05/18/2026
We're happy to be some of the many people working to preserve Salem's unique history! If you live or work in Salem, this is a great time of year to take advantage of our free tours for Salem locals! You can reserve a space at Black Cat Curiosity Shoppe.
If These Stones Could Speak — by Daniel Fury
There’s something important we don’t talk about enough when it comes to Salem’s history:
There is a pattern of surface research on many articles and books about Salem that take advantage of an ever growing fascination with our fair city, and forget the massive amount of time and effort put in by the foundation builders of recorded Salem History. People like Marilynne K. Roach, Mary Beth Norton, Emerson Baker, Margo Burns, Benjamin Ray, Jim McCallister, and many more like them, continue to work on creating a persistent tapestry of historical resources that benefits every generation that will follow.
Daniel Fury, co-owner of Black Cat Tours and Black Cat Curiosity Shoppe, spent over a decade researching Salem’s Charter Street Cemetery (The Old Burial Point), as the existing research materials in mainstream publication and available access were unfortunately incorrect, or lacking in any detail.
Using original records, long days in the City Clerk’s office, Salem Library, and local historical archives, scanning and translating nearly illegible records into a consistent resource, and countless hours cross-referencing fragments of history that had been overlooked for generations, we pulled together a staggering amount of information.
Together, we helped uncover over 400 interments that had not been properly documented in hundreds of years, and created one of the most complete burial indexes tied to existing city records.
His work has even contributed to how the Charter Street Visitor Center presents its history today, helping shape the way visitors understand one of Salem’s most important historic spaces.
We truly appreciate the commentary from our readers:
“An extraordinarily researched book that has delved deep into the history of the burials in the Old Salem Burying Point - I wish that more towns had someone who could work as hard as the author has to document life in more towns across America.”
“Compiled from many sources and checked against extant gravestones and vital records, the burial index is the most comprehensive list yet.”
“A thorough presentation of all the history behind the graves in the Old Burying Point cemetery and more.”
If These Stones Could Speak stands as the first complete book ever written about the Old Burial Point, its history, its people, and its cultural impact on the visitors who walk its paths every year.
Because when you work directly with the records,
when you walk the grounds day after day for a decade, when you commit years of your life to getting it right, it shows, and it helps everyone who follows understand what it truly means to bear the burden of telling history, and carrying those stories of those who came before, accurately, and well.
We are concurrently working on the next two books in this series, on Howard and Broad Street Cemeteries, with hopes to tackle Harmony Grove!
If you are interested in our books, they are available in our shop, at The Charter Street Welcome Center and several other locations in Salem, as well as online on Amazon, and soon on our own upcoming Webshop!
Daniel is very often available for conversations about Salem’s history at Black Cat, and on our tours, including an in depth, one hour intimate walking tour of Charter Street Cemetery, with a reminder that our tours are ALWAYS free to Salem Residents and people who work here!
