Abby Epplett, Historian

In September 2024, I visited places and attended programs in Essex National Heritage Area as part of its annual event Trails & Sails . On my second day, I visited the John Hale Farm in Beverly, MA . This farm was completed by 1694 and owned by Reverend John Hale , a minister at First Parish Church in Beverly who is best known for first supporting and then decrying the Salem Witch Trials, which seemingly took place during the construction the farm in 1692. Hale’s book, titled in part A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft , was published in 1702, two years after his death, and served as an explanation of what happened in Salem. The house has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974 .

While planning day trips to the Essex National Heritage Area, I stumbled upon The Beacons Are Lit: The Lighthouse Keepers of Bakers Island . I was intrigued by the bizarre juxtaposition of a late 18 th century lighthouse in Salem, MA and a line from Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King , so I had to further investigate this short online exhibit. The exhibit begins with a quick review on the history and importance of lighthouses with a special focus on the Pharos of Alexandria in Ancient Greece. Then the exhibit dives right into the importance of the lighthouse on Bakers Island. The current lighthouse is “Pa”, as it was the “husband” of “Ma”, a slightly older and shorter lighthouse next door that was torn down in 1926. Lighthouses have been on the island since 1798, and a keeper was needed to run them. This work was incredibly risky, as third keeper Nathaniel Ward and his assistant Marshall (with no clarity in the exhibit over whether this was a first name or last name...

During my trip to Salem back in October, I made several quick history stops around the city. All of these stops are free to view from the sidewalk, and several are included in an audio tour. Stops included an alternative medicine clinic, the statue of the city’s founder, a collection of historic building, a 17 th century cemetery, and witchcraft tourist traps.

Last October, during my trip to Salem, MA, I visited Phillips House , an elegant Federal style mansion built in 1821 and operated by Historic New England (HNE) . This tour is vastly different from other historic tours in Salem because it focuses neither on the 1690s around the time of the Salem Witch Trials, nor on the early 19 th century during the peak of maritime trade. Instead, the tour is told through the eyes of five-year-old Stephen “Stevie” Phillips , who moved into the newly renovated house with his family in 1912. As the last in the line of many Stephen Phillipses, he is best remembered today by a scholarship that bears his name .

Back in early October of 2022, I visited Gedney House in Salem, MA, one of the oldest properties owned by Historic New England (HNE) and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974. Built in 1665 by Eleazer Gedney (1642-1683), whose day job as a shipwright or boat builder gave him plenty of carpentry experience, the house was intended for twenty-three year old Gedney and his wife-to-be, sixteen year old Elizabeth Turner Gedney (1648-1677). The house is among a handful of extant structures from the First Period of American architecture, part of the early British colonial era in what is now the United States. It predates the better known House of Seven Gables , made famous by American author and Salem resident, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), who wrote a book by the same name . Salem was a small community, and Gedney's brother-in-law, John Turner (1644-1680), built the House of Seven Gables in 1668.

Last October, I visited Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, MA. I had visited the city of Salem several times in the past and had taken a ranger-led tour of the area, but I had never completed a Junior Ranger badge for the site, so the revisit was a must. The National Historic Site designation within the National Park Service in the United States originated with Salem, as it was the first National Historic Site. Created on March 17, 1938, the park celebrated its 85 th anniversary last Friday. Salem Maritime NHS can be divided into three parts: the Salem Armory Visitor Center, the tall ship Friendship of Salem at Derby Wharf, and historic buildings. Each of these parts is important for understanding the history of the city.