Jake and Jen
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A trip to Salem, MA

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    Jen
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A trip to Salem!

I've always been interested in Salem, MA and the 1692 witch trials that happened there. It's a fascinating piece of American history.
I also really like learning about early American history, and there is a lot of that in Salem.
Jacob and I stayed in the downtown Salem area, at a very old hotel called the Daniels House Inn. The hotel is an old house converted into multiple rooms.
The original house was built in the 1600s. A lot of the interior is still the same, including very low ceilings! Jacob hit his head on the door a few times.
It was so cool staying in such an old building. Luckily for us though, it had some modern updates like air conditioning! We didn't see any ghosts, but I bet that place was haunted!
We landed at Boston airport on Wednesday and flew out on Sunday. We took a taxi from Boston into Salem instead of renting a car.
Downtown Salem is very walkable, so it just made more sense to get a taxi for two big trips instead of renting a car.

Cute decorations under a tree outside our hotel.
Cute decorations under a tree outside our hotel.
A chair in our hotel room. The decorations matched how old the inn was.
A chair in our hotel room. The decorations matched how old the inn was.
A fireplace as part of the hotel room. None of the fireplaces worked anymore, but many were original to the inn.
A fireplace as part of the hotel room. None of the fireplaces worked anymore, but many were original to the inn.
One of the kitchen areas on the lower level of the inn. They sometimes hosr events in the lower level. There were two large fireplaces in the lower levels of the inn, common in these old house
One of the kitchen areas on the lower level of the inn. They sometimes hosr events in the lower level. There were two large fireplaces in the lower levels of the inn, common in these old house
Plaque outside our hotel marking it as a historical building. Many homes and buildings in Salem are very old and have these plaques!
Plaque outside our hotel marking it as a historical building. Many homes and buildings in Salem are very old and have these plaques!

Thursday - Rebecca Nurse Homestead and a walk down the wharf

Thursday was very hot and sunny! Our first stop was the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. It has direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials.
Rebecca Nurse was one of the oldest tried and hanged in the Salem Witch Trials. She was in her 70s.
The Nurse homestead was the original location of her and her family's home. There are preserved buildings as well as recreated buildings on the homestead to show what it would have looked like back in the 1600s.
They have the original house that was built in the 1600s. It's been restored and preserved through the years.
There was a replica barn and a replica of what the Salem meeting house would have looked like - and the meeting house was where they would have held many of the witch trials.
They also have the Nurse family cemetery from the 1600 through the 1800s. It includes a monument to Rebecca Nurse and other victims of the Witch Trials.
Most victims, including Rebecca Nurse, were not given official burials after execution. It is believed that Rebecca Nurse's family gave her body a secret burial after her execution.
Part of the charm of Salem is they are right on the water, and Jacob and I were able to take a walk down to the shore. Salem was a huge trading town due to being so close to the ocean and having its own wharf.
It was so hot outside, but by the time we walked all the way down the dock it felt breezy and cool.
We also took a chance to check out the Derby House. Salem has a ton of historic buildings that are preserved and open to the public.
We didn't go inside, but we walked the gardens outside of it. It was so beautiful. The house was giant, and we found out that back in the 1800s the family who lived there divided it wasn't nice enough, and built an even bigger and fancier house right next door!

The replica meeting house on the Nurse Homestead.
The replica meeting house on the Nurse Homestead.
One of the fireplaces in the original Nurse home.
One of the fireplaces in the original Nurse home.
Old spinning wheel in the Nurse home. People would harvest, spin and weave their own cloth from linen and it took a long time!
Old spinning wheel in the Nurse home. People would harvest, spin and weave their own cloth from linen and it took a long time!
Jen outside the meeting house.
Jen outside the meeting house.
A tree and some old stones in the Nurse family cemetery.
A tree and some old stones in the Nurse family cemetery.
A very old gravestone in the Nurse cemetery.
A very old gravestone in the Nurse cemetery.
A monument to Rebecca Nurse in the Nurse cemetery.
A monument to Rebecca Nurse in the Nurse cemetery.
Pretty garden in the backyard of the Derby House.
Pretty garden in the backyard of the Derby House.
The outside of the Derby House.
The outside of the Derby House.
A picture of the wharf.
A picture of the wharf.
Once we walked down the wharf we got this great view!
Once we walked down the wharf we got this great view!

Friday - Charter Street Cemetery and the Witch House

The weather was even hotter on Friday. Jacob and I did a bit of window shopping on the main street of downtown Salem. A lot of very cool witchy and historical shops!
We also got to check out the Charter Street Cemetery. It's the oldest in Salem and has graves dating back to the 1600s. On the outside of the Cemetery are memorial stones for the victims of the Salem Witch trials.
It's a very pretty cemetery and a nice place to relax and reflect.
We also visited the old Customs House. The Customs House is where goods coming in and out of Salem would have been recorded for tax and trade purposes.
The American author Nathaniel Hawthrone worked there, but he hated working there. In the intro of his famous book The Scarlet Letter, he describes the custom house he works at and how miserable it is.
Even though he didn't mention any names, and even though it was supposed to be fiction, he was so descriptive that everyone knew what he was talking about, and some people got very mad about it!
The Custom House was also very cool, they had recreations of the tools and books that would have been used to measure and weigh the goods coming in from the docks.
We also saw The Witch House in Salem. This house is the oldest building in Salem with direct ties to the Witch Trials. It was the home to the Corwin family.
Jonathan Corwin was a judge in the Witch Trials. The house was large, even by modern standards! It had two stories, and lots of original furniture that survived from the 1800s.

Inside the Charter Street Cemetery.
Inside the Charter Street Cemetery.
An old gravestone in the Charter Street Cemetery.
An old gravestone in the Charter Street Cemetery.
Outside the Charter Street Cemetery. The stones sticking out are monuments with the names of the victims of the witch trials.
Outside the Charter Street Cemetery. The stones sticking out are monuments with the names of the victims of the witch trials.
Employee of the Month! This was a brewery cat at a brewery we visited in Salem.
Employee of the Month! This was a brewery cat at a brewery we visited in Salem.
A large loom inside the Witch House, for making cloth.
A large loom inside the Witch House, for making cloth.
A bedroom in the Witch House that would have been for children and babies.
A bedroom in the Witch House that would have been for children and babies.
Cool eagle statue that used to sit on top of the Custom House. The eagle outside the Custom House now is a replica, to presereve this original.
Cool eagle statue that used to sit on top of the Custom House. The eagle outside the Custom House now is a replica, to presereve this original.
A statue of Smantha from Bewitched!
A statue of Smantha from Bewitched!

Saturday - The Peabody Essex Museum (and lots of rain!)

It rained pretty much all day Saturday! In the morning before the rain we visited the Salem Arts Festival. It's held in downtown Salem, and it was full of really awesome local artists.
But once it started raining we decided to check out the Peabody Essex Museum. It's a really nice museum with a lot of history of Salem.
There is of course an exhibit on the Salem Witch Trials, and it had furniture and letters and other artifacts on display from Salem town, from the victims and from the accusers.
There was a really cool exhibit that discussed the history of ships, about both the Native Americans who lived in the area and also the Europeans.
They also had a whole exhibit on Narwhals, the unicorns of the sea!
One of the nicest things about Salem is the people. Everyone who we met was so nice and really loved living there. We made friends with the barista at the coffee shop by our hotel, and at the end of our stay he gave us a small gift.
There's so much more to see in Salem I think we definitely want to go back.

An interesting statue in Salem.
An interesting statue in Salem.
An old Japanese palanquin in the museum, a royal woman would have sat in this and servants carried it to transport her.
An old Japanese palanquin in the museum, a royal woman would have sat in this and servants carried it to transport her.
Decorative pieces that would sit on the hilt of a swordd. These are Japanese. They were both functional and decorative.
Decorative pieces that would sit on the hilt of a swordd. These are Japanese. They were both functional and decorative.
I'm not sure what culture this was, but this is armor.
I'm not sure what culture this was, but this is armor.
Figurehead for a boat.
Figurehead for a boat.
Another figurehead for a ship. These were from the maritime portion of the museum.
Another figurehead for a ship. These were from the maritime portion of the museum.
A life-size figure of a Narwhal.
A life-size figure of a Narwhal.
A cool Narwhal statue.
A cool Narwhal statue.
A very large hall in the museum with cool statues on the wall. They were playing cool music in the room that echoed.
A very large hall in the museum with cool statues on the wall. They were playing cool music in the room that echoed.
Some of the stairs leading down to a mirrored bench in the museum.
Some of the stairs leading down to a mirrored bench in the museum.
A pretty scultpture in the museum.
A pretty scultpture in the museum.
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