The Salem Heritage Trail is a walking trail that leads to the many historic sites and tourist attractions in the Salem, Mass.
The Salem Heritage Trail is a red line that has been painted on the sidewalk and starts and ends at the National Park Service Visitor Center on New Liberty Street.
The trail is similar to the Freedom Trail in Boston except that the Freedom Trail features only historical sites while the Salem Heritage Trail features a mix of historical sites as well as commercial sites and tourist attractions.
The stops on the Salem Heritage Trail are:
National Park Service Salem Regional Visitor Center:
Address: 2 New Liberty Street
This visitor center is housed in the historic Salem Armory and features dioramas and exhibits about Salem’s maritime history as well as a free 27-minute film, titled Where Past Is Present, about the history of Salem and Essex County.
Peabody Essex Museum:
Address: 161 Essex Street
The Peabody Essex Museum is an art museum that features Asian art, Asian export art, Maritime art, Native American art as well as changing exhibits on everything from fashion to Salem’s history.
East India Marine Hall:
Address: East India Square
The East India Marine Hall is a museum owned by the East India Marine Society that features collections about Salem’s maritime history. The collections are made up of donated items acquired by local sea captains during their sea voyages around the world. It includes natural curiosities, exotic art and clothing as well as coins and currencies from around the world.
Witch History Museum:
Address: 197-201 Essex Street
The Witch History Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of the Salem Witch Trials. The museum features dioramas and live presentations about the events of the trials.
Daniel Low Building:
Address: 231 Essex Street
The Daniel Low Building is a historic building that now houses the Rockafellas restaurant. The building was constructed in 1826 on the site of the First Church of Salem. The second floor continued to serve as a church throughout the 19th century while the first floor housed commercial businesses such as a dry goods store, a jewelry store, a bank and various restaurants.
Town Pump Memorial:
Address: Town House Square
The Town Pump Memorial in Town House Square is a water fountain that marks the location of Salem’s first fresh water spring. The spring was used by both the local natives and the colonists before eventually being turned into a wooden water pump for the town. Eventually the pump was removed but, in 1976, the fountain was built on same spot to commemorate the spring’s history.
Bewitched Statue:
Address: 235 Essex Street
The Bewitched Statue is a six-foot-tall bronze statue that depicts the character of Samantha from the hit television show Bewitched. The statue, which was erected in 2005, features actress Elizabeth Montgomery flying on a broom in front of a crescent moon and commemorates the six episodes of Bewitched that were filmed in Salem in the 1970s.
Witch House:
Address: 310 Essex Street
The Witch House is a historic house museum where Salem Witch Trials Judge Jonathan Corwin lived. The house is the only building still standing in Salem that has direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials. The museum is a first period house that was built in 1675 and is furnished with 17th century artifacts and antiques.
Monument to Captain William Driver:
Address: Captain William Driver Park, 309 Essex Street
The monument to Captain William Driver is a monument dedicated to local Salem Sea Captain William Driver who is credited with nicknaming the American flag “Old Glory.” The monument was erected in 1968 and features a large stone with a bronze plaque.
First Church in Salem:
Address: 316 Essex Street
The First Church in Salem is a historic stone Unitarian church. The church was built in 1836 and features early English Gothic architecture, a Quincy granite edifice and stained glass windows by notable artist John Lafarge.
Ropes Mansion:
Address: 318 Essex Street
The Ropes Mansion is a historic 18th century Georgian-style mansion that now serves as a historic house museum. The house was built for local merchant Samuel Barnard before being purchased by Judge Nathaniel Ropes Jr in 1768. It stayed in the Ropes family until 1907 when it opened as a museum. The house was featured in the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus.
Witch Dungeon Museum:
Address: 16 Lynde Street
The Witch Dungeon Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of the Salem Witch Trials. The museum features live reenactments of the trials as well as a tour of a replica of the dungeon where the accused were kept. The museum also has on display one of the original beams from the actual dungeon in the old Salem Witch Jail on Federal Street, which was demolished in 1956. The Witch Dungeon museum first opened in 1979.
Salem City Hall:
Address: 93 Washington Street
Salem City Hall is a historic government building that was constructed in 1838 and is still in use today. It features Greek-Revival architecture with a granite edifice and four columns.
Old Town Hall:
Address: 32 Derby Square
Old Town Hall is the oldest historic government building in Salem and now serves as a venue hall. The building was constructed around 1816 and features Federal-style architecture with Palladian windows, antique chandeliers and wooden floors. The building was also featured in the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus.
Old Burying Point Cemetery:
Address: 51 Charter Street
The Old Burying Point Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Salem. Established in 1637, it features graves of not only two of the Salem Witch Trials judges but also one of the Mayflower passengers and is adjacent to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial.
Salem Witch Trials Memorial:
Address: Charter Street
The Salem Witch Trials Memorial is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Salem Witch Trials. The memorial was built in 1992, on the 300th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials, and features a low stone wall with stone benches engraved with the names of the accused witches and the dates they were hanged.
Salem Wax Museum:
Address: 282-288 Derby Street
The Salem Wax Museum is a museum dedicated to local history. The museum features wax models depicting scenes of Salem’s history.
Salem Witch Village:
Address: 282 Derby Street
Salem Witch Village is an attraction dedicated to the history of witches, paganism and the occult.
New England Pirate Museum:
Address: 274 Derby Street
The New England Pirate Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of piracy in New England. The museum features artifacts of actual pirate treasure as well as a narrated tour through replica pirate ships, caves, docks and villages.
Salem Maritime National Historical Site:
Address: 160 Derby Street
The Salem Maritime National Historical Site is a national park dedicated to the history of Salem’s maritime history. The park features 16 historic structures to explore as well as ranger-guided tours.
Ye Olde Pepper Companie:
Address: 122 Derby Street
Ye Olde Pepper Companie is a popular candy shop run by the oldest candy company in America. This flag ship store features modern candy like chocolates and gummies as well as historic 19th century candies like Gibalters, a type of soft mint candy made from cream of tartar, and Black Jacks, an old fashioned molasses stick candy.
House of Seven Gables:
Address: 115 Derby Street
The House of Seven Gables is a historic house museum that inspired the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel of the same name. This mansion, also known as the Turner-Ingosoll Mansion, was built for local merchant Captain John Turner in 1668 and is open to the public for tours.
Hawthorne Hotel:
Address: 180 Washington Square W
The Hawthorne Hotel is a historic Salem hotel built in 1925. Named after local author National Hawthorne, the hotel was built to accommodate the growing number of tourists in Salem and is still one of the most popular places to stay when visiting the city.
Salem Common:
Address: N Washington Square
Salem Common is a historic town park near downtown Salem. The common was established in 1667 as grazing land for local cattle and was once home to a swamp but it was filled in and renovated into a park in the 1801 and is now a popular place to hold picnics and outdoor events.
Roger Conant Statue:
Address: 2 Brown Street
The Roger Conant Statue in front of the Salem Witch Museum is a bronze statue of Roger Conant, who was the first person to settle Salem in 1626. The statue was erected in 1913. Due to the fact that the figure is dressed in Puritan clothing and is located in front of the witch museum, visitors often mistakenly think the statue is of a witch or someone who was involved in the Salem Witch Trials.
Crow Haven Corner:
Address: 125 Essex Street
Crow Haven Corner is a popular witch shop once owned by the official witch of Salem, Laurie Cabot. The shop is the oldest witch shop in Salem and sells witchcraft supplies and also offers Tarot readings.
If you are interested in taking a guided tour of Salem’s historic locations, check out this article on the best Salem history tours.
Sources:
“Captain William Driver Monument.” Salem.com, salem.com/veterans-services/pages/captain-william-driver-monument
“40th Anniversary of the Witch Dungeon Museum.” Salem.org, salem.org/40th-anniversary-of-the-witch-dungeon-museum/
Goff, John. “Milling and Rilling Around: Facelift for the Hawthorne Fountain?” Wicked Local Salem, 11 May, 2012, salem.wickedlocal.com/x1809315463/Milling-and-Rilling-Around-Facelift-for-the-Hawthorne-Fountain