The Witch House

The Witch House (also called The Corwin House), was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin and is the only structure still standing in Salem, Massachusetts with direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The house was bought by Judge Corwin, in 1675, when he was 34 years old and he lived there for more than forty years. Corwin is buried in the nearby Broad Street Cemetery. The house remained in the Corwin family until the mid-1800s.

As a local magistrate and civic leader, Corwin was called upon to investigate the claims of diabolical activity when a surge of witchcraft accusations arose in Salem and neighboring communities. He served on the Court of Oyer and Terminer, which ultimately sent nineteen to the gallows. All nineteen refused to admit to witchcraft and maintained their innocence.

The house is an excellent example of 17th-century architecture. To this day historians have not come to a conclusion as to when it was built. Jonathan Corwin's descendants claim the house was built in 1642. Some Victorian scholars alleged that the house was built between 1620 - 1630, and that Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island resided in the house in the 1630s. [ [http://www.salem.com/Pages/SalemMA_Recreation/witchhouse/index Press Release, "THE WITCH HOUSE BEGINS ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY STUDY," 1/23/2008 (accessed July 14, 2008)] ] How ever most historians believe the house was built between in the 1660s or 1670s.

The house was moved about 35 feet to its current location in the 1940s when the adjacent street was widened. At this time the house was restored to look as it would have in the 17th Century and the gambrel roof was altered. The house is now a museum, open seasonally and is operated by the City of Salem.

External links and references

* [http://www.corwinhouse.org/ The Witch House]