Danvers, Massachusetts is a small historic town that is home to many historic sites. Most of these sites are related to Salem Village, which was located in Danvers in the 17th century, and the Salem Witch Trials, but some are also related to the Revolutionary War and the Industrial Revolution.
Danvers is home to the Salem Village Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 31, 1975.
The following is a list of historic sites in Danvers:
Danvers State Hospital:
Address: 450 Maple Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1874, Danvers State Hospital is a historic psychiatric hospital on Hathorne Hill.
The hospital is a Kirkbride building, which was a state-of-the-art mental hospital design advocated by Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride that called for an expansive hospital building in the countryside with lots of light and ventilation.
The building totaled 313,000 square feet in size and 1,100 feet in length. It featured a main center building with four wings radiating off both sides of the structure that allowed each ward adequate ventilation and views of the surrounding land.
Danvers State Hospital was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1984. In 1992, the hospital eventually closed down due to overcrowding, a lack of funding, and advancements in psychiatric medications that made large mental hospitals unnecessary. The building was redeveloped as a luxury apartment building in 2008.
Danvers Town Hall:
Address: 1 Sylvan Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1855, Danvers Town Hall is a historic government building. The building is a 2½-story Greek Revival/Georgian Revival-style building constructed out of wood clapboards and flushboards. It was designed by architects Emerton & Foster.
From its construction until 1930, the building served as the Holten High School. The building was expanded in 1883 and remodeled again in 1947. It still serves as the town hall.
Derby Summer House:
Address: Glen Magna Farms gardens & grounds, 29 Ingersoll Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1793, the Derby Summer House, also known as the McIntire Tea House, is a historic teahouse on the grounds of Glen Magna Farms in Danvers.
The house is a 2½-story Federal-style house designed by notable architect Samuel McIntire and features several carved wooden figures mounted on its roof.
The house was originally built for Elias Haskett Derby at his farm in Danvers. It was purchased by William C. Endicott and moved to its present location in 1901.
In 1958, the house was purchased by the Danvers Historical Society. The Derby Summer House was added to the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark on November 24, 1968.
Endicott Pear Tree:
Address: 100 Endicott St, Danvers, MA
Planted sometime between 1632 and 1638, the Endicott Pear Tree is believed to be the oldest living cultivated fruit tree in North America.
Tradition states that the tree was planted by John Endicott, making Endicott one of the first colonists to cultivate fruit in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The tree is currently located on land owned by North Shore Medical Center and is protected by a chain-link fence.
Elisia Hutchinson House:
Address: 182 Centre Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1726, Hutchinson House is a First Period house that is the birthplace of Colonel Israel Hutchinson. The house is a 2½-story Colonial-style house built for Elisha Hutchinson.
Several renovations were made to the building starting in 1780 when additions, such as a lean-to, were constructed, and the original chimney was removed when it was damaged in an earthquake.
The house remained in the Hutchinson family well into the 19th century but is currently privately owned.
Ingersoll’s Tavern:
Address: 199 Hobart Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1670, Ingersoll’s Tavern is a historic house that once served as a tavern during the Salem Witch Trials. The tavern is a Colonial-style clapboard house built for Nathaniel Ingersoll, lieutenant of the militia and first deacon of Salem Village Church.
Several examinations of the accused witches were held at the tavern during the trials in 1692. In 1832, the First Church of Salem purchased the house to use as a parsonage. It continued to serve as a parsonage until the late 1960s. In 2011, a private owner purchased the house, and it has sat vacant since, falling into disrepair.
Jeremiah Page House:
Address: 11 Page Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1754, the Jeremiah Page House is a historic house that was once home to local brick maker Jeremiah Page. The house is a Georgian-style gambrel roof home.
Jeremiah Page was a captain of the town’s militia and led his troops into battle at the Battle of Lexington in 1775. His wife, Anne Page, was a women’s suffrage activist who ran a school at the house.
In 1914, the Danvers Historical Society purchased the house and relocated it from Elm Street to Page Street.
Putnam Cemetery:
Address: Maple Street, Danvers, MA
Established in 1775, the Putnam Cemetery is a small family cemetery on Maple Street. The 16,000-square foot cemetery has a total of 91 headstones, with the earliest dating to 1775.
The cemetery is believed to be home to the unmarked graves of Salem Witch Trials accusers Ann Putnam Jr and her parents, Thomas and Ann Putnam Sr, and is also home to the graves of descendants of Revolutionary War hero General Israel Putnam.
General Israel Putnam House:
Address: Maple Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1648, the General Israel Putnam House is a historic First Period house that is the birthplace of Revolutionary War hero General Israel Putnam.
The house is a 2 1/2-story Colonial-style house with clapboard siding and a gable and gambrel roof. The Putnam house was enlarged and remodeled at least twice during this time, once in 1744 and again in 1831.
The house was gifted to the Danvers Historical Society in 1991, but the Putnam family sued the society for failing to maintain the property and purchased it back in 2021.
On April 30, 1976, the Putnam House was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Rebecca Nurse Homestead:
Address: 149 Pine Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1678, the Rebecca Nurse Homestead was the home of accused witch Rebecca Nurse during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692.
The property features not only the historic 17th-century house but also the Nurse Family Cemetery, where it is believed that Rebecca Nurse is buried in an unmarked grave. The cemetery is now the only known burial site of anyone convicted of witchcraft during the Salem trials.
The house was built in 1678 and is a First Period Saltbox-style house. It was renovated and expanded several times, once in 1720 when the lean-to kitchen was added, and again in 1820 when the lean-to kitchen was enlarged.
In 1909, the property was purchased by the Rebecca Nurse Memorial Association, which opened it up to the public as a historic house museum.
In 1926, the association donated the property to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. In 1981, the Danvers Alarm List Company, a volunteer non-profit organization of Revolutionary War reenactors, purchased the Rebecca Nurse Homestead.
Samuel Holten House:
Address: 171 Holten Street, Danvers, MA
Built in 1670, the Samuel Holten House, also known as the Benjamin Holten House, is a First Period house built for Benjamin Holten. The house is a Colonial Saltbox-style house with clapboard siding and a wood shingle roof.
The house remained in the Holten family for 200 years. In 1692, Sarah Holten was living in the house when she testified against Rebecca Nurse in the Salem Witch Trials.
Benjamin Houlten Jr began running a tavern in the house in 1715, which operated under various managers until 1745.
During the Revolutionary War, it was the home of Judge Samuel Holten, a Founding Father who served in the Continental Congress and was a member of the House of Representatives.
In 1921, the house was purchased by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Salem Village Parsonage Site:
Address: 67A Centre St, Danvers, MA
The Salem Village Parsonage site is an archeological site that was once the location of the Salem Village Parsonage during the Salem Witch Trials.
Originally built in 1681, the parsonage served as the home of the village’s minister and his family. The house was 42 feet long, 20 feet wide, and had two floors, four rooms, and a stone-walled half-cellar under the parlor.
By 1784, the parsonage was in poor condition, so it was torn down by Reverend Benjamin Wadsworth, and the land was used as a pasture.
In 1970, town archivist Richard Trask excavated the site and uncovered the old foundation and more than 30,000 artifacts such as cutlery and coins.
In 1988, the town of Danvers purchased the site and opened it to visitors as a historic landmark.
Salem Village Meetinghouse Site:
Address: Corner of Hobart and Forest Street, Danvers, MA
This site was once the location of the original Salem Village Meetinghouse during the Salem Witch Trials.
Originally built in 1672, the meetinghouse measured thirty-four feet in length and twenty-eight feet broad and featured two end galleries and a canopy over the pulpit. The frame of the building was constructed from oak timber using post-and-beam construction.
After 30 years, the meetinghouse fell into disrepair and was dismantled when a new meetinghouse was built on Watch-House Hill in 1702.
The frame of the old meetinghouse was moved across the street and converted into a barn. The barn eventually deteriorated and crumbled into dust.
Village Training Field:
Address: Centre St &, Ingersoll St, Danvers, MA
The Village Training Field is a historic landmark that was once the site where the local militia trained its soldiers. The village began using this field, which was owned by Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll, as an unofficial training location as early as 1671.
In 1709, Ingersoll officially donated the field “to the inhabitants of Salem Village for a training place forever.” It was on this field that 300 Danvers minutemen gathered before marching off to take part in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.
Wadsworth House:
Address: 73 Centre St, Danvers, MA
Built in 1785, the Wadsworth House is a historic house that served as a parsonage. Built for Dr. Benjamin Wadsworth, it is a Georgian-style house with a square-hipped roof.
Wadsworth built this parsonage after he had the old parsonage torn down in 1784. Tradition states that much of the wood from the old parsonage was used in the construction of this house.
Watch House Hill:
Address: 41 Centre Street, Danvers, MA
Watch House Hill was a small hill on Centre Street that was owned by Nathaniel Ingersoll. The hill was the site of the Salem Village Watch House, built in 1676. In 1701, the hill was leveled in order to build the second Salem Village Meetinghouse there, which was constructed in 1702.
Witchcraft Victims Memorial:
Address: 176 Hobart Street, Danvers, MA
The Witchcraft Victims Memorial is a memorial dedicated to the victims who died during the Salem Witch Trials. It is located directly across the street from the site of the old Salem Village Meetinghouse.
The memorial was erected by the Salem Village Witchcraft Tercentennial Committee of the Town of Danvers. It was designed by committee members Marjorie C. Wetzel, Robert D. Farley, and Richard B. Trask and was carved by the Lawson Granite Company of Barre, Vermont.
The memorial was dedicated on May 9, 1992, one day before the 300th anniversary of the death of the first victim, Sarah Osborne.
Sources:
“Village Training Field.” Historical Marker Database, hmdb.org/m.asp?m=17991
MACRIS, Massachusetts Historical Commission, mhc-macris.net/
“Additional Places of Interest.” Town of Danvers Massachusetts, danversma.gov/913/Additional-Places-of-Interest
“Historic Sites Accessible to the Public.” Town of Danvers Massachusetts, danversma.gov/911/Historic-Sites-Accessible-to-the-Public