Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence - Film Viewing & Symposium

The Essex National Heritage Commission, in partnership with the National Park Service, is hosting a special viewing and symposium with the scholars of the new interpretive film, “Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence.” The film about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials is based on the most recent scholarly research of the causes, events and aftermath of these famous trials. The movie reveals newly found documents and research which shed new light on the trials, with reenactors speaking the documented words of the accusers and victims, and analysis by scholars who have studied the trials for many years.

The film will begin at 7:00 PM, followed by a lively discussion and questions & answer session with the prominent witch trial scholars featured in the film, moderated by National Park Service historian, Dr. Emily Murphy. The renowned witch trial scholars include: Mary Beth Norton of Cornell University, the author of In the Devil’s Snare; Benjamin C. Ray of the University of Virginia who has written extensively on the religious aspects of the trials and maintains the Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription website; Emerson (Tad) Baker of Salem State University who has recently published The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft and Conflict in Early New England; Margo Burns who is the Director of the Language Center at St Paul’s School and an associate editor and project manager of Bernard Rosenthal’s book, Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt, a comprehensive compendium of nearly a thousand documents from the trials; and Richard Trask, historian and archivist, Town of Danvers (formerly Salem Village).

Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 7:00 PM
National Park Service Visitor Center in Salem
2 New Liberty Street, Salem, MA 01970 





Light refreshments will be served in the lobby. Tickets for this exclusive event are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Essex Heritage members $12/Non-members $15.  Purchase tickets online at EssexHeritage.org/SalemWitchHunt or call 978-740-0444 for more information.

Trails & Sails Weekends are here!

It's time to get out and explore! There's no reason not to, because for the next two weekends, it's free.  Thanks to the hard work of the Essex National Heritage Commission and their partners, there will be more than 200 free events throughout Essex County (which includes Salem) on September 16, 17, 24 and 25. 

200 Events.  And they are all free. 

This is the Tenth Annual Trails & Sails, so you may be aware of it.  It is the region's largest celebration of  natural, cultural and historic resources.  You can sail on a Schooner, explore beaches, discover hidden rooms, learn gossip from the past.  And that's just in Salem.

All of the events are listed online at TrailsandSails.org, and printed guides to Trails & Sails are available at Essex Heritage Visitor Centers (including the Salem Regional Visitor Center at 2 New Liberty Street) and participating Eastern Banks.

Essex Heritage is sweetening the pot this year - they have created a Trails & Sails Passport (very cool!), and if you get 10 stamps, you can send your passport in to be entered into a drawing for fabulous prizes.  There's more information on the web site. 

Here's a quick list of the events in Salem this weekend and next.  Make sure to review the event capacities; if they are limited, you may want to get arrive early. 

• (Re)Discovering Salem's Franco-American hosted by Historic Salem, Inc.
• ­17th Century Midwives at Witch House
• ­1812 Privateer FAME: Go Sail! Aboard Schooner Fame
• ­Beach Seining Demonstration hosted by Salem Sound Coastwatch
• ­Guided Tour of Special Exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum
• ­Hawthorne Hotel Tour
• ­Living Comfortably in the 17th Century at the House of Seven Gables
• ­Lunch Hour at the Gedney House
• ­Marine Lab Exploration Salem State University’s Cat Cove Marine Laboratory
• ­Talk of the Town: Salem 1802 hosted by National Park Service
• ­The Art of the Birchbark Canoe hosted by the Peabody Essex Museum

Not to sound like a broken record, but check out TrailsandSails.org for complete information on the listings, the weekends, the host sites, and Essex Heritage.

Essex Heritage Photo Safari

I participated in an Essex National Heritage Commission Photo Safari with Hunt's Photo & Video at the Phillips House on July 30th.  It was a beautiful day to take pictures at the Ropes Mansion on Essex Street, along Chestnut Street, and at the Phillips House.  

Tropical storm Irene's wind and rain have inspired me to share flowers, blue sky, and some of Salem's stunning architecture.

The Ropes Mansion garden on Essex Street.
Part of the collections of the Peabody Essex Museum, the garden is free and open to the public.

Front of the Ropes Mansion

Ropes Mansion and First Church

Carriage House at the Phillips House

Chestnut Street

Salem Trolley on Chestnut Street

This was the final Photo Safari of 2011, but make sure to follow Essex Heritage (Facebook, Twitter, EssexHeritage.org) for the 2012 schedule.  Hunt's has brought Canon, Nikon, Tamron, and Olympus to past photo safaris.  They are a great way to learn photography tips from professionals, try out new equipment, and interact with the region's natural, cultural and historic resources.

Here's to the return of blue skies tomorrow...

Friendship to sail on August 7th

Image courtesy Essex National Heritage Commission.

We love the tall ship Friendship.  We especially love her when she's in port and people can climb aboard and explore her decks, learning about Salem's maritime history and imagining the life of a sailor, a sea captain, a navigator.  One of the reasons we love Friendship so much is that she can sail.  She is a US Coast Guard certified vessel and she was built to sail, so - on occasion - sail, she must. 

On August 7th, Friendship will depart Salem for a port visit in New York City.  Her trip is part of a youth program called Friendship Sails! A Youth Journey on the High Seas.  The vessel will spend 2-3 days at sea, and once in New York the youth aboard will attend a Youth Summit with their peers from New York City and Baltimore.  She will be berthed at the Dennis Connor's North Cover Marina on the Hudson River on August 10th. Friendship will return to Salem on August 16.

The National Park Service and Essex National Heritage Commission are hosting a "Bon Voyage" event on Derby Wharf on Sunday, August 7 at 4:30 PM.  People are invited to bring handkerchiefs to wave at Friendship as she leaves port, the traditional send-off that was practiced in Salem in the 18th century.

It is fantastic to watch Friendship leave from Derby Wharf, especially when there is a crowd waving hankies, and it is equally fantastic to see her come out of the harbor from Winter Island Maritime Park.  You won't need a handkerchief at Winter Island, but I recommend a camera. 

Visit nps.gov/sama for Friendship's 2011 sailing schedule.  

Image courtesy Essex National Heritage Commission.

About the Friendship 

The Friendship of Salem is a full-size replica of the original ship constructed by the renowned shipbuilder Enos Briggs in Salem in 1797.  She is a 171-foot three-masted “East Indiaman” - the type of merchant ship that made Salem a leader in the opening of international trade with the Far East, Europe and Russia in the years immediately following the American Revolution.  The Friendship is the largest wooden, Coast Guard certified, sailing vessel to be built in New England in more than a century.  The original Friendship made 15 voyages around the world before being captured by the British during the war of 1812.  The new Friendship is part of the National Park Service's Salem Maritime National Historic Site which includes the last remaining intact complex of colonial era wharves, the 1819 Custom House where author Nathaniel Hawthorne worked and several related maritime structures and Federal Era houses. Friendship is a fully operational sailing vessel.  She is permanently berthed at Derby Wharf in Salem but, on special occasions, she sails to ports along the New England coast.  This trip to New York City will be her furthest sail to date, but plans are being made to sail to Baltimore, MD to commemorate the War of 1812 next year.  Friendship’s keel was laid in 1996 and she was certified by the US Coast Guard as a passenger carrying vessel in 2010.   

Go on Safari in Salem

I love Essex Heritage Photo Safaris.  When else will you have the opportunity to experiment with awesome cameras and lenses, learn from professional photographers, and interact with some of the region's most exquisite natural, cultural and historic landscapes?

The last photo safari I attended in Salem was when Canon was at Salem Maritime, the National Park in Salem. We spent the morning focusing our lenses on the tall ship Friendship, historic houses along Derby Street, and Derby Wharf.  It was five years ago, and I'm still talking about it.

Canon is returning to Salem on July 30th for another Essex Heritage Photo Safari at the Phillips House on Chestnut Street.  Presented in conjunction with Hunt's Photo & Video (as all of the Photo Safaris are), this unique visit to the McIntire District will feature photographer Barbara Ellison, the Federal style architecture of Chestnut Street, and the latest camera equipment from Canon.  

Essex Heritage Photo Safari featuring Canon 

Presented by the Essex National Heritage Commission and Hunt’s Photo and Video

Historic New England’s Phillip’s House, 34 Chestnut Street, Salem, MA 01970

Saturday, July 30, 2011, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Reservations are required. Essex Heritage members $30/Nonmembers $45. 

For more information and to register visit www.EssexHeritage.org/photosafari or call 978-740-0444.

Trails & Sails kicks off this weekend!

Trails & Sails: Two Weekends of Walks and Water kicks off this week. These weekends will feature more than a hundred free events throughout the Essex National Heritage Area, which includes Salem, of course!

Organized by the Essex National Heritage Commission, Trails & Sails is an annual celebration of the Area's natural, cultural and historic resources. And what better way to get people engaged and involved than offer events for free?!

The goal, of course, is to spark interest in and stewardship of the resources and the region, so use the weekend to visit and explore the places you keep saying you've never visited, or do a tour with a new perspective. Organizers suspect, and hope, that once you've gotten a taste of the heritage area, you'll want to come back for more.

Events planned in Salem over the next two weekends include...

• Marine Lab Exploration at Cat Cove Marine Laboratory (did you know there is a marine laboratory in Salem?). Observe aquatic life and learn of these organisms are used to understand and manage aquatic resources!
• Eye Spy Nature Walk will look for nature's varied shapes and repeating patterns at the Ropes Mansion Gardens!
• Guided tour of the new exhibit: The Emperor's Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City at the Peabody Essex Museum
• Visit the Derbys - 1770 Style! The ladies of refined taste will be visiting Mr. & Mrs. Derby in the gardens behind the Derby House for an afternoon of genteel entertainment. Join them!
• Sophia Hawthorne's Salem - Join Mrs. Sophia Hawthorne for a tour of hte Salem that she and her husband Nathaniel knew.
• Salem 2010 Garden Tours will celebrate the anniversaries of the Salem Athenaeum, Historic New England's Phillips House, and the House of the Seven Gables.
• Lunch Hour at the Gedney House will give you a lunch-hour peek at one of Salem's architectural and historic gems!
• Hawthorne Hotel Tour - This wildly popular tour will sell out! And the lucky participants will get to see cabin on the roof that is the home to the Salem Marine Society.
• The Witch House Physick Herbs - guided and self-guided tours of this 17th century house will reveal remedy recipes wtih some very shocking ingredients!
• Salt Marsh in the City will be a "walk and talk" led by Salem Sound Coastwatch at Old Creek Marsh.
• Looking South: Salem State University and Lead Mills will feature the history of Salem State University, which began as the Salem Normal School, and a discussion of the Salem Lead Mills and the naturally occurring lead found in the area.

All of the events are free, and some recommend reservations, so visit TrailsandSails.org for the full scoop.

And to learn more about the Essex National Heritage Commission, the Heritage Area, and their Explorers program (it's like Trails & Sails all year long!) visit EssexHeritage.org.

The answer to the question, "Where should I start when I visit Salem?"

We hear this question a lot at Destination Salem: "We've never been to Salem. Where do we start?"

Here, for you today, is the answer I have given dozens of times over the phone.

First: Park in the garage. Set your GPS for 2 New Liberty Street, Salem, MA 01970 and head to the Museum Place Mall. It costs $1.50/hour, cash (and on peak weekends in October it's $20 cash upon entry), and once you're there, you don't have to worry about your car for the rest of the day.

Visit Salem's Parking Department on Salem.com for complete parking information.

After you park and lock your vehicle, head out of the garage and across Liberty Street to the National Park Service Regional Visitor Center. Here is where you can get oriented to Salem and the region and all of the sites, museums, and history you are about to encounter.


The Visitor Center serves as a primary interpretive point for both Salem and the Essex National Heritage Area. You will find exhibits that interpret the Early Settlement, Maritime, and Industrial heritage of the region, as well as information and brochures to help you find sites and museums that are dedicated to telling each specific story.


The Visitor Center also offers a free, 27-minute film, Where Past is Present, that offers a terrific and beautifully filmed overview of the founding of Essex County and the early days of the nation, through the fishing and maritime history and into the industrial heritage of the nineteenth century. The film will help you make connections between the sites in the region, and, perhaps, the places from where you come. Translations of the film are available in French, Spanish, German and Russian. Click here for more information on the film, including its schedule.


The visitor center itself is housed in the drill shed of the Salem Armory, which was the headquarters of the Second Corps of Cadets. The Armory Park adjacent to the visitor center is a great place to relax, watch the people go by, have a picnic, or wait for a trolley or walking tour - as many of them originate here at the visitor center.


The Visitor Center provides maps and brochures galore, as well as trained Rangers and volunteers who can help point you in the right direction. Equally as important, the restrooms are clean, which may be your first priority after driving into Salem! Begin your trip at the Salem Regional Visitor Center and you will be oriented for a great day exploring Salem, or days exploring the region.

These Treasures Matter!

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is running a campaign to save America's treasures. Today the Essex National Heritage Commission organized photos that let the world know that there are two (at least!) treasures in Salem that matter.

Here's the tall ship Friendship at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site:

and the Custom House at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site:

Just two of the many, many treasures we have in Salem.

Free Trails & Sails invite you to explore the Essex National Heritage Area this weekend

Ah, fall - there's a chill in the morning air, the leaves are beginning to change, Salem businesses are decking their halls for October, and Trails & Sails: A Weekend of Walks and Water has come 'round once more. This is the eighth year of Trails & Sails, and the weekend has many devoted followers and fans. If you have not yet discovered Trails & Sails, this is your year. And, to make it easy for you, Trails & Sails is now two weekends - not one.

Trails & Sails is organized by the Essex National Heritage Commission, an organization that is based in Salem but that works to promote, preserve, and enhance the myriad historic, cultural, and natural assets in the Essex National Heritage Area. The Area includes the 34 communities of Essex County, Massachusetts, reaching from just north of Boston to the New Hampshire border.

Whether you are interested in sailing the high seas, a cemetery walk, historic architecture, or family activities - Trails & Sails has events to appeal to you. And it is all free. Free, I say!

Prepare yourself to be wooed during Trails & Sails, because Essex Heritage and the sites that are hosting all of these fabulous events want you to fall in love with the sites, the landscapes, and the region. Once you are hooked, they want you to become steward for the sites and ambassadors for the region.

It's not hard to do. This is a remarkable region with a wealth of assets and history. So go, explore, enjoy - and engage. Come back again and again, join the organizations and become and Essex Heritage Explorer. You'll love how much there is to explore.

Here are the Salem sites participating in Trails & Sails Salem, which is a great place to start!


1812 Privateer FAME: Go Sail
Cruise the historic waters of Salem Sound aboard our full-scale replica of the 1812 privateer schooner FAME! Aboard the new FAME, passengers learn about the fishermen, pirates, privateers, traders and men of war who shaped our North Shore. They learn about the fishing trade that prompted Cape Ann's first European settlements... the brave little schooners of George Washington's fleet... the East India trade that made Salem rich... and, of course, the privateers of the Revolution and the War of 1812. LIMITED AVAILABILITY
Location: Pickering Wharf Marina, Salem 01921. 978 729-7600
Website: SchoonerFame.com
Dates: 09-20 Sunday 1:00PM No reservations. Ticket booth opens at 12:30.

America's Best Idea Sneak Peak
Salem Maritime NHS is pleased to present a sneak preview of the upcoming Ken Burns film The National Parks: America`s Best Idea. A 45-minute preview of the six-episode series will be shown at 4:00 PM in the auditorium at the Salem Visitor Center.
Location: 2 New Liberty St, Salem 01970. 978-740-1650
Website: www.nps.gov/sama
Dates: 09-26 Saturday 4:00PM

Art meets Nature at PEM!
Listen to a story about circles in nature and create a giant collaborative mandala from colorful natural materials for everyone at PEM to see! Visit the new exhibition in the Art & Nature center, Trash Menagerie and discover the many ways in which artists use trash from their environment to create amazing works of art!
Location: East India Square, Salem 01970. 978-745-9500 x. 3076
Website: www.pem.org
Special Directions: First come, first serve.
Dates: 09-20 Sunday 3:00PM

Chestnut Street Stroll
Enjoy a leisurely stroll down Salem's Chestnut Street, often cited as one of the most beautiful streets in America. Learn about how this suburban neighborhood fit into an urban setting in the early 19th century. Presidents have dined in select homes, artists have created their masterpieces, and it has been home to generations of some of Salem's most prominent families. Participants will receive a discount coupon to visit the Phillips House on the day of the walk.
Location: Corner of Chestnut, Summer, and Norman , Salem 01970. 978-744-0440
Website: www.historicnewengland.org
Dates: 09-26 Saturday 10:00AM

Circuit of Salem Woods
Join in on a 2.5 miles leisurely walk over some steep terrain in historic Salem Woods. We will introduce the history of the woods and note some of the flora and fauna of this diverse habitat. If you'd like, bring along binoculars for bird watching and field guides to investigate something of interest along your walk!
Location: 65 Broad Street, Salem 01970
Special Directions: Park at the Olde Salem Greens Golf Course parking lot, 75 Willson Street, Salem MA. The trail head is at the farthest end of the parking lot as you enter from Willson Street. There is a large trail head sign that says Salem Woods/Highland Park
Dates: 09-26 Saturday 9:00AM

Dearest Dove
Join us for a theatrical performance of Dearest Dove: The Courtship of Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne written exclusively for The House of the Seven Gables. Witness this historic romance in a 30 minute production featuring Hawthorne's fabled love letters. LIMITED SPACE
Location: 115 Derby Street, Salem 01970. 978-744-0991
Website: www.7gables.org
Special Directions: Parking lot on site for use during visit.
Dates: 09-20 Sunday 2:00PM Sunday 9/20/2009 2:00 - 3:00pm

Hawthorne Hotel Tour
Hidden on the roof of the Hawthorne Hotel is an exact replica of a cabin from the Salem vessel Taria Topan. For over three centuries this cozy cabin has served as the headquarters of Salem's oldest organization, the Salem Marine Society. Join us for a very rare visit to the Salem Marine Society. Learn why this unique site has its own story to tell, and how it has been connected to the Hawthorne Hotel for over 80 years. Event Length: 25-30 minutes
Location: 18 Washington Street, Salem 01970. 978-825-4364
Website: www.hawthornehotel.com
Special Directions: Free parking adjacent to Hawthorne Hotel
Dates: 09-19 Saturday 1:00PM 2:00PM 3:00PM Event length is 25-30 minutes

Junior Ranger Days
Earn your Junior Ranger badge while exploring Salem Maritime National Historic Site. Try your hand at planning your voyage to the Far East including places you've never traveled, decide which trade goods will make you the most money, round up the crew who will join you on this adventure - All during the Golden Age of Sail in the late 1700s! Explore and have fun!
Location: 191 Derby St., Salem 01970. 978-740-1660
Website: www.nps.gov/sama
Dates: 09-26 Saturday All Day Event 9am - 5pm, with tours throughout the day
09-27 Sunday All Day Event 9am - 5pm, with tours throughout the day

Lunch Hour at the Gedney House
Spend your lunch hour touring the Gedney House. Take a tour of the Gedney House, a stunning example of a Colonial American house, estimated to have been constructed circa 1665. The house is significant for its structural carpentry and for surviving early paint and decorative finishes. Take a peek into one of Salem's architectural and historic gems that very rarely opens it's doors to the public.
Location: 21 High Street, Salem 01970
Website: www.historicnewengland.org/visit/homes/gedney.htm
Dates: 09-25 Friday All Day Event 12-1 and 1-2

Marine Lab Exploration
The Cat Cove Marine Laboratory is operated by Salem State College to promote the sustainable use of aquatic resources on the North Shore and elsewhere. Instruction, outreach and research activities are pursued by Laboratory staff. Fish, clams and other "critters" are spawned and reared as part of instructional, restoration and enhancement efforts. Participants will observe aquatic life and will learn how these organisms are used to understand and manage aquatic resources.
Location: 92 Fort St, Salem State College, Salem 01970. 978-642-6703
Website: www.salemstate.edu/biology/aquaculture
Dates: 09-18 Friday 3:00PM
09-25 Friday 3:00PM

Sophia Hawthorne's Salem
Join National Park Service Historian Emily Murphy as she portrays Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife Sophia on a 90 minute walking tour of historic Salem to celebrate Sophia's 200th birthday. This outdoor walking tour will visit spots familiar to the Hawthornes during their lives here in the early 19th century. Meet at the Hawthorne statue, Hawthorne Blvd.
Location: Hawthorne Blvd and Essex St., Salem 01970. 978-740-1650
Website: www.nps.gov/sama
Dates: 09-19 Saturday 10:00AM 2:00PM
09-26 Saturday 10:00AM 2:00PM

Tales From the Sea
Explore maritime art through objects that celebrate the grandeur of the sea and express seafaring life.
Location: East India Square, Salem 01970. 978-745-9500
Website: www.pem.org
Dates: 09-20 Sunday 10:00AM
09-27 Sunday 10:00AM

Walk Harmony Grove Cemetery
Join Historic Salem Inc's Sunday Walking Tour of the Harmony Grove Cemetery, Sunday September 27, 2009. The tour will be led by Margie Lavender, administrator of Harmony Grove Cemetery. Meet at the Cemetery Chapel at 1pm for this 90 minute excursion. This tour is free as part of the Trails and Sails Program.
Location: 30 Grove Street, Salem 01970. 978-745-0799
Website: www.historicsalem.org
Special Directions: Meet at the Cemetery Chapel
Dates: 09-27 Sunday 1:00PM

Trails & Sails

This weekend the Essex National Heritage Area will celebrate its sixth annual Trails & Sails: A Weekend of Walks and Water. This fantastic weekend of free events throughout the region provides you with an opportunity to explore the natural, cultural, and historic resources north of Boston.

There are fifteen events scheduled in Salem, and you can search for Salem, or any of the 34 communities in the Essex National Heritage Area. If you didn't know Salem was a part of a national heritage area, or if you are unfamiliar with the national heritage area program, visit EssexHeritage.org to learn more. I can summarize it by telling you that this region of Massachusetts is truly remarkable for its great contributions to the early settlement, maritime, and industrial eras in American history. The Essex National Heritage Area was designated by the U.S. Congress in 1996 and today it works in partnership with the National Park Service to provide programs in interpretation, education, preservation, and heritage development.

Trails & Sails weekend is an annual opportunity for the public to get re-acquainted with the region and its amazing history. There are fifteen events in Salem - from a Schooner sail to a Chestnut Street Stroll to Marine Lab Explorations. Take this opportunity to do some free exploration in Salem and beyond this weekend!

Participating Salem sites are:

• Derby Square Tours
• Historic New England
• Historic Salem, Inc.
• Salem State College
• Hawthorne Hotel
• Friends of Salem Woods
• Peabody Essex Museum
• Salem Maritime National Historic Site
• Schooner Fame
• Pioneer Village
• The House of the Seven Gables