Northshore Magazine

March/April

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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ne Danvers destination Darkness and Light A grim chapter in the history of Danvers is long gone, but not entirely forgotten. By Andrew Conway the witchcraft Victims' Memorial in a quiet corner of Danvers is one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it historic sites, but it bears witness to one of the darkest chap- ters in early American history. "Burn me or hang me," reads a quotation attributed to George Jacobs, one of 25 people who died as a result of the 1692 Salem Village Witch- craft Hysteria, "but I will stand in the truth of Christ. I know nothing of witchcraft." Located at 176 Hobart Street, directly op- posite the original site of the Meeting House, where most of the witchcraft examinations took place, the simple and poignant granite memorial provides an unbreakable link between the Danvers of today and the Salem Village of a bygone age. The "new" Salem may have secured the bragging rights to its infamous Witch Trials, but it's the old Salem Village—which changed its name to Danvers in a district restructure in 1752—where the fear and hysteria first broke out and led to the deaths of 25 men and women, all of whom proclaimed their innocence to the end. "It earned Salem Village a very bad repu- tation, which it carried for generations," says Danvers Town Archivist Richard Trask. "So, when the District of Danvers was creat- ed in 1752, the people of Salem Village were very happy to lose that name." Time is also a great healer, and while the witchcraft spotlight is now set on Salem, Danvers has come to accept and commem- orate its history in a quiet, respectful way. "Danvers doesn't yell about its witch- craft heritage," says Trask. "Our sites are not big, flashy tourist attractions, and when 36 nshoremag.com March/April 2012 American History: Clockwise from top, the Peabody Institute Library; the Witchcraft Victims' Memorial; the Rebecca Nurse Homestead; headstones on the homestead's grounds. people visit, they like the fact that we don't make it into a money-making situation." Anyone with even a passing interest in history and architecture will love Danvers, a hard-working and steadfast town that has carefully preserved many significant houses and buildings dating back to the earliest settlement of Massachusetts. The historic district, stretching from Pine Street in the south to Maple Street in the north, contains eight important sites—including the beautiful Rebecca Nurse Homestead (circa 1678) and magnificent Glen Magna Farms estate (circa 1798)—all of which are open to the public seasonally or by appoint- ment with the Danvers Historical Society. Another 125 notable private residences spanning four centuries can be viewed eas- ily from the street. Arguably the finest building in down- town is the Peabody Institute Library (see "Crown Jewel"), built in 1892 with money donated by native son George Peabody. Located next to Mill Pond on Sylvan Street, this outstanding Georgian Revival building bears a striking resemblance to the White House and has been used as its substitute in a number of films and documentaries. While Danvers embraces its past—"We take our history very seriously," says Town Manager Wayne Marquis—all eyes are on an increasingly bright future with a strong photographs by robert boyd

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