As I write this article on a sunny autumn afternoon, 1.2 million tourists are quickly invading my local city of Salem, Massachusetts. Many come for the haunted houses, costume balls, and the festive party atmosphere that the spooky season brings to town. Others visit to reflect upon the dark history of the city’s most notorious event, the Salem Witch Trials.

When it comes to this horrific period in time, it is important to preserve what we have left of these historical events. Salem offers endless “witchcraft” museums, tours, and reenactments, but only a few sites with actual ties to the trials remain. We have lost too much already. The Old Witch Gaol (jail), where the accused were imprisoned under horrific conditions, was demolished in the 1950s by the New England Telephone Company, and many of the homes of citizens associated with the trials have long been torn down. The Witch House (home of Judge Jonathan Corwin ) is the one remaining "witch trial" city building we have left.

However, what many people do not realize, is that the neighboring town of Danvers also contains buildings linked to the events surrounding the trials. Unfortunately, one of these remaining structures, Nathaniel Ingersoll's Ordinary Tavern, is in dire need of repair and may eventually be lost to history like so many historic structures before it.

In 1692, Danvers was considered to be part of Salem. It wasn’t until 1757 that the town was incorporated. Several locals associated with the witch trials, including accused victims Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Osborne, lived in what was called “Salem Village."

Salem Village was also home to Nathaniel Ingersoll (my 10th great-granduncle). Ingersoll was a militia lieutenant and a church deacon. His family ran a tavern known as Ingersoll’s Ordinary. The tavern served as a social center for the community who regularly gathered here to eat and drink. Guestrooms were also available for rent. During the time of the hysteria, people accused of performing acts of witchcraft were held and possibly examined on this site. The Ordinary was later used as a meeting spot for militia during the Revolutionary War.

Fast-forward to 2024, and this historic home is in a sad state of neglect and disrepair. The clapboards are coming off, the sills are rotted, and a gaping hole is visible in the roof. The state of the privately owned building is atrocious and getting worse by the year. The race against time is on to try to save this important part of our nation's history.

A group of concerned citizens, history buffs, and witch trial descendants have formed a Facebook group called SAVE Ingersoll’s Tavern. The group has rallied behind a passionate man named David McKenna, president of the Danvers Historical Society. McKenna has acted as spokesperson for the campaign as well as the liaison between the current Ingersoll’s Ordinary owner and the public. The group is trying to bring awareness to the situation, and members have created an online petition to save the building. For now, that is all that can be done. 

When I spoke with David McKenna, he told me that he was frustrated, and rightfully so. The Ingersoll home (once owned by McKenna’s good friends) has been sitting vacant for well over a decade. The off-site owner has neglected to properly maintain the historic property, and nature is quickly taking its toll. Although some headway has been made to preserve the exterior of the home, what lies inside is unknown. McKenna’s hands are tied until the reluctant owner lets someone inside the home to assess the state of the property’s interior. And time is of the essence.

While McKenna is upset, he believes that the owner has good intentions and truly wants to preserve the property despite being overwhelmed by the process. McKenna has attempted to meet with the owner numerous times but has been unsuccessful. 

Earlier this fall, my husband and I grabbed lunch in Danvers and took a trip to visit the Ordinary. I have to admit that I became a little emotional. The three-bedroom home sits on a corner lot of a pretty street. Several historical witchcraft sites lie within walking distance of the home.

The house is surrounded by mature trees and an old fence made of stone. Despite the Ordinary’s historic past, there are no plaques to mark its significance. If you didn’t know the building’s history, you would think it was just another old New England home in desperate need of some love.

As we surveyed the property from our spot on the sidewalk, we could clearly see the growing hole in the rooftop and the peeling paint on the clapboards. The house was marked with a square red and white sign indicating that it is an unsafe, abandoned property. However, looking beyond the damage, it wasn’t hard to see the beauty of the old home and recognize the potential that it may hold if it can be rescued.

We finished up our visit and took a quick walk down the street to pay our respects at the Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial. Later, as we headed back to Salem, we passed the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, another historic witchcraft trials home. As we drove on, I thought a lot about what life must have been like for my ancestors when they resided in the area back in the time of the hysteria. While most things are quite different in 2024, we all know that history tends to repeat itself, especially if we don’t learn from it. I can’t think of a better reason to preserve our ties to the past than this.