Transcripts For CSPAN3 Salems Witch City Notoriety 20170824

CSPAN3 Salems Witch City Notoriety August 24, 2017

I will say about the title. That was almost the title for me book. And i was pleased actually when the gang thought it would be a good title for this day. It seems to me the trials of 1692ment as we all know those of us who live and work and hang around salem that there are other trials that are related to the trial. And to some degrees thats what were talking about this afternoon. And our sessions on witch city and keynote speech by professor foot on hill. Just one thought from me before i introduce the panel, and that is that its my sincere hope that the work of the past couple years to recognize the execution site of proctors ledge and hopefully be a new start of fresh beginning for salem to really recognize officially and formally this troubled troubled history. And i just want to say i probably should have said this this morning. But the mayor and her staff and everyone in the city of salem i think has just been incredibly supportive. When we first came forward to them and told them that we had the execution site. I didnt know what the response would be. And some of us were saying how are we going to raise money to build the memorial. And what do we do. From the moment we met with the mayor, and dominic, everyone said dont worry folks the city is doing this. This is our responsibility. We want to do this. And i think its hopefully the beginning of sort of a new way of thinking about the past around here. So, on that note we want to look back a little bit now and talk about the creation of witch city. Something that we all know here every halloween and year round. Particularly to deal with the historical roots of it in the 19th century and how its treated. We have a wonderful panel. Four goods friends and colleagues who have thought long and hard about this in different ways and each ask them to make an introductory thought. And throw out a question or two. We want to have a free ranging discussion from the audience. So first ill introduce this speaker and we can have them go in turn. Starting at the far end. A historical geographer who spent a great deal of time looking and thinking about salem as place and i will say that steve is my First Encounter in the realm was i think was backing into each other on a halloween in salem. We were both madly taking pictures and realized we had been doing the same things for years. As scholars documenting the amazing phenomenon that is salem and halloween. It maybe as close to mardi gras as you can get in the north. I highly recommend it. From both the amazing landscape. Next to steve, is bethany jay an associate professor of history at salem state. Shes one of our public historians and experts in educational history. She has also spent a lot of work and local history in looking in salem and its rich past. Her shes a little bit out of time here. Shes an expert on civil wars and slavery. Shes really a renowned author and scholar. Who is really one of the leading experts on the teaching and interpretation of museums on slavery. So we really sort of asked her to put her thinking cap on about another sort of troubled part of the past. But how we sort of interpret the salem witch trials. Next in line is our Department Chair donna seager. Who you have met before. Shes really the heart and soul behind todays event. And in many ways everything having to do with salem and its rich history. In addition to being an expert on early modern history. She regularly teaches course on the european witchhunts. And has an amazing blog called streets of salem. Where she regularly blogs about all things having to do with salem history. And in fact i said she could read her blog entries this afternoon with the Amazing Things shes had on witch city. Last but not least, is my good friend marilynne roach. Who is author on numerous books and articles on the history of the salem witch trials. Most recently six women of salem. Im hoping a six men of salem is coming. Im working on it. Also too, perhaps more important of her work. Her day by day chronicle of salem a community under siege is one of the most important books on the witch trials. I could not have written my book without that and also the records of the witchhunt. I honestly think there are a lot of us who know a lot about salem. But i really think marilynne knows the most and cares the most. Were honored to have her today. Im proud to call her a colleague. So also too she knows wrote the biography over 1,300 i think for the records of the salem witchhunt. She knows these people very well. So without further adieu well turn over the panel. Maybe start with steve. Do you want to lead off and give us some of your thoughts. And well go down the line and open to the audience. Id like to give you background on salem as a tourist city in the beginnings of witchcraft celebration of memorials in salem. And thats i think im over lapping with donna a little bit. She can correct me in a few minutes. So tourism began in the colonial era. New port the first great city. Followed by boston. Most didnt begin until 1830 and 1840. Coincides with the railroads and industrialization. Salem tourism lagged. We were not a Tourist Destination. If we wanted to we went to the beach and the linn. It seems that 1879 theres a nonkeg steam railway. And which was in salem. Theres also a horse drawn trolly that went down es ses street and to the willows. The willows is where salems tourism begins. There was the gazebo down there. The methodist summer camp changed over to be second homeownership. The wealthiest salem live there. Especially people from lowell came there. Salem became a small, second tier tourism destination. In the 1880s. Its not lost that this was the home of the witchcraft hysteria in 1692. It was always part of our history. Apparently in the 1880s, both the witch house and the old goal the basement remained. It was on federal street. Now since gone. Both private residences. And you could arrange to visit both places. And that was perhaps the beginning. The turning point i think for understanding witchcraft in salem was the by centennial in 1892. At that time, there were celebrations of salem more than the witchcraft. So in salem, in 1892 i have it written down here, the city had two lectures. Celebrating the date, one was on columbus and his deed. And the other was on the park act. It was up to the Essex Institute to hold the first great symposium on the witchcraft trials. And the lecture by harvard professor Barrette Wendell was were the salem witches guiltless. Who knew. So professor was a psychologist. And he was applying the latest psychology theory of hypnosis, mediums, to the accused. And at the end of the day, the answer was hypnotic excess. So tad can comment on that later. So 1892, salem witchcraft was on the table. The institute was celebrating it. Or at least questioning it, having academic discussions about it. But at the same time, on the other hand, the people were starting to come to salem to be tourists. Tourism was growing in american. Growing in new england. And there was a market. And salem was not shy. Probably the prime mover was daniel low. Whose store is now rockefeller on washington street. And mr. Low probably all seen the witch spoons. On screen here, actually. Theyll come through. He was a great jeweler. And he made not only witch spoons but made porcelain and jewelry that celebrated lexington, concord. And saw this as a tremendous opportunity. And he suggested that salem become the witch city. And his proposal was accepted. And by 1892, salem was officially the witch city. And in this memorabilia behind us, at that time, all kinds of kish was popular. At tourism destinations and we fit right into the national pattern. We had our distinguishing branding. Thats what it was. Where the witches. And we became the witch city. And so we had mr. Lows jewelry. The porcelain. The postcards, other unique things youd like to buy. Like scissors, and thimbles. Tshirts werent that big then. Other than that we were right there. So we became the witch city. It was not on the high school or on the police cars. I believe until 1930s. So there was a gap there. But the identity i think the branding and people became canners and beverly became panthers. And falcons. The whole thing has to do with the second tier of the industrial revolution. Of a vast array of new products into the mass marketing. And we just fit into that. That was our niche. In terms of salem, and its promotion, beyond the willows early 20th century. 1908 buys a house, spends three years refurbishing and charges a quarter a person to tour the house of gable. The money the profit she makes is reinvested in the settlement house and her activity to immigrants to salem. Is worth noting that the house was right on the trolly track line. And so youre uniting the center of the city, and the willows. Gables. And that becomes the core of salem as a tourism destination. The only thing to add is shortly there after, you have hawthorn becoming a major figure in salem tourism. The development of the hawthorn hotel, boulevard, statue. 1925. And so youve got what are now thought of as two of the four major components of the salem tourist industry. The first being witchcraft. The second being hawthorn. The third being the maritime tradition. Which was always present historically. And in those days probably part of the what is now the museum. Where they were more of a regionally focussed institution. Am i saying this correctly . Theres nodding. Thats a good sign. The last one is architecture. We have a tremendous fan of architecture. If theres one aspect of salems tourism which is not fully appreciated i think its our architectural component. Over the years, the witchcraft component is really surged ahead. And out of time. But i would like to end with the idea that i think that the reason why witchcraft is so dominant in salem tourism, is because of the issues that it raises. The subject matter itself. The human tragedy. And the compelling nature of the whole event. And secondarily, is the fact that theres such a tie between our Popular Culture and the witchcraft trials. And that in Popular Culture it always refreshes the general publics interest. And so theres a tremendous tie between the two. Where were never allowed to let the witchcraft trials slip totally into history. Because its always brought back to our attention. Through a variety of authors, tv shows, plays. So with that, id like to pass the baton. Thank you. As tad mentioned im ra little far afield here. As a 19th century historian. As steve has said, thinking about the history of salem as a Tourist Destination. Those of us who spend a lot of time in salem are reminded daily about the citys status as a Tourist Destination. Were reminded when we hit the brakes as a distracted visitor walks into the street to take a picture. As we drive home on a random wednesday in august and count numerous people in full costume. We find ourself at the National Park service watching boats. We walk down the street surrounded by maintained examples of colonial and federal architecture. There are without a doubt many reasons to spend time in salem. Kate fox the executive director of destination salem the main Tourism Marketing arm has stated that about 1 million visitors come to salem each year. About 500,000 of the visitors come during october alone. Ic those statistics are still relevant. In 2014 a salem News Reporter asked a question that is occupied salem for more than a century. Whats drawing the most visitors. And salems community offered varying responses in answer to the question. Reflecting the tensions i think are at the heart. Bif, author and owner of the popular witch museum contended the witch trials were the most important aspects of salems modern tourism. Citing the fact that 300,000 people visit the witch museum annually. He stated were still the biggest draw in town. Other members of the community thought differently. Jay finny chief marketing officer which has emerged as a major regional Cultural Resource argued i dont think witch related is the main engine. There are too many other things going well for salem. Kate foxs response captured the complex relationship between the witch trials and status as a Tourist Destination. She said, what were finding from the research is people will come for the witch trial history and get here and say i had no idea there was a National Park site or didnt know the pen was here. Theyll leave with a fuller experience than they expected to get. Saying i have to come back. The tensions that are revealed by the varied answers to what may seem like a simple question are not new. Several colleagues considered the history of salem as witch city. And will uncover the way the community has repelled by the incomplete and perhaps exploited focus on the trial and tourism. But attracted as a unique feature that kept the city nationally relevant long past its economic and culture hay day. What i hope to do today is shift the gaze from salem to consider the city as larger conversations about memory, identity and tourism. The first of these conversations revolves around community identity. Historian has examined the connections between identity and public historical memory. Which he defines a body of beliefs and idea about the past, that help the public or society understand both its past, present and its future. End quote. Assigning meaning to a place is never whether its an individual Historic Site, a district or entire community. Is by no means an organic act. It requires specific and often coordinated acts of remembering and forgetting to create a unified narrative. This process can create tension between varying constituencies. The history of Colonial Williamsburg offers a useful parallel. Much like salem, williamsburg was a colonial power house who is influence and economy waned by the 20th century. In the 1920s a local minister decided that the city could capitalize on its historical legacy to preserve the town and revitalize the economy. He approached several investors. Eventually catching the interest of John Rockefeller jr. Who agreed to finance the project as long as the entire city was included. Not just particular buildings or districts. And exerting control over the entire city, rockefeller gave himself complete power, at least initially, to articulate williamsburgs new tourist identity. Rockefeller decided to focus on the colonial era as the height of the citys influence and use a physical space as what one newspaper called a shrine where the great events of Early American History and the lives of the many men who made it may be visualized in their proper setting. With rockefellers 79 million investment, modern williamsburg became Colonial Williamsburg. And by the end of the initial era of restoration rockefeller had demolished or moved 720 buildings and reconstructed or restored hundreds of others to achieve a single colonial visual narrative throughout the town. Rockefellers unprecedented purchase and his power over the physical and historic landscape of williamsburg prompted one shocked resident to declare, my god, theyve sold the town. Its a really cute poem they wrote. Williamsburg is of course a unique example of Historic Preservation in public memory, but the deliberate way in which rockefeller approached the task is instructive as we seek to understand the more complicated negotiations around identity making elsewhere. In salem, there is no unified visual narrative. The citys first period history exists alongside impressive structures from its time as a wealthy port city, massive warehouses from when it was an industrial powerhouse, and the homes and businesses of people from the modern era. The choice of which aspects of the citys history to emphasize has been at the heart of the conversations about salems identity. When the local Historic Community generally resisting a disproportionate focus on the witch trials in favor of a more balanced narrative. Historian steven analysis of salem tour guide indicate some of the effects of these competing visions of salems past. As rockefeller was restoring Colonial Williamsburg, salem was preparing guides to accompany its sen ten competing guide books demonstrate the constituencies vying for the power to determine the citys identity. The guide book directed at Salem Residents plays on a more broadly defined heritage and downplayed the witch trials. It said, we are citizens of a city which has a proud history and we should consider it a privilege to explain our many historical points of interests to those visiting us. A competing guide book aimed at the tourist population focused on, quote, reliable firms with which the tourists can trade and had a deliberate focus on the witch trials. More recently the 2005 unveiling of a statue of Samantha Stevens from bewitched ignited arguments about salems identity in a new form. Im going past donnas 1920 cutoff date here. Statue too. I know. Yes. Well, then mayor stanley saw the statue as a little bit of fun, portions of the larger Salem Community objected to it. Salem Historic District commissioner john carr gave the best quote, he said its like tv land going to auschwitz and proposing to klink. As historian robert weir reminds us, those who objected to the samantha statue, which included a large part of the local community, saw it as a trivialization of the witch trials. Others such as the mayor saw it as a tribute to a different part of salems history, the very modern association of the city as a Tourist Destination for kitschy halloween fun. Even today the destination, one of the things flashing there, reflects the conflict over the citys identity. It offers a stylized image that can be interpreted as a sailboat or a witch hat depending on your inclination. Of course, salem as a fun halloween destination and salem as witch city are related aspects of the citys identity. Several historians have argued that the modern association of salem with halloween can be attributed, in part at least to the popularity of the bewitched episodes steve referred to earlier. Alongside other Popular Culture

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