Destination Spotlight

Massachusetts – Salem

Explore the historic waterfront city of Salem, Massachusetts, which is quite peaceful today, despite its infamous witch trials in 1692.

• Experience the Salem Witch Museum, a Gothic Revival church which houses 13 tableaus depicting events surrounding Salem witchcraft and the trials. The Salem Witch Museum brings visitors back to Salem in 1692 through a dramatic history lesson using stage sets, life-size figures, lighting, and a narration that depict the Witch Trials of 1692.
• Costumed interpreters lead an exploration through the House of the Seven Gables, the oldest surviving 17th century wooden mansion in New England and the house that Nathaniel Hawthorne made famous with his book “The House of the Seven Gables.” The House of the Seven Gables contains more than 2,000 artifacts and objects, 40 framed works, 500 photographs and glass plate negatives, and more than 650 volumes in its research and rare book library.
• Gain a greater appreciation for America’s political and cultural heritage at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, dedicated in memory to our 35th President. The museum is designed to convey President Kennedy’s enthusiasm for the American system of politics and government, and to help students better understand our nation’s recent history.

Did you know:

• The start of the Salem Witch Trials was in January of 1692, when the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. The village doctor diagnosed them with bewitchment, which resulted in the hanging of 19 men and women.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His father, also Nathaniel, was a sea captain and descendent of John Hawthorne, one of the judges in the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692.
• Abraham Lincoln was elected to congress in 1846, and John F. Kennedy was elected to congress exactly 100 years later.

Links:

National Geographic – Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witch Museum

The House of the Seven Gables

John F. Kennedy Library