Faces of Salem

05/25/2026

Monday Spotlight: Samuel Parris.

Samuel Parris remains one of the most controversial figures connected to the Salem Witch Trials. A minister, businessman, former plantation owner, and deeply divisive leader, Parris served as the minister of Salem Village during the hysteria of 1692 and became one of the central figures tied to the tragedy.

Born in London in 1653, Parris moved to Boston as a child and attended Harvard College before leaving after his father’s death to manage the family sugar plantation in Barbados. It was there he enslaved Tituba, the woman whose forced confession would help ignite the Salem Witch Trials years later.

After financial struggles in Barbados, Parris returned to Massachusetts, married Elizabeth Eldridge, and eventually entered the ministry. In 1689, he became minister of Salem Village, now Danvers. From the beginning, his tenure was marked by conflict. Salem Village itself was already fractured by land disputes, political divisions, and bitter rivalries between families, but Parris often seemed to intensify those tensions rather than calm them.

Arguments erupted over his salary, ownership of the parsonage, and even firewood payments. Some villagers viewed him as overly rigid, self-interested, and authoritarian. By 1691, many members of the congregation were openly opposing him.

The crisis exploded in early 1692 when Parris’ daughter Betty and his niece Abigail Williams began exhibiting strange behavior and accused Tituba of witchcraft. According to historical accounts, Parris beat Tituba until she confessed. Once she did, accusations rapidly spread throughout Salem Village and beyond. Over the next several months, more than 200 people would be accused.

During the trials, Parris became an active supporter of the prosecutions. In sermons, he warned that devils lurked within the community itself, once declaring that just as one devil had existed among Christ’s disciples, there were devils hiding within Salem’s own churches. These sermons helped fuel fear and suspicion at a time when hysteria was already spiraling out of control.

One of the most striking details about Samuel Parris is this: of the 20 people executed during the Salem Witch Trials, 17 had either openly opposed Parris as minister or were connected to families who had criticized him and his leadership. Historians still debate how much influence this had on the accusations themselves, but the pattern has long raised questions about the overlap between personal grievances, church politics, and the unfolding panic.

As the trials ended and public opinion shifted, anger toward Parris grew rapidly. Survivors and family members of the accused blamed him for his role in encouraging the hysteria. In 1693, formal complaints were brought against him by his own parish. Though he later issued an apology called Meditations for Peace, many in Salem no longer trusted him.

The conflict over his leadership continued for years. Parris became embroiled in legal battles over church property and unpaid salary, eventually making his position impossible to maintain. By 1696, the same year his wife Elizabeth died, Samuel Parris resigned and left Salem Village for good.

He later preached in Stow, Concord, and Dunstable before dying in Sudbury in 1720.

05/23/2026

If you want a film that captures the Salem Witch Trials with more historical accuracy than almost anything Hollywood has ever attempted, watch Three Sovereigns for Sarah.

The film follows Sarah Cloyce, sister of Rebecca Nurse and Mary Easty, three women accused during the hysteria of 1692. What makes it remarkable is it understands what the trials actually were: fear, politics, religious extremism, personal grudges, and a legal system completely collapsing under it's own paranoia.

Unlike most depictions, the accusers are shown as complicated rather than cartoonish. The court proceedings feel painfully authentic. Spectral evidence, coerced confessions, the impossible position of all the accused. All of it is handled with an attention to historical reality that is missed in most retellings.

It also benefits from powerful performances, especially from Vanessa Redgrave as Sarah Cloyce, who brings genuine grief and raw fury to the role.

If you care about the history of the trials not just the myths that grew around it, this is an essential viewing.

It's truly mindblowing.

05/21/2026

The Ropes Mansion
318 Essex St, Salem

Built around 1727, the Ropes Mansion stands as one of Salem’s finest surviving examples of Georgian Colonial architecture and one of New England’s most thoroughly documented historic homes. Originally constructed for wealthy merchant Samuel Barnard, the house has witnessed nearly three centuries of Salem history, from colonial prosperity and Revolution-era unrest to preservation, restoration, and modern pop culture fame.

Barnard himself carried a remarkable story. He was a survivor of the 1704 Deerfield raid during Queen Anne’s War, where French and Native forces attacked the frontier settlement. After losing his wife and infant son, Barnard relocated to Salem in the 1720s and rebuilt his life as a successful merchant. The stately mansion he built reflected both his wealth and Salem’s growing importance as a colonial port.

In 1768, the house was purchased by Judge Nathaniel Ropes Jr., whose name the mansion still bears today. Ropes was a Harvard-educated lawyer, judge, and member of the colonial government. But as tensions rose before the American Revolution, his Loyalist sympathies made him wildly unpopular in Salem. In March of 1774, while suffering from smallpox inside the house, an angry mob gathered outside, hurling mud, rocks, and insults at the mansion, demanding he renounce the Crown. Ropes died the following day, and local tradition has long held that the stress of the attack contributed to his death.

The mansion remained in the Ropes family for generations, evolving alongside changing architectural tastes. The interior was heavily remodeled in 1807, while the elegant Ionic-columned entrance and portions of the central hall date to renovations in the 1830s. In 1894, the home underwent some of its most dramatic changes when the three unmarried Ropes sisters inherited both the mansion and a considerable fortune. They modernized the property with plumbing, electricity, and central heat, added the rear ell, and remarkably moved the entire mansion back roughly thirty feet from Essex Street due to possible road widening.

The sisters also envisioned the property as something larger than a private home. They intended for it to eventually become Salem’s first historic house museum. When the last sister died in 1907, the mansion passed into the care of the Trustees of the Ropes Memorial, preserving both the house and the family’s enormous collection of objects gathered over generations.

Today, the mansion contains exceptional collections of 18th and 19th-century furniture, ceramics, silver, textiles, glassware, and personal artifacts, many original to the family. The rooms themselves tell deeply human stories of celebration, mourning, marriage, illness, and loss. One of the family tragedies occurred in 1839, when Abigail Ropes’ dress accidentally caught fire inside the home, leading to her death weeks later from her injuries.

Behind the mansion sits the beautiful Ropes Mansion Garden, designed in 1912 by noted Salem botanist John Robinson. This Colonial Revival garden remains one of Salem’s hidden gems, featuring winding brick paths, formal flower beds, a historic greenhouse, and thousands of annual flowers planted each year according to Robinson’s original plans. The garden remains open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk.

The mansion itself survived another tragedy in 2009 when a fire, believed to have started from a painter’s heat gun, severely damaged the attic and upper floors. However some eager ghost story tour guides will tell you it's the ghost Abigail Ropes. Extensive restoration work followed, and the house triumphantly reopened to the public in 2015, carefully preserving both its structure and collections.

Today, the Ropes Mansion is operated by the Peabody Essex Museum and remains one of Salem’s most beloved historic sites. Visitors can explore the home through seasonal self-guided tours and experience nearly 300 years of layered Salem history under one roof.

And of course, despite it's rich history, for many modern visitors the mansion is instantly recognizable as simply “Allison’s House” from the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus, making it one of the most photographed homes in Salem.

05/20/2026

Restaurant Spotlight: Trade House

Located just steps from historic Derby Wharf at 156 Derby Street, this spot stands out by focusing on what matters most: genuinely excellent food, thoughtful, original drinks, and an incredibly welcoming atmosphere. Tucked slightly away from the nonstop October chaos of Essex Street, it really feels like a place where you can slow down, relax, and enjoy Salem instead of fighting through the crowds.

The Chinatown Glaze Wings, pictured below, completely stole the show for me. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and coated in a sticky savory-sweet glaze with just the right kick of heat. Paired with celery and blue cheese, they managed to hit every possible craving at once. I was halfway through convincing myself to order another round before I even finished the first.

Also during my visit, I tried the Drunken Elephant cocktail. Brandy, Amarula, cream, and a bittersweet finish served over ice. Smooth, rich, and dangerously easy to enjoy.

What makes Trade House especially impressive is the consistency people keep mentioning. Looking at the other reviews, guests rave about everything from "melt in your mouth" pork belly appetizers to perfectly seared steak frites, intensely flavorful curries, crisp calamari, and outstanding fried chicken sandwiches. The common thread in every review is the same: attentive staff, a relaxed neighborhood pub atmosphere, and food made by people who clearly care about craft.

Whether you're a Salem local or just visiting, Trade House is absolutely worth the stop.

05/18/2026

Monday Spotlight: Samuel McIntire

Few people shaped the appearance of Salem quite like Samuel McIntire.

Born in Salem in 1757, McIntire was not formally trained as an architect. He began as a woodcarver, learning the trade from his father. Through talent, study, and relentless craftsmanship, he transformed himself into one of the most celebrated architects and artisans of early America.

Today, his work defines much of historic Salem.

McIntire rose to prominence during Salem’s great maritime era, when the city was one of the wealthiest ports in the United States. Around 1780, he began working for merchant Elias Hasket Derby, considered America’s first millionaire. Through Derby and Salem’s merchant elite, McIntire found the patrons who would help turn his artistic vision into reality.

Teaching himself architecture through books, McIntire mastered the elegant Federal style that came to symbolize post-Revolutionary America. Inspired by Palladian and neoclassical design, he developed a distinctly Salem character in his work. His buildings balanced refinement with restraint, combining symmetry, proportion, and extraordinary carved detail.

Unlike architects whose work spread across the colonies, McIntire worked almost entirely in New England, especially Salem. Many of the city’s most beloved historic buildings still carry his signature style.

His surviving works include the Peirce-Nichols House, Hamilton Hall, the Gardner-Pingree House, and homes throughout beautiful Chestnut Street, which remains one of the finest collections of Federal architecture in America. He also designed public buildings such as Washington Hall and the old courthouse, though some of those structures have since been lost.

McIntire’s genius extended far beyond architecture. His background as a woodcarver gave his interiors a level of artistry few could match. Swags, garlands, rosettes, carved fruit, and flowing ornamental designs filled his homes with movement and elegance. His carvings were so refined that many compared them to sculpture in marble rather than wood.

He was also an accomplished furniture maker and sculptor. Among his works are busts of Voltaire and John Winthrop. Furniture attributed to McIntire is now considered some of the finest Federal-era craftsmanship in existence. In 2011, a chair attributed to his workshop sold at auction for over $660,000, setting a world record for Federal furniture.

In 1792, McIntire even submitted a proposal for the design of the United States Capitol, though it was never selected.

What makes McIntire remarkable is that he accomplished all of this without formal architectural training. His understanding of design came through observation, study, carving, and instinct. Every proportion, ornament, and detail reflected the eye of a craftsman who understood how beauty and structure could work together.

He died in 1811 at the age of 54. His memorial described him as distinguished in “Architecture, Sculpture, and Musick,” praising both his genius and his character.

Today, McIntire’s legacy lives on across Salem. The Samuel McIntire Historic District preserves hundreds of historic structures, including many of his masterpieces. Walking through Chestnut Street or Federal Street today is not just a stroll through old Salem. It is a walk through the artistic vision of one man whose work helped define the city’s identity for generations.

Salem may be famous for many chapters of history, but much of its beauty comes from Samuel McIntire.

05/12/2026

When people think of Salem, they think of the crowds. The costumes. The energy. (First image)

But that's only in part of the year. Most of the year, a morning stroll looks just like this. Going to Brew Box for a cup of coffee and enjoying the serene quiet that is Salem.

I tell you, if you're not visiting us at this time of year, you're missing out!

05/11/2026

Monday Spotlight: Roger Williams

Before Salem settled into stability under leaders like John Endecott, it stood at the center of one of the most important ideological conflicts in early New England. At the heart of that conflict was a man named Roger Williams.

Born in London around 1603 and educated at Cambridge, Williams arrived in New England in 1631 as a Puritan minister. From the beginning, he challenged authority. When Boston’s church offered him a position, he refused, arguing that it had not fully separated from the Church of England. That stance would define his time in the colonies.

Salem became his first real foothold.

The Salem church, already leaning toward Separatism, invited Williams to serve as a teacher. Boston’s leadership objected, and the offer was withdrawn. Williams left for Plymouth, where he preached and gained respect, but even there he found the church insufficiently separated. By 1633, he returned to Salem, where he became an unofficial assistant minister and a growing source of controversy.

But Salem are where his ideas began to take full shape...

He argued that civil authorities had no right to enforce religious belief. He believed individuals should follow their own conscience without interference. He also challenged the legitimacy of colonial land claims, insisting that land must be fairly purchased from Native Americans rather than granted by royal charter. To the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, these ideas threatened both the religious and political order and, due to this, tensions escalated quickly.

When Salem petitioned for additional land, the colonial government refused to consider it as long as Williams remained influential. The Salem church protested, but the colony responded by refusing to recognize its representatives. Support for Williams began to weaken under pressure, and he withdrew from the church, meeting only with a small group of followers.

By 1635, the situation reached its breaking point.

Williams was tried by the General Court in Boston and found guilty of spreading “new and dangerous opinions.” He was charged with sedition and heresy and sentenced to banishment. Though granted a short delay due to illness and the winter season, he continued teaching. Authorities moved to arrest him.

He fled Salem in January 1636, traveling roughly 55 miles through deep snow. He was taken in by the Wampanoag sachem Massasoit, who sheltered him through the winter. In the spring, Williams moved south. After briefly settling within Plymouth’s jurisdiction, he crossed the Seekonk River and established a new settlement in 1636, which he named Providence.

His experience and departure from Salem changed everything.

In Providence, Williams created a community based on what he called liberty of conscience. Government would deal only with civil matters, not religion. This became the first place in the Western world founded on TRUE religious freedom and separation of church and state, principles that would later influence the very foundation of the United States.

Williams also built strong relationships with Native American tribes, especially the Narragansetts. He learned their language and published "A Key into the Language of America" in 1643, the first major English study of a Native language in the region. He consistently advocated for fair dealings and often served as a mediator.

Even after his exile, Massachusetts relied on him during the Pequot War. Using his connections, he helped prevent a broader alliance against the English, which proved critical to the outcome of the war.

In 1644, Williams secured a charter in England recognizing Providence Plantations. He later helped unify the settlements that became Rhode Island, a colony defined by religious tolerance, democratic principles, and independence from enforced belief.

Over time, his personal beliefs continued to evolve. He helped found what became the First Baptist Church in America but later stepped away from organized religion entirely, identifying as a seeker.

During King Philip's War, despite decades of diplomacy, conflict returned. Providence was burned in 1676, including his home. Still, Williams remained active in the colony’s affairs well into his later years.

He died in 1683.

Roger Williams’s legacy is tied directly to Salem, not because he remained there, but because he was forced to leave. His removal from Salem and the Massachusetts Bay Colony led to the founding of Rhode Island, a place built on principles that directly challenged the system that expelled him.

Where Salem enforced conformity, Williams argued for freedom of belief.

05/08/2026

Despite being a smaller community, Salem often has a lot going on.

So, what's Happening in Salem this weekend? Check it out!

Friday 05/08

3:00-5:00pm
Free Tea & Cake Tasting at Jolie Tea Company - 316 Derby Street

5:00-8:00pm
Open Mic Night at Far From the Tree - 108 Jackson Street

7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Sea Witch Ball Workshop - 131-1 Essex Street
Join The Sea Wych Salem for a magical experience in Witch City as she presents the history & lore of the witch ball, & guides you as you create your own using ocean elements, herbs, salts, & more to welcome in joy, banish negativity, or simply for a pretty souvenir to display. Spend some time with us and bring home your own unique and uniquely crafted souvenir.

Tix must be purchased in advance

Ages 13+
Contact to schedule private parties up to 12 ppl, or for families w/children under 13

8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Miz Diamond Wigfall Friday Night Drag at Bit Bar - 278 Derby Street

8:00 pm-Midnight
Live Music w/Sylvia Pearl & the Oysters! at Gulu Gulu Cafe - 247 Essex Street

9:00pm-Midnight
Karaoke at Ginger Seafood - 118 Washington Street

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Saturday 05/09

9:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Live Music: Melissa’s Favorite Things Birthday Show at Bit Bar - 278 Derby Street

Bands: Proles
Innsmouth Look
Big Time Kill

21+ $10 cover

9:00pm-Midnight
Karaoke at Ginger Seafood - 118 Washington Street

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Sunday 05/10

10:00am-3:00pm
Mother’s Day Brunch Buffet at the Hawthorne Hotel - 18 Washington Square West

Holidays at the Hawthorne have been a tradition for 100 years. You can count on delicious food, comfortable seating and a warm atmosphere. Indulge in their Mother’s Day brunch buffet, featuring a chocolate fountain and an interactive cake trolley.

Adults $70 | Children $25 | Children under 3 free
Advanced reservations with credit card required | call 978-825-4360

11:00am - 3:00pm
Mother’s Day Brunch at Bernadette - 65 WASHINGTON STREET

​Experience the dining room in a softer, sunlit setting, with pastries and apéro for the table to begin, followed by a $95 per person, market-driven menu with a choice of appetizer and entrée for each guest.

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Tour en Español at The House of the Seven Gables - 115 Derby Street

12:00pm - 2:00pm
Notch Run Club Sundays! at Notch Brewing - 283R Derby Street

Meters for Liters is a weekly group run from the Tap Room. This is not a race, just a chance to get out and earn some cold beer. When we get back to the brewery, there will be plenty of beer and free pretzel bites for runners! On Sundays, choose from a 5k or 10k distance. Open to ALL abilities.

No sign up is required but you do have the option to “sign in” before the run. Meet at the Tap Room at 12:00pm.

1:30pm - 3:00pm
Broadsides, Ballads and Fife Tunes of Salem at the Pickering House - 18 Broad Street

Salem Massachusetts has a rich and diverse maritime past which played a major role in the early part of the Revolutionary War. The broadsides, ballads and fife tunes discussed during this presentation all have a connection to Salem, Massachusetts.

The presentation draws on materials from his two published books, Old Salem at Sea in Ballad and Song and Old Salem in Ballad and Song. In the presentation, original documents, broadsides, ballads, and several primary sources will be used to support the maritime influence Salem had on the Revolutionary War.

2:00pm - 4:00pm
Diamond’s Dine In w/ DJ Maxine Harrison at Gulu Gulu Cafe - 247 Essex Street

Diamond’s Dine In the musical millennial r***e with singing, dancing, and of course comedy! Cohosted by DJ Maxine Harrison and featuring rotating weekly special guests! Please come and celebrate Sungay with us and bring all the good energy!

9:00pm-Midnight
Karaoke at O'Neill's - 120 Washington Street

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Friday AND Saturday

Witch City Community Theatre presents New Brew Theatre Festival at Hotel Salem - 203 Essex Street

This is three one-act original plays all by ****LOCAL*** playwrights! Which means you'll be the first to see these amazing plays!

You can get tickets online at the link below!
https://www.zeffy.com/.../ticketing/new-brew-theatre-fest...

Zeffy

05/07/2026

The Crowninshield–Bentley House
126 Essex Street, Salem

Built around 1727 to 1730 for Captain John Crowninshield, the Crowninshield–Bentley House stands as one of Salem’s finest surviving examples of Georgian domestic architecture. Today it is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum, where it is preserved as a historic house museum and open for seasonal tours.

The house was originally built across the street at 106 Essex Street. Like much of 18th-century Salem, it once stood directly at the curb. Its orderly symmetry reflects the Georgian taste that became popular as Salem’s maritime economy expanded. The long rectangular form, balanced five-bay façade, central doorway with pilasters and pediment, and dormers set into the roof all reveal a strong interest in classical proportion and design. Some historians believe it may have begun as a smaller “half house” before being enlarged in 1761 and again in 1794, a reminder that even in the 18th century Salem homes often evolved with the fortunes of the families who lived in them.

Captain John Crowninshield was part of one of Salem’s great maritime families. His father, Johannes Caspar Crowninshield, was a German physician who emigrated to Salem in 1684. By the early 1700s, Salem had become one of New England’s most significant ports, and John Crowninshield prospered as a sea captain and merchant. His house reflected that growing success.

When Captain Crowninshield died at sea in 1766, the house passed to his widow, Anstiss. After later family deaths in 1774, it entered a different chapter. For roughly the next thirty-five years, rooms were rented to mariners, tradesmen, and widows. That detail matters because it shows something often overlooked in Salem’s history. Not every important house remained the home of one prosperous family. Some became practical working spaces that adapted to the city’s changing economy.

The figure most closely tied to the house today is Reverend William Bentley, who rented two second-floor rooms there from 1791 until his death in 1819. Bentley was minister of East Church, one of Salem’s most learned and observant citizens, and his presence gives the house much of its historical importance.

By probate inventory, Bentley’s rooms were crowded with books, manuscripts, paintings, drawings, sculpture, natural history specimens, and curiosities gathered from around the world. His library of roughly 4,000 volumes was among the largest private libraries in America at the time. Among his possessions were an armadillo skeleton, preserved snakes and lizards, a coconut, a palm branch, a caged bird, and even a human skull. It must have felt less like rented chambers and more like a scholar’s cabinet of curiosity.

Bentley’s greatest legacy was his diary. Kept throughout his adult life, it remains one of the richest documentary records of Salem in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Through his entries we see daily life in Salem, weather patterns, local politics, trade, and news brought home by sailors returning from ports around the globe. For historians of Salem, few firsthand sources are more valuable.

Four generations of the Crowninshield family lived in the house until 1832. In the 1940s, the Hawthorne Hotel acquired it for guest accommodations. Then in 1959, the hotel donated the building to the Essex Institute on the condition that it be moved to make way for a parking lot. During 1959 and 1960, the house was carefully relocated across Essex Street to its present site beside the Pingree House and the Andrew-Safford House. It opened to the public as a museum on July 26, 1960.

The house underwent another major restoration in 2006 and reopened in 2010. That work returned it largely to its 1794 appearance, the version Reverend Bentley would have known.

Today the Crowninshield–Bentley House offers a different kind of Salem story. It is not only about wealthy merchants and elegant architecture. It is also about renters, scholars, sailors, books, and the remarkable flow of ideas that passed through this port city. In that way, the house captures Salem at one of its most fascinating moments, when commerce, intellect, and the wider world all met on Essex Street.

Photo Credit: PEM

05/06/2026

Did you know that Salem has a new Theatre company?

That's right! And Witch City Community Theatre is presenting the New Brew Theatre Festival this weekend! This is three one-act original plays all by ****LOCAL*** playwrights! Which means you'll be the first to see these amazing plays!

Performances will be this Friday and Saturday, May 8th and 9th, at the Hotel Salem and you can get tickets online at the link below!

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/new-brew-theatre-fest?fbclid=IwY2xjawRgaVdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETE3STlWdDEwSVNhT3RlNmxLc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrLahExoHVz76V9fwCPnHczjJwz79UH31O00Z-wA--iU_5fiNkn2HO2yuqR__aem_mhbqfKDOXhW-YONjdBKNrg

This is something you won't want to miss!

Three Directors. Three original one-act plays. Witch City Community Theatre invites you to join our first New Brew Theatre Fest! 🎭Walk With Me in DreamsWritten by Patrick CornacchioDirected by Duncan KennedyWhen two lucid dreamers unexpectedly cross paths in a world beyond their waking lives, the...