EarlyAmericanCeramics.com: Some More Information About the Site of the 1681-1784 Salem Village Parsonage in Danvers, Massachusetts

Friday, May 9, 2025

Some More Information About the Site of the 1681-1784 Salem Village Parsonage in Danvers, Massachusetts

I posted two stories to this website last month about the archaeology of the circa 1681-1784 Salem Village Parsonage in Danvers, Massachusetts, a topic that will be a major subject of Chapter 1 in the forthcoming 600-700 page, tenth book I'm working on now, titled, An Early Industry of Household Wares: The Red Earthenware of Salem Village, South Danvers and Peabody, Massachusetts.

1) Two Very Interesting Objects Recovered from Late 17th or Early 18th Century Contexts in Salem Village (Danvers), Massachusetts: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/04/two-very-interesting-objects-recovered.html

2) An Introduction to the Archaeology of the Circa 1681-1780s Salem Village Parsonage in Danvers, Massachusetts: http://www.earlyamericanceramics.com/2025/04/an-introduction-to-archaeology-of-circa.html

Nonetheless, I’m really looking forward to getting into the Salem Village Parsonage archaeology; I suspect the red earthenware recovered at this site represents pottery from the 1687-1709 James Kettle (1664/65-1712) Pottery in Salem Village, as well as wares from South Danvers (Peabody) Massachusetts, Charlestown, Massachusetts and possibly Salem, Massachusetts. This was also the site of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692.

For a brief history of the archaeology of this site: it was in the early 1970s that then-curator of the Danvers Historical Society Richard B. Trask, along with members of the Society, the town Historical Commission, and other interested locals began a search for the parsonage site. After using the seventeenth century Salem Village Record Book, along with eighteenth century maps, the probable site was located in the yard of Alfred Hutchinson, a local teacher. Partnering with archaeologist Roland Wells Robbins, whose prior work included Thomas Jefferson’s birthplace, Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond, and the Saugus Iron Works, the site was investigated and stone foundations were found dating from the 1681-1780s period.

Hutchinson permitted the excavation of this section of his yard, and about a dozen volunteers worked tirelessly on the site. As the stone foundation was uncovered, more than 30,000 artifacts were discovered, including seventeenth and eighteenth century coins, cutlery, pipe bowls from the 1660s, a metal plate bearing the initials of Samuel and Elizabeth Parris, and many wine bottle fragments, some of which had Parris’ initials on them.

Note: An interesting connection found in the Salem Village Parsonage was that Reverend Peter Clark (1693-1768), who served as the minister from 1717-1768 was the grandfather of Captain Peter Clark (1743-1826) of Braintree, Massachusetts and Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Captain Clark was an influential potter in both locations, although he was likely previously a trained potter in the South Danvers area.

Captain Peter Clark and his family's production in New England is also the subject of one of my recent published book, titled, An Influential Family of Early Potters: The Clarks of New Hampshire and Related Businesses: https://historicbeverly.net/product/an-influential-family-of-early-potters-the-clarks-of-new-hampshire-and-related-businesses/.

The Site of the 1681-1784 Salem Village Parsonage in Danvers, Mass.