John Hale House

The John Hale House (circa 1694), also known as the Rev. John Hale Farm, is a historic Colonial house located at 39 Hale Street, Beverly, Massachusetts. The house is now operated as a nonprofit museum by Historic Beverly, with period furnishings and a room containing witchcraft-related artifacts.

Reverend John Hale House
Location39 Hale St
Beverly, Massachusetts
NRHP reference No.74000364[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 9, 1974

This house was built in 1694, possibly with structural members from an earlier parsonage, by Beverly's first minister, Rev. John Hale (1636–1700). Hale is now best remembered for playing a significant part in the infamous Salem witch trials in 1692.[2] He had been at the forefront of the prosecutions but underwent a change of heart when his second wife Sarah Noyes Hale was accused of witchcraft. She was not convicted, and shortly thereafter the trials concluded. After his wife's death in 1697, Rev. Hale wrote a book entitled A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft, condemning his colleagues who played leading roles in the trials.

Rev. Hale lived in this house until his death on May 15, 1700. Generations of descendants succeeded him in the house, until in 1937 they finally sold it to the Beverly Historical Society & Museum. Over the years the house was much altered from its original state. Additions include a 1745 gambrel-roofed ell facing Hale Street that now contains the main entrance.

Descendants of Reverend Hale still remain in Beverly.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "MACRIS inventory record for Rev. John Hale House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-01-11.


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