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Salem Walking Tour: Explore Historic American Birthplace
4.6
40 Ratings
Salem
Discover why Salem is the true birthplace of the United States of America with the best history tour in the city. Explore over four centuries of Salem’s remarkable history, from the witch trials to its critical role in the American Revolution and the Age of Sail.
Duration:
1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Salem Historical Tours & Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tour - Discover why Salem is the true birthplace of the United States of America with the best history tour in the city. Explore over four centuries of Salem’s remarkable history from its illustrious founding in 1626, to its place as a thriving 21st Century city. The witch trials made Salem infamous, but there’s so much more. Explore Salem’s critical role in the American Revolution, how it led the great Age of Sail, and all about the many important and famous people who’ve called Salem home. The United States just wouldn’t be the same without Salem. The guide will go to as many locations as possible.
- Red’s Sandwich Shop - Salem has plenty of revolutionary history. You’ll visit the location where local revolutionaries met to discuss plans for a potential war with England.
- Old Burying Point Cemetery - Visit the oldest cemetery in Salem and one of the oldest in the country. Dating back to 1637, the cemetery is the resting place of many of the Puritans, including judges John Hathorne and Bartholomew Gedney, Nathaniel Mather, Samuel McIntire, Simon Forrester, Richard Derby and more
- Salem Witch Trials Memorial - Visit the Salem Witchcraft Trials memorial dedicated to the 20 people executed during the hysteria in 1692. THe memorial has a bench for each person that includes name, date of execution and form of execution. The memorial has a lot of symbolism.
- Turner’s Seafood at Lyceum Hall -Salem - Lyceum Hall, home to Turner’s Seafood, has significance to the witchcraft trials and additional history. Bridget Bishop, the first woman executed for witchcraft in 1692, lived on the grounds. In 1877, Alexander Graham Bell performed the first public demonstration of the telephone here.
- Salem Old Town Hall - We will discuss Salem’s incredible maritime history that began right after the American Revolution. From 1790-1812, Salem was the richest port in the country. Elias Haskett Derby became America’s first millionaire in 1793. Portions of Hocus Pocus were filmed at the site as well. And Harry Houdini was put in the jail across the street. He wasn’t under arrest, but the police chief wanted to see if Harry could break out of the new jail cell.
- The Merchant - Hear a story about George Corwin, the high sheriff of the 1692 Witchcraft Trials, who lived on the grounds where the building now sits. In addition, George Washington visited Salem and stayed in a room in the hotel that is today called the Washington Room. And Amelia Earhart taught English in the Salem Commercial School just one block away.
- Rockafellas Restaurant - Rockafellas is in a building that was the fourth location of the first church. The second location was there too. In addition, the Town House Square building was on that spot and that has revolutionary history. Massachusetts was basically declared a state on those grounds. A local congress of representatives met there before going to Ipswich, Concord and finally the continental congress in Philadelphia.
- Bewitched Sculpture - Samantha Stevens of the TV Show Bewitched is in Lappin Park. A handful of episodes of the show were shot here in Salem. The best part is that her statue sits on land that was owned by the hanging Judge John Hathorne. How ironic that a witch sits on his former property.
- Salem YMCA - Before the YMCA was here, Mrs. Brown had a home here with a famous border. That was Alexander Graham Bell. He lived at the home, educated her grandson and then would take the train to Boston to teach at Boston University. He also had an attic laboratory where he worked on the telephone.
- Witch House - The Witch House is the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin. It was built in the 1660s and Corwin bought it in 1675. No witches lived here but it is the last home in Salem with direct ties to the 1692 Witchcraft Trials.
- Wesley United Methodist Church - Leslie’s Retreat happened here at the North Bridge as 140 redcoats led by Colonel Leslie tried to cross the river to take weapons and cannons on the other side. Several colonists stopped them by pulling up the draw bridge. No shots were fired, but the British left empty handed. This preceded Lexington and Concord by two months.
What's Included
- Use of an amplifier for clear audio during the Salem History tour
- 90-minute Historic Salem Walking Tour
- Guided by a local and professional expert
- Stories of Maritime and Revolutionary importance
- Exploration of historically significant locations unfamiliar to many residents
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off
- No food and drink offered, but snacks available for purchase
Additional Information
The witch trials made Salem infamous, but there’s so much more. Explore Salem’s critical role in the American Revolution, how it led the great Age of Sail, and all about the many important and famous people who’ve called Salem home. Experience as much of Salem’s history as possible in our 90 minute tour. We’ll discuss a little bit of everything, including the 1692 Witchcraft Trials, the Great Age of Sail, revolutionary history, inventors, famous visitors, TV & Movies shot here and more.The United States just wouldn’t be the same without Salem.
- Comfortable walking shoes are recommended
- Parking available in garages on New Liberty, Bridge, and Congress Streets
- Parking available in lots at Church Street, Front Street, and Klopp Alley. Metered parking near us. Use Passport Smart Phone App for meters. Bus parking available on New Derby Street and Hawthorne Boulevard.
- Tour departs at 12 pm. Check in 15-20 minutes before your tour time at Salem Historical Tours office, located at 8 Central Street
- Traffic and parking in October can be very difficult. Give yourself extra time to get here and park no matter what your GPS is telling you. Check Salem.org for details on where to park.
- Our public walking tours can pose challenges for participants with mobility and accessibility concerns. Tours are 90 minutes long and about one mile in length. Each participant must be able to complete the one-mile tour within 90 minutes, providing for frequent stops to view sites and for information from the tour guide. As Salem is a historical city, there are narrow and uneven sidewalks, bricks, cobblestones, and stairs. During events and festivals (and particularly October), with crowds and street vendors, the streets can become difficult to navigate.
Location
8 Central St
Central Street
We are part of the pedestrian walkway downtown at the corner of Essex and Central Streets. We are next to Emporium 32 and across from the New England Dog Biscuit Company. Look for our purple sign.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(40 Ratings)
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Maya_c
Jun 15, 2024
Worthwhile tour - Very interesting tour providing a lot of the history surrounding Salem. Bob was very knowledgeable and kept the tour interesting.
Review provided by Viator
Bianca_f
Jan 29, 2024
So glad I did this - So much history! Bob tied everything together so well with such enthusiasm 👏 The town is incredibly interesting
Review provided by Viator
Robyn_m
Nov 11, 2023
Salem historic walking tour - Had an amazing tour of Salem and such an enjoyable experience in the town our guide was helpful and informative to that experience.
Review provided by Viator
Victoria_b
Oct 30, 2023
Great tour - Unfortunatly the day of our tour it rained in buckets. But our tour guide was so fun and knowledgeable about Salem’s history, it made the experience so much better. We got a great overview of the town and learned some great history about Salem.
Review provided by Viator
Joe_f
Oct 28, 2023
Must do history tour of Salem!!! - Amber was great presenter of Salem and we really enjoyed the story of Corwin and the family history. Her knowledge of the history can answer all of questions.
Review provided by Viator
Judy_g
Oct 20, 2023
A good guide makes the difference - Bob had some unique stories and makes places come alive with the telling of tales. We all learned some new things about the area.
Review provided by Viator
Debra_g
Jul 30, 2023
A closer look at Salem - Our tour guide was fun and informative and the sites prompted a nice mix of historical facts, narratives, and lore.
Review provided by Viator
Gayle_c
Jul 26, 2023
Awesome historical. - Great tour. Stosha was very friendly and knowledgeable. Would recommend him to everyone. Great exercise with the walk
Review provided by Viator
Dkeith
Oct 10, 2023
Reasonably good tour - Took this tour as it was one of the few not focused on witches and the witch trials. Entertaining with good pacing that covered a nice bit of ground in Salem and was never boring. The topic did shift to the trials on occasion but not unduly so. Would have liked a bit more information on the seaport aspect of Salem and its very early history. So reasonable tour overall but could have been better.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kitty_k
Jun 11, 2024
Be kind to all and teach us about the history - Guide was knowledgeable about the subject but presumed we were, too. She was rude to a lady who asked for directions (not with our tour)—unacceptable. Tour felt somewhat disjointed. I didn’t enjoy the tour much, and I love history.
Review provided by Viator
