Adventures in Salem, MA

Salem... January, 1692... Witch trials are underway in this sleepy waterfront town. Brought on by the hysterical and inexplicable acts of two young girls, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams who were, ironically enough, the daughter and orphaned niece of a local reverend, Samuel Parris. Apparently these girls began to act strangely and other girls soon followed. Ultimately, due to the pressure brought on by the towns citizens to identify the source of their ailments, the girls named three women: Tituba, the Caribbean slave of the reverend, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne. In May, the new Governor from England, Sir William Phips set up the Court of Oyer and Terminer to try the witchcraft cases. By this time, nearly 30 people (not just women) had been arrested and examined (Sarah Osborne had since died in prison) by Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin. Governor Phips added 5 other men to make up the Court of Oyer and Terminer. A month later, Bridget Bishop was hanged marking the 1st official execution of the witch trials. By the end of October (how appropriate), Phips ended the Court of Oyer and Terminer. In all, about 20 people had been executed by then. The Superior Court was created in November to try the rest of the cases the following May... This time, there were no convictions! You learn a lot when you go to museums...

Salem isn't only known for its "witchy" past. There are other notable citizens of Salem as well. Probably the most well know was Nathaniel Hawthorne. Born in 1804 in Salem, Hawthorne penned numerous literary works such as Twice Told Tales, The Scarlet Letter, and The House of The Seven Gables. "Gables" was inspired by the stories his cousin would tell him of the house's appearance in earlier days. Now a museum (they have lots of 'em there), tours are offered not only of this historic dwelling (also known as the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion), but also of the "Hooper-Hathaway House", the "Counting House", the "Retire Beckett House", and of course, the "Nathaniel Hawthorne House." THOTSG (too much to type), is the oldest surviving 17th century wooden mansion in New England.

The Tall Ships! This particular one, docked at historic Derby Wharf's "Salem Maritime National Historic Site", is a reconstruction of the original built in Salem back in the late 1700's. She is a 171-foot, three-masted Salem East Indiaman (no idea what any of that means, but it sounds impressive), and is the largest wooden, Coast Guard certified, sailing ship built in New England in more than a century. I almost got a chance to go out on another ship docked here called the Fame, but they had cancelled all of their sailings for the day because the weatherman said it was going to rain... If you can't tell in the picture to the left, NOT A CLOUD IN THE SKY!!! Anyway, I guess I'll just have to try to make it next time. This has been a very educational trip (for a business trip). Well, I'll be working the rest of the week, and probably won't get a chance to write anymore, but on the bright side, I DO get to go home on Thursday... Can't Wait!