Salem Witches Hanging Site

Salem, Massachusetts

Nineteen people (14 women, five men) were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 -- and then the town did its best to forget it ever happened. A long overdue memorial was dedicated to the victims on July 19, 2017, the 325th anniversary of the first hangings. Part of the reason it took 325 years to build an execution site memorial was because, until recently, historians couldn't agree on the exact location. By 2016, experts had finally pinpointed a rock outcropping named Proctor's Ledge as the travesty-of-justice-dispensing site, near the base of what had long been known as Gallows Hill. Today it's neighbors with a Walgreens.

Salem went out of its way to make its memorial as understated as possible (There is plenty of over-the-top witch drama elsewhere in town). It sits at the base of the sloping (and now neatly landscaped) hill, next to the street: a low wall with the names of the nineteen victims etched into it, set around an oak tree (symbolizing strength and endurance). Spotlights illuminate the names at night.

The top of the hill, formerly believed to be the hanging spot, is inside the fenced back yards of a couple of homes, whose owners are probably relieved that their property is no longer the center of attention.