Known as Salem Village in the 17th century, there are still over a dozen houses in Danvers dating from that era, many associated with the witchcraft tragedy of Becoming independent from Salem in , Danvers witnessed the development of various neighborhood villages, each having its era of prominence, and possessing a unique character. At the time of the Revolution, Danversport was a shipping and shipbuilding center where tidal mills prospered. Its local bricks became nationally famous, while the later leather tanning industry brought a diverse and colorful mixture of new immigrant labor to the area.
Tapleyville emerged in the s as a center for the production of woven carpets where English and Scottish weavers settled and made their homes. Danvers Plains took advantage of important crossroads and the introduction of the railroad in the s to become the prominent commercial center. Putnamville and Danvers Highlands were noted for their important and early shoe manufacturing industry, while farms throughout Danvers became known far and wide for the Danvers half-long carrot, and the Danvers onion, still popular today.
Though a number of Danvers' structures have been lost to fire and "progress," much of the town's period architecture still survives, and its written records have been preserved, making Danvers an important and accessible area for period study. Hutchinson House ca , Centre Street. Structurally similar to houses built a generation earlier, this is the birthplace of Col.
Israel Hutchinson. A lieutenant at Wolfe's capture of Quebec, Hutchinson led a company at the Lexington Alarm and, in , his 27th Regiment saved Washington's troops from destruction by the British at Long Island by ferrying the army across the river. Putnam Burial Ground, Maple Street.
Here are buried beneath an unmarked burial mound Ann Putnam and her parents, Ann and Thomas, all of whom played key roles in the witchcraft hysteria. Upton Tavern ca , 95 Centre Street.
