After reading chapter 3 in American History Give Me Liberty, I became
interested in learning more about the Salem Witch Trials and decided to visit
the Salem Witch Mesuem and Witch House.
SALEM WITCH HOUSE
The Jonathan
Corwin House in Salem, Massachusetts, USA, known as The
Witch House, was the home of Judge Jonathan
Corwin (1640–1718) and is the only structure still standing in Salem
with direct ties to the Salem witch trials of 1692, thought to be built between 1620 and 1642. It
was bought by Judge Corwin in 1675, when he was 35 years old, and he lived
there for more than forty years. Corwin was buried in the nearby Broad Street Cemetery.
The house remained in the Corwin family until the mid-19th century.
The infamous Salem
witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in
Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused
several local women of witchcraft. As a wave of hysteria spread throughout colonial
Massachusetts, a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the first
convicted witch, Bridget Bishop, was hanged that June. Eighteen others followed
Bishop to Salem’s Gallows Hill, while some 150 more men, women and children
were accused over the next several months. By September 1692, the hysteria had
begun to abate and public opinion turned against the trials. Though the
Massachusetts General Court later annulled guilty verdicts against accused
witches and granted indemnities to their families, bitterness lingered in the
community, and the painful legacy of the Salem witch trials would endure for
centuries. www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials
Christiana,
ReplyDeleteNice job. As discussed, there is not much of a "witch" story when it comes to the Witch House. Now I know that it is one of the only remaining structures from the period, which helps give us an idea as to the type of home people were living in at the time. Although, I think it is safe to say the witch house would have been a home of an affluent family.
When I first went to this house, I was excited to find out more stories about witches, and then I was disappointed when this was not the case. I had no idea that the house is the only remaining building from that time.
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