Salem Women's
History and
Business Community
History and
Business Community
Witch House
Associated women:
• Elizabeth Sheafe Gibbs Corwin
Salem sites:
• Salem Witch Museum
• Salem Witch Trials Memorial
• Phillips Library, Peabody
Essex Museum
Other historic house museums
• Elizabeth Sheafe Gibbs Corwin
Salem sites:
• Salem Witch Museum
• Salem Witch Trials Memorial
• Phillips Library, Peabody
Essex Museum
Other historic house museums
310 1/2 Essex Street — Open to the public
The ca. 1674 Corwin House, known popularly as the Witch House, is the only surviving structure in Salem with direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. It was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin who, along with John Hathorne (Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ancestor), served on the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The court, which allowed spectral evidence to be presented at trial, sentenced twenty innocent Christians to death. According to the architectural historian Bryant F. Tolles, some of the accused were brought to the Corwin House for pre-trial examinations, such as a body search for “witch’s marks.”
The house itself was considered quite grand for its time. Corwin’s wife, Elizabeth Sheafe Gibbs, a wealthy widow from Boston, brought at least two children to her marriage and to this home; the Corwins had several more children, most of whom died in infancy.
Today
Tours through the house today discuss daily life in the 17th century, the Corwins, Jonathan’s involvement in the witch trials, and the evolving architecture of the house. Owned by the City of Salem, the Witch House is one of Salem’s most visited historic sites.
Sources
• Architecture in Salem by Bryant F. Tolles
• Salem’s Witch House: A Touchstone to Antiquity by John Goff
• Salem Web
The ca. 1674 Corwin House, known popularly as the Witch House, is the only surviving structure in Salem with direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. It was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin who, along with John Hathorne (Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ancestor), served on the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The court, which allowed spectral evidence to be presented at trial, sentenced twenty innocent Christians to death. According to the architectural historian Bryant F. Tolles, some of the accused were brought to the Corwin House for pre-trial examinations, such as a body search for “witch’s marks.”
The house itself was considered quite grand for its time. Corwin’s wife, Elizabeth Sheafe Gibbs, a wealthy widow from Boston, brought at least two children to her marriage and to this home; the Corwins had several more children, most of whom died in infancy.
Today
Tours through the house today discuss daily life in the 17th century, the Corwins, Jonathan’s involvement in the witch trials, and the evolving architecture of the house. Owned by the City of Salem, the Witch House is one of Salem’s most visited historic sites.
Sources
• Architecture in Salem by Bryant F. Tolles
• Salem’s Witch House: A Touchstone to Antiquity by John Goff
• Salem Web
