John Ward House

Reviews 3

AT

Athelyn Stark

this Post Medieval house originally stood on a 1 acre plot with a kitchen garden, an outhouse & a well on the east side of Prison Lane, later known as St. Peter Street, opposite the jail used for Salems witchcraft trials. the Peabody Essex Museum had the structure relocated to their Federal Garden area in 1910. The property was originally granted to Christopher Waller in 1649 who sold it to a James Browne in 1664. Upon Brownes death in 1676, the property had been split up into three parts which John Ward spent the several decades acquiring & restoring, starting in 1684. The house, which now faces east, was built facing south, like most 17th century houses. Johns son Benjamin, a mariner, inherited half the house at his fathers death in 1732, Benjamin passed it to his son in 1774. One generation of Wards later, the house was was sold at a public auction & for the next forty years it was both a bakery & house for Temple Hardy. After several other owners & countless remodels, the John Ward House stood considerably altered in 1910 when the association acquired it. It was painted yellow on the exterior, the gables had been removed, all the windows were double-hung sash, seemingly dating from different periods. It has been extensively restored & now serves as a museum. Employees themselves have reported strange happenings inside the home, some scared away for good. The John Ward House is a National Historic Landmark, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places & it is a contributing property to both the Essex Institute Historic District (No. 72000147) &the Salem Common Historic District (No. 76000303)

NE

Neil Golding

A house dating back to the late 1600s. Moved from its original place, but now just around the corner from the Salem Witch Museum!

ST

Stef Carle

Great historic House

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