What is Peabody's Oldest Structure?

Follow the faded red line through downtown Salem and it will lead to a variety of historic landmarks supposedly tied in to the infamous Salem Witch Trials of the 17th century. But what most tourists and many local residents do not know is that the majority of historic sites and homes of significant players tied to the area’s most famous incident are located in what is now Danvers and Peabody.

Such is the case with the Nathaniel Felton Senior House, the city’s oldest standing structure, located at the entrance to . Built somewhere around 1644, the Felton Senior House was the first of several structures built by the Felton family in the Felton Street/Mt. Pleasant Drive area of Peabody, which at the time was a part of the city of Salem.

Felton, and his son Nathaniel Felton Jr., were neighbors of John Proctor, a farmer who was accused, prosecuted and later hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Felton Jr. is credited with defending his friend and neighbor, along with Proctor’s wife, Elizabeth, who escaped execution despite being found guilty along with her husband.

This era of history is just a small chapter in the overall life of the home, however, as the Felton family continued to live in this, as well as several other structures erected on their property for more than two centuries. Director William Power confirmed that the Felton Senior House was the oldest still standing in the city, followed closely behind by the Nathaniel Felton Jr. House also now located at Brooksby Farm.

“These were two of four houses they had built on Felton Street, once they would build things they wouldn’t really throw anything away,” said Power. “The structures have been moved (to their current location) and the last Felton to occupy one of the homes was around 1911.”

Around the early 1900’s the property, along with much of the surrounding area, was purchased by Lynn shoe mogul Joseph Smith, who began to cultivate the area in to what would eventually become Brooksby Farm. Smith and his family would occupy the Felton Jr. and Sr. Homes in the summer and added several additions to both as time went on.

The Peabody Historical Society worked with the Smith family in the late 1970s and early 1980s to acquire the historic homes and much of the land, which it has continued to preserve as part of what is now city-run Brooksby Farm. The homes now serve as a museum and have been maintained to contain period rooms and items and still feature some original components of their construction.