City Unveils Plans for Salem Witch Trials Memorial at Proctor's Ledge

SALEM, MA — Just short of the 325th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials and the hanging of 19 , the city has completed designs for a memorial that officials hope will offer a tasteful place for reflection.

The City of Salem announced Thursday that the memorial planned for Proctor's Ledge has been completed. The location was determined to be the probable site of the Salem Witch Trials executions of 1692 by historians and researchers last year.

The city says that its staff along with a landscape architect worked with descendants of the victims, the Salem Award Foundation, local historians, and abutting neighbors to develop the design.

"Having this site memorialized, especially as we prepared to mark the 325th anniversary of that tragic event, presents an opportunity for us to come together as a community, recognize the injustice perpetrated against those innocents in 1692, and recommit ourselves to the values of inclusivity and justice,” Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll said in a statement.

The design was funded through a Community Preservation Act grant, and the Mayor is asking the Parks and Recreation Commission to contribute $0.25 of each Witch House ticket sold to fund maintenance and upkeep of the memorial.

The Witch House was the home of Jonathan Corwin, a judge during the trials who had a direct role in the sentencing of the nineteen victims.

The memorial will feature a stone wall with the names of the victims written on 19 stones with a light below each name. At the center of the memorial on Pope Street, there will be a single oak tree, described as a symbol of endurance and dignity.

Construction is expected to begin as soon as April, and the city will be bidding the project in the upcoming weeks.

“I would like to thank everyone who participated in the process that led to the development of this respectful memorial design,” said Driscoll in a statement. “Salem is constantly looking to the lessons of its past."

File photo