The historic Witch House in Salem, Massachusetts, has actually caught fire and nearly burned down at least twice in its long history.
The first time was on March 27, 1924, when a fire started in a building next door to the historic house and it spread to the Witch House.
The fire started shortly after midnight in a laundromat next door and it quickly spread to the Witch House. A protecting wall prevented the fire from spreading to the first floor of the house, but it leaped to the second floor and continued to spread.
A man named George McColgan had been attending an Elks meeting in a nearby building when he witnessed the blaze and alerted the fire department, according to a news report in the Boston Globe:
“At the time the apparatus arrived the fire had gained great headway and for a time it looked as if the old building…would be totally destroyed. Flames were shooting through all the windows and the roof.”
The firefighters fought the fire for nearly a half hour while hundreds of spectators gathered to “gaze upon the famous building for what they thought was the last time.” The flames damaged the second and third floors and burned the east side of the roof. Fortunately, the firefighters were able to put out the fire before it caused any more damage.
The historic house was home to two businesses at the time, an antique store owned by Grace Atkinson and a pharmacy known as Upton & Frisbee.
Rubber blankets were placed over many of the antiques in an attempt to save them but most of them were still damaged due to the fire, smoke and water. The damage to the antiques alone was estimated at several thousand dollars. The smoke and water also did some damage to the pharmacy on the first floor of the house.
The fire was started by an explosion in a laundromat next door on North Street, which damaged the laundromat, a shoe repair shop and a plumbing shop nearby.
Nearly 20 years later, on February 15, 1942, the Witch House caught fire again when a fire started in the shoe repair shop on North Street which then spread to the laundromat next door to the Witch House.
Fortunately the fire department responded quickly and were able to put out the fire with only slight damage to the Witch House, according to a news report in the Boston Record.
The Witch House was also fortunately spared during the Great Salem Fire of 1914. Although that fire destroyed nearly one third of the city, it didn’t come near the Witch House.
The Witch House is now a historic house museum equipped with standard fire prevention measures like fire alarms, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers.
Sources:
“Fire Perils Old Salem Witch House.” Boston Record, 16 Feb. 1942, p. 14.
“Salem Witch House Burns.” Boston Traveler, 28 Mar. 1924, p.14.
“Witch House Burns.” Boston Transcript, 28 Mar. 1924, p. 11.
“Witch House is Damaged.” Boston Post, 28 Mar. 1924, p. 1.
“Old Witch House in Flames.” Boston Herald, 28 Mar. 1924, p. 1.
“Witch House is Saved in Blaze.” Boston Globe, 28 Mar. 1924, p.24.