Salem Sights

The photo above is not a witch statue. It is a statue of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem. Salem was founded in 1626 and its name is a variation on the word "shalom" or peace. But Salem was far from peaceful, given the history of the area.

First, around 1635, the town dismissed a minister, Roger Williams, who preached that the natives should be compensated for their land and believed in the separation of church and state. He went on to establish Rhode Island.

Then, of course, there were the witch trials of 1692. The Puritans, who escaped religious persecution from England, were intolerant of the Quakers who arrived in 1658, culminating in the torture, imprisonment and death for 15 months until the judge, whose family members were accused of being witches, declared spectral evidence inadmissable in the court of law. It seems that if you volunteered that you were a witch, then you would be left alone. But if you were accused of being a witch and could not prove that you weren't, then you were declared a witch and suffered the consequences.

Today, there is a modern day memorial, dedicated by Elie Wiesel in 1992, to the memory of the 20 people who had been executed as a result of the trials.

In the 1800's, Salem was home to Nathaniel Hawthorne, at various times in his life. Hawthorne was born in Salem, and then lived here again when he was married. He worked as a customs official (a government employee, who collected taxes from the ships using Salem Harbor). It was boring work, but gave Hawthorne plenty of time to pen great works, like The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. Above is a photo of the sailing vessel, Friendship, a replica of an 18th century commercial vessel that is moored at Derby Wharf in Salem Harbor. She was returning from Boston, after being part of the 4th of July festivities. She is the most recent ship of its kind built in Albany, NY in 1997.

In the eighteenth century, Salem had become a burgeoning fishing, shipbuilding and maritime trade center. Two months before the battles in Lexington and Concord, skirmishes between merchant ships, known as privateers, and the British navy broke out in Salem. Salem's fleet captured or sank 455 British vessels. By 1790, Salem was the sixth largest city in the country, and the richest per capita due to international trade with Europe, the West Indies, China, Africa and Russia.

So, why a picture of the RV in its sad little site? The trolley tour came through the city park and as we passed the RV sites, it was explained that the area is called Gallows Hill, where pirates were hung for their sundry infractions. Mel is so excited that he is parked where pirates once roamed (and died). The boy needs a hobby.

Please note that at least for today, we have no immediate neighbors, though there are other campers not far from us. When we came by on the tour, they had departed and we are alone. That will be short lived as tomorrow is Friday and the park will fill up again.