The Witch House Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Jonathan Corwin House
U.S. Historic district Contributing property


Location	310 Essex Street Salem, Massachusetts
Built	1642 (Traditional) c. 1675 (MACRIS)
Restored	1945
Part of	Chestnut Street District (ID73000312)

The Jonathan Corwin House, known by many as The Witch House, is a historic house museum located in Salem, Massachusetts. This house was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin (1640–1718). It is one of the very few buildings still standing in Salem that has a direct link to the famous Salem witch trials of 1692. Corwin bought the house in 1675 when he was 35 years old. The house was not even finished yet! He lived there for more than 40 years, and his family owned the house until the mid-1800s.

History of the Witch House
How Old is the Witch House?
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History of the Witch House

The land where The Witch House stands today was first owned by Captain Nathaniel Davenport. He started building the house, but it was not finished when Jonathan Corwin bought it in 1675. Corwin quickly completed the house. Back then, it had "steep gables," a large chimney in the middle, and a two-story porch sticking out at the front.

During the Salem witch trials in 1692, Judge Corwin was asked to look into claims of witchcraft. Many people in Salem Village (now Danvers) and nearby towns were being accused of witchcraft. Corwin took the place of another judge, Nathaniel Saltonstall, who had left the court. Judge Corwin was part of the special court that found 19 people guilty. People who were accused during this time were often brought to Corwin's home for "pretrial examinations." This means they were questioned there before their trials.

After the trials, the house went to Corwin's grandson, Captain George Corwin. He owned it until he passed away in 1746. George's wife, Sarah Corwin, made some changes to the house around 1746 and 1747. She added rooms and changed the roof style. The Corwin family no longer owned the house by 1836.

In 1856, a pharmacist named George Farrington bought the house. He built an extra part onto the house for his medical business. Farrington was the first person to call his home "The Witch House." This name attracted tourists who heard him say that the Witch Trials had happened in his living room. More additions were made to the back of the house in the late 1800s.

Around the early 1900s, the house was split into apartments and businesses. It had a drug store and an antiques shop. In 1940, the house was almost torn down because a street was being made wider. To save it, the house was moved back from the street to where it is now. In 1945, the building was restored to look like it did in the 1600s. Today, the house is a museum run by the City of Salem. It is open to visitors during certain times of the year.

How Old is the Witch House?

It's a bit tricky to know the exact age of The Witch House. There haven't been any special studies, like tree-ring dating, to confirm when it was built. Historians have had different ideas about its age since the 1830s.

The main puzzle is figuring out what happened before Jonathan Corwin bought the partly finished house in 1675. Corwin's family members first said the house was built in 1642, but they didn't have proof. Some scholars from the 1800s even thought it was built much earlier, in the 1620s or 1630s. They even thought that Roger Williams, who founded Providence Plantations, might have lived there. However, we know for sure that Jonathan Corwin bought or finished the house around 1675. So, this date is now used as the approximate build year.