The TRUTH is scarier than the LEGENDS!
The Final Resting Place of the 20 Victims
1692 Salem Witch Trials
In the Spring of 1692, the Puritan settlement of Salem, Massachusetts, became the epicenter of a panic that would forever mark its name in the archives of American History. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions against people who were accused of practicing witchcraft. These events unfolded against a backdrop of fear, superstition, and a society split by personal vendettas and religious zeal. This hysteria led to the execution of twenty innocent people, casting a shadow over the community of Salem.
Ground Zero of the Witch Trials Executions
In January 2016, local scholars and researchers from the University of Virginia discovered the execution site of the nineteen hanged in 1692 was at Proctor’s Ledge. The City of Salem dedicated a memorial at the foot of Proctor’s Ledge on July 19, 2017, on the 325 anniversaries of the first mass execution. The memorial stands as a testament to the victims, offering a place for reflection and acknowledgment of the injustices they endured.
Where did they bury the witches in Salem?
The question of where Salem’s accused witches were buried has been asked for centuries, and the absence of marked graves is surprising. The truth is that convicted witches were not allowed to receive a proper Christian burial in cemeteries. According to eyewitnesses, the nineteen accused witches who were hanged were left in shallow graves at Proctors Ledge. In some cases, the graves they were put in were so shallow that body parts could be seen sticking out of the dirt.
Some of the victims’ family members removed their loved ones’ bodies in the darkness of night. They buried them on their property in unmarked graves, keeping the final resting place a secret. Today, we only know of two victims who were removed from the shallow grave at Proctors Ledge and where their final resting place is today.
The final resting place of Rebecca Nurse
Rebecca Nurse lived in Salem Village, which is now known as Danvers. Located at 149 Pine St., the Rebecca Nurse Homestead sits on 25+ acres of the original 300 acres once occupied by the Nurse family from 1678 to 1798. The property consists of the family’s original home, a reproduction of the 1672 Salem Village Meeting House, and the Nurse-Family Cemetery. After Rebecca was hanged on July 19, 1692, her husband and son retrieved her body and secretly buried it on the property. Today, the property is a museum and welcomes visitors from May through early November.
The final resting place of George Jacobs
George Jacobs owned a sizable farm on the north side of Salem Town. Today, the property once owned by Jacobs is in the city of Dancers, Ma. He was described as a tall, toothless, disabled man with long white hair. Jacobs was hanged on August 19, 1692, at Proctor’s Ledge. His family retrieved his body and buried it on his property, marking his grave with two stones. In 1864, the Fowler family, who had owned a portion of the Jacobs property, uncovered human remains in a grave marked by two old stones. The skeleton was of a tall, toothless man. He remained buried on the property until the 1950s when the town of Danvers re-exhumed him and stored his remains until 1992 when he was buried at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. His gravestone is marked with a quote from his examination: “Well, burn me or hang me, I will stand in the truth of Christ.”
The Salem Witch Trial Memorial
In 1992, on the 300th anniversary of the trials, the city of Salem unveiled the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. This memorial is next to the Old Burial Pont Cemetery, also known as the Charter Street Cemetery. The memorial consists of twenty stone benches bearing the names of the twenty lives lost and the date of their execution.
The memorial honors the victims and serves as a focal point for education and contemplation. It reminds us that the lessons of the past are ever relevant, challenging us to confront our fears and prejudices with courage and compassion.
The Old Burying Point Cemetery
Adjacent to the Witch Trial Memorial is the Old Burying Point Cemetery. It is the oldest maintained cemetery in Salem and one of the oldest in the United States. Opened in 1637, it contains the graves of several notable figures from the witch trials era, including Judge John Hathorne, Judge Bartholomew Gedney, and Reverand Nicholas Noyes, who is believed to have been buried in the governor’s tomb. Also buried here is Samuel Shattucks, who gave testimony against Bridget Bishop at her examination. Though none of the executed witches are buried here, the cemetery’s proximity to the memorial creates a comparison between those who were Judged and those who were being judged.
The Significance of Remembering
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are a stark lesson in the dangers of fear, hysteria, and miscarriage of justice. The quest to identify and memorialize the 20 innocent victims is not just an academic exercise but a moral imperative, a way to offer respect and remembrance to those unjustly accused. Through sites like Proctor’s Ledge, the Salem Witch Trial Memorial, and the Old Burying Point Cemetery, Salem acknowledges its dark history and transforms it into a beacon of reflection and learning.
These places invite us to contemplate the complexities of human nature and the consequences of our actions. They remind us of the need for empathy, the value of historical truth, and the importance of safeguarding against the repetition of such injustices. As visitors walk through these memorials, they engage in a silent dialogue with the past, one that is essential for understanding our present and shaping a more just future.
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The 1692 Salem Tour: A Walk Through History
Our 1692 Salem Tour allows visitors to step back in time and explore the memorials and landmarks that define the Salem Witch Trials legacy. Discover the stories of the twenty executed victims and uncover the tales of other notable figures who played pivotal roles in the trials. Explore Salem with a historian who will lead you through the cobblestone streets, providing insights into the events of 1692 that are seldom considered and discussed. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to connect with history in the very place where it happened.
