FactSentinel

The Salem witch trials did not take place only in what is now the city of Salem, and the claim also gets the geography backward. The events of 1692 centered on Salem Village, which is now the town of Danvers, Massachusetts. Salem Town, the nearby port that is today's Salem, was a separate and more prosperous community. It did host the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and the hangings took place at Proctor's Ledge in Salem Town, but the accusations began in the village, and the first examinations were held there.

The crisis also spread well beyond these two places. Accusations were made in more than two dozen communities in Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties, including Andover, Topsfield, Ipswich, Gloucester, Beverly, and Boston. Andover alone produced more than 40 accusations, which made it one of the most heavily affected towns. Suspects were jailed in Ipswich, Boston, and Cambridge, and the trials involved people from across eastern Massachusetts. Surviving court records, petitions, and examination transcripts document this wide reach.

The common misconception comes from the name "Salem witch trials" and from the modern city's tourism identity, which leads many people to assume everything happened within its present borders. Salem Village did not become Danvers until it separated from Salem Town in 1752, so the modern map hides the original distinction. Historians generally treat the episode as a regional crisis, not a single-town event.