of Salem Witch House asks $725K in Cape Cod - Curbed

Replica of Salem Witch House asks $725K in Cape Cod.

Posted: Wed, 31 Oct 2018 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Clowning for Novices: History and Practice With Rose Carver

After leaving the kitchen you enter a small foyer in between the two rooms on the first floor. This foyer is where the front door of the house is located (but it is locked to prevent people from entering without buying a ticket.) This foyer has a glass display case that contains various 17th century objects. The entrance to the house is in the back, in a tiny gift shop where the tickets are purchased. It is a large sparse room with a huge fireplace that takes up almost an entire wall of the kitchen. The fireplace has a large iron pot hanging in it and what appears to be the remnants of a brick oven on the back wall of the fireplace. I asked the woman who worked in the gift shop if the house was painted black when Jonathan Corwin owned it since, nowadays, it fits into the Gothic aesthetic and holds a sort of dark beauty.

Inside Sally Jessy Raphael’s $6.5 Million Elizabethan Style Estate in Pawling, NY

The interior of the house was dark, and the floors creaked as I walked over to the gift shop counter. Even sitting next to the historic district, the Witch House still seemed out of place. After snapping a few photos of the iconic and aesthetically pleasing exterior, I headed towards the entrance at the back of the house inside the tiny gift shop. Along with his friend and fellow judge John Hathorne, Judge Corwin presided over many of the examinations of the accused and their accusers, both before and during the trials.

Visiting The Witch House in Salem Massachusetts

Historians now believe the house was instead built in 1675, which was decades after Williams was banished from Salem in 1635. There’s also another small chest by the foot of the bed with either a bowl or a chamber pot on top of it and a small bassinet at the foot of the bed. There’s also another desk by the window, sort of in the middle of the room near the door, with a mannequin next to it dressed in a 17th century dress. Despite the fact that I go to Salem often and have walked past the Witch House many times, I’ve never been inside and decided to take a tour recently to give it a review. Along the opposite wall sat a table with several books and documents from the Salem Witch Trials, including a tattered copy of Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions written by Cotton Mather. When I toured the House of the Seven Gables in Salem, I learned that women would soak their skirts in water to prevent them from catching fire when doing daily chores.

Children under 6 are freeCONTACT US:MAIL:310 1/2 Essex Street Salem, Massachusetts  01970EMAIL: epeterson@salem.com

The house was moved about 35 feet to its current location in the 1940s when the adjacent street was widened. It was restored to look as it would have in the 17th Century and the gambrel roof was altered. It is now a museum operated by the City of Salem and is open seasonally. Some sources also state that a few of the pretrial examinations of the Salem Witch Trials may have been conducted in the house when Corwin lived there.

It was a tough life, and the hysteria that occurred during the witch trials made it even worse. Although Jonathandidn’t pay for his role in the deaths of the innocent who perished in the witchtrials, tragedy still fell on his house and family. Ten out of his 12 childrendied within the first few years of their lives. However, I definitely think that if you’re offered a guided tour of The Witch House, you should snap it up! You’ll get to ask your guide as many questions as you like and learn so much more than exploring on your own. If a guided tour is available the next time I’m in Salem, I’ll be sure to take it.

How a migrant farmworker built generational wealth, penny by penny

The room is set up very nicely and really gives you the feeling you are inside an old home instead of a museum. An old bed warmer hangs next to the fireplace and the room has a writing desk next to the bed, and a chest with a lantern and candles on top of it. The exhibit itself is just a couple of framed signs hanging on the wall which explain the origins of the holiday. There’s also a bowl filled with some kind of food on a table and a sign accompanying it explaining what type of meals people ate during the autumn in the 17th century.

He played a crucial role in the Salem Witch Trials and convicted several women and men accused of witchcraft. The witch city of Salem, Massachusetts, holds a piece of history plucked straight out of the 17th century. Visiting The Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts, is like stepping back into history. Place where women were accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. We depend on ad revenue to craft and curate stories about the world’s hidden wonders.

After the witchcraft trials, Corwin served on the Superior Court and as the judge of Probate. He never showed remorse for his actions of 1692 and died in 1718 at the age of 78, very rich and respected. As with others involved in the pursuit of “witches,” Corwin didn’t escape a personal connection. It helped that she was a wealthy woman who was also related to one of the judges. Around the same time, the house was restored to its 17th century appearance by Boston architect Gordon Robb, with the assistance of architect Frank C. Brown, and it was turned over to the city of Salem.

Rebecca Beatrice Brooks is the author and publisher of the History of Massachusetts Blog. Rebecca is a freelance journalist and history lover who got her start in journalism working for small-town newspapers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire after she graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a B.A. The Witch House is owned and operated by the City of Salem Park and Recreation Department and is listed on the National Register of historic places.

I really enjoyed walking through the ancient halls of The Witch House, but I still had questions about it and the Puritans who lived in Salem before and during the witch trials. If you want to take a stroll through historic cemeteries in Salem to see the burial places of some of the witch trial judges, be sure to visit the Old Burying Point. To visit the grave of Judge Jonathan Corwin, visit Broad Street Cemetery.