Proctor's Ledge Witch Trials Memorial

The Gallows Hill Project announced in January of 2016 that they had positively identified the place where the accused witches were hung in the Salem Witch Hysteria of 1692. The city is planning to construct a memorial to the victims at this site called "Proctor's Ledge" near Pope and Proctor Streets, behind the Walgreens store on Boston Street.

The city plans to have the memorial finished for the 325th anniversary of the witch trials which is in 2017.

The memorial was funded by a community grant and donations from some of the descendants of Salem's "witches." It incorporates a granite wall and memorial stones with the innocents' names set in a semicircle around a single oak tree. It will be dedicated on July 19th, 2017, the 325th anniversary of the first hangings.

The city had a plan to build a memorial at Gallows Hill in 1936, when land was purchased on Proctor Street. It did not go forward, however, as there was some confusion as to the exact location of the hangings and some councilors thought it was a "stain" on Salem's history and the city should not be proud of it.

See Also

• Vertical File in Salem Collection - Witch Memorial (Proctor's Ledge)

• Gallows Hill Project Emerson W. Baker

• Proctor's Ledge Memorial Project Salem website

• This Time With Dignity Streets of Salem blog

• Everything you wanted to know about Proctor's Ledge SATV recording 10/12/2016

• "Ground Zero: Proctor's Ledge confirmed as witch-execution site" Salem News, Jan. 12, 2016, p. 1

• "Salem seeks input on Proctor's Ledge Memorial: area was execution site during Witch Trials" Salem News, Feb. 22, 2016.

• "City memorial to the witches to be realized in near future" Salem Evening News, May 29, 1936, p. 1

• "The Witch Memorial (editorial) Salem Evening News, June 4, 1936, p?

• "Suggests beacon as witch memorial on Gallows Hill" Salem Evening News, Jun 12, 1936, p. ?

• "Finding a fitting memorial: Proctor's Ledge planning begins" Salem News, Mar. 3, 2016, p. 1

• Site of the Salem Witch Trial Hangings finally has a Memorial Smithsonian.com

• "It shouldn't have happened"(Dedication of Proctor's Ledge memorial) Salem News, July 20, 2017, p. 1