Our tours use remnants of the past - architecture, landscapes, and practices - as the foundation for immersive historical explorations.
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When possible, we'll utilize smells, sights, tastes and sounds to enhance the experience and appreciation of history.
On this day in 1806, the Salem Gazette Newspaper published the earliest recorded Christmas Ad (so far found) in the United States!
Check it out! To learn more, check out the incredible 2010 book, "The Battle for Christmas" by Stephen Nissenbaum - a Pulitzer Award finalist.
Storytelling dinner party inspired entirely by the spice trade in one of the grandest homes in Salem from 1783 as part of the
Incredibly delicious foods spiced with the exotic spices of the Far East were made by .
Such a fascinating topic!! One of my favorite tours to lead. Starting tonight!!!!
Ever wonder why we always think of Victorian homes when we think of "Haunted Houses"? Want to learn more about the Architecture Of Fear?!?! Join Vijay Joyce of Rekindled History for an exclusive walking tour to find out how the Victorian style became associated with horror and why it captivates the dark side of our imagination! All purchases go to support Historic Salem, Inc.!
Don't miss it! Get your tickets before they sell out! https://bit.ly/3rNl0kw
đź“· Photo Credit PurelySalem
Salem Digest Destination Salem, Massachusetts Best of Salem, MA The Salem News Salem Main Streets Salem Chamber
I’ll be leading tours throughout this ancient home and landscape Sunday June 4! Continue below for more details
Our next day of tours is Sunday June 4th and this ancient house and landscape is looking better than ever!
William Haskell and his family would be busy preparing the fields, planting crops, cleaning the house out for the coming season; shaking off the long cold winter and gratefully welcoming the signs of life all around them.
Experience a glimpse of their early life by immersing yourself in their world.
June 4 will be upon us sooner than you think. Book your tickets now as the tours are kept small. Appointment tours are also available. Find out more and register for June 4 at www.rekindledhistory.com/haskellhousetours
We’re proudly partnered with Gloucester 400!
In this attic room lived Pompey, an enslaved man to Thomas Kilham in Wenham, Massachusetts in the 18th century. Picture 2 is the window to that room from the outside and Picture 3 is the front of the much expanded c1686 farmhouse built by Kilham.
The garret (attic) room is a rare surviving witness to what enslaved home life was like in New England.
I had the pleasure of touring this home with the owner who has compiled extensive research and has an incredible collection of 17th and 18th century antiques from the surrounding towns.
Tomorrow, Wednesday Feb 15 at 3:00pm at Old Town Hall in downtown Salem I will be giving a talk on the History of enslaved Peoples in Massachusetts. Partnering with Salem United Inc for Black History Month at Old Town Hall. Come check it out and learn a thing or two. Also see the full list of programming happening all month long!
So many people want to make sure our two bands who play live are iincluded annually. Do you agree? And if you do not agree why?Thsi writer says Bla
You can add your footprint to this well-worn threshold. On Sunday Feb 12 from 10:00am-4:00pm the William Haskell House will be open for tours!
Given our secluded site, pre-registration is required. A limited amount of timed tickets are available. Pay what you want, it goes toward the continued preservation of the home. Find out more here: www.rekindledhistory.com/haskellhousetours
No words. No filter. Just 1680.
Built around 1680 by William Haskell on the edge of a salt marsh in West Gloucester, this old homestead (through an immense amount of famously documented restorations) is as close as you can get today to experiencing the 17th century; inside and out. Swipe to see that original salt marsh that the home still overlooks.
I’ll be presenting tours of this home starting in February for the new owners (11th generation Haskell descendants) for the incredible feat that is . Keep an eye out for more history, more details and even more photos.
#01930
Airing on tonight at 9pm, I take Farmhouse Fixer host Jonathan Knight through the !
It was such a blast to hang out with the crew and film this episode! Everyone was so amazing.
And getting to absolutely nerd ALL-THE-WAY-OUT about one of the oldest houses in the country that witnessed some incredible and terrifying history, is easily one the best and most memorable days ever.
Thank you all!
Very well said
On this day in 1786, George Washington writes a letter on a difficult topic. His views on slavery had been changing for many years.
Perhaps unfortunately for him, his new perspective on slavery was making it difficult for him to settle a debt.
The estate of John Mercer owed him money. An attempt was made to pay off part of that debt by giving him some slaves, but Washington did not want that. Instead, he noted his reluctance to own any more slaves than he already had. He wrote:
“I never mean (unless some particular circumstances should compel me to it) to possess another slave by purchase; it being among my first wishes to see some plan adopted, by the legislature by which slavery in this Country may be abolished by slow, sure, & imperceptable degrees.”
It is fashionable in some quarters today to blast our Founders as evil slave owners, but such a perspective is incomplete. Washington and our other Founders were born into a world where slavery was normal. DESPITE that handicap, many of them began to see the inconsistencies between the Revolution they were fighting and the institution of slavery.
Washington himself wrestled with the subject for years, although he never took a public stance against slavery. Should he have done so? Some scholars speculate that he never did take a public position because he was worried about breaking up the Union before it ever got off the ground.
Either way, Washington’s views were changing, and his actions reflected this evolving perspective. He quit selling slaves without their permission. He would not break up families, even when he had too many slaves and ran into cost inefficiencies at Mount Vernon. He softened his position on allowing black men to serve in the Continental Army during the Revolution. He met with the first black American poet, even giving her the respectful title, “Miss Phillis.”
Towards the end of his life, he would speak of slavery as the “only unavoidable subject of regret” in his life. Maybe it is unsurprising that he freed his slaves in his will?
None of us are perfect, and I suspect future generations will find plenty wrong with the things that we have done. But I hope they will also find things that we did right.
One thing that the Founders did right: Fifty-five of them met in a room in Philadelphia. They were learned men, students of history. They had studied various political systems. They were free from partisan interests. (Their biggest bias was in favor of their own states.) They lived at a unique point in history, and they came together with the goal of creating a uniquely successful government. And they did just that. In this author’s opinion, we do our country a disservice when we ignore the good things that these men did because we wish that they had overcome one (really) big flaw more quickly.
At the end of the day, don’t we think that our generation has made similar leaps?
Should our generation be remembered for what we were born into and struggled to overcome? Or should we be remembered for what we accomplished and who we became?
Presumably, George Washington and his peers would feel the exact same way.
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If you enjoy these history posts, please see my note below. :)
Gentle reminder: History posts are copyright © 2013-2020 by Tara Ross. I appreciate it when you use the shar e feature instead of cutting/pasting.
This Thursday!
It's starting to feel a lot like Halloween around here (on the internet, at least). I had an awesome interview with Matt Rosvally of Shockfest Film Festival 2020 at the The Daniels House Bed and Breakfast. In this trailer I'm describing 17th century home security systems. Check it out!
Missing from our history are the voices of SO many that helped shape this country but were stifled or erased due to those doing the writing. The product of that exclusion is the horrifying, heartbreaking and unacceptable state America is in and it HAS to change. Covid put a hold on all walking tours for now, but our tours will stay on hold as we listen and rewrite the narratives to include so many of those silenced voices.
Now more than ever we're learning new ways to appreciate our communities. You can add these self-guided tours to that list. All you'll need is a device with Google Maps and a will to explore. More will be added soon. In the meantime, enjoy and stay healthy and safe!
https://www.rekindledhistory.com/self-guided-online-experiences
Use these free maps to help get you through quarantine. Kill time inside by exploring history from your couch, open them on your phone for your next walk outdoors, or make a running route out of it with frequent stops. But please, don't forget social distancing.Â
Samuel Wilson, aka the real life Uncle Sam, spent his childhood in this modest 18th century house in Mason, New Hampshire.
If you think we're going through a lot now, imagine growing up in a brand new country. Then realize that we still are. Like this house, voting is a direct connection to the past, please preserve it.
People have been using this room to warm up in front of the fire with a drink since before Isaac Newton proposed his theory of Gravity.
With the wind and rain bringing the cold, it's a perfect time to follow in their footsteps, hear about what these walls stood witness to, and appreciate that we no longer rely on this fire to survive.
Join us this Friday, 2/28 for a Winter Fireside Chat at the Daniels House. Tickets and details here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/winter-fireside-chat-at-the-c1667-daniels-house-tickets-89773295343
BYOB, tea and coffee available.
If you're trying to appreciate the present, it helps to know the past. This Saturday 2/22, drink through 400 years of history by experiencing and learning about daily life in Salem in the mindset and under the influence of its earliest citizens, back in the days when beer was water.
Check out the When Beer was Water drinking tour at www.rekindledhistory.com for details and tickets.
Want to know the real origins of Valentine's Day?
Lupercalia, originally a Roman (pagan) festival of purification, health and fertility, was practiced on Feb 13-15.
When Christianity was replacing ancient pagan festivals with its own, they replaced Lupercalia with the feast of St Valentine, honoring a Roman priest who was executed for practicing Christianity on Feb 14 270AD. How his name became associated with love is purely coincidental.
Pic 2: A reliquary of St Valentine's skull (supposedly). Kept in Basilica of Santa Maria in Rome. Image credit .
The middle ages cemented love into the day, as the middle of Feb was believed to be the beginning of birds' mating season. The 13th century poet Chaucer expressed this belief and wrote one of the earliest references linking Valentine's day to romance: "For this was sent on Seynt Valentine's day / When every foul [bird] cometh ther to choose his mate".
Pic 1: detail of margin of Maastricht Hours Book, southern Netherlands. Early 1300s. Showing king of love with arrows in hand (like cupid) and musicians sitting above two lovers. Note the birds on either side. Credit
Pic 3: page from Chaucer's poem Parliament of Fowls. Credit:
One of the world's oldest beer styles (gruit) enjoyed in one of the country's oldest houses (c1667 Stephen Daniels House)
You can get in on this historical action at the Winter Fireside Tales Upcoming dates: 2/13, 2/15, 2/28, 3/13, 3/27 6:30pm-7:30pm. Link to tickets in bio.
BYOB, so grab your favorite beer, cider, wine, and join us for one unforgettably cozy evening, fireside.
Need some drink suggestions? Grab a growler of Gruit from . Our friends over at just released an English Mild, the beer of the colonists. And has been carrying on New England cider brewing, traditionally and modern, in Salem for years.
These events are BYOB! bring your favorite beer, cider or whatever you prefer. Gathered around a fire on a chilly night, listening to tales of the past with a drink in hand is as close an you're gonna get to an authentic 17c tavern experience in Salem...for now. If you need historical drink suggestions, check the event description.
Coffee and tea will be provided.
Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/8905833086
Historic beer alert! I can't tell you how excited I am about this!!! This is as close as you can get today to the oldest American brews. There was a significant lack of hops in earliest days so they used what the land offered; yarrow root, sarsparilla and juniper were all well known in the 17th century. Did someone brew this exact combination? Maybe?? We'll never know but it's fun to imagine and REALLY good. Get it NOW at Gentile Brewing Company
Meet the newest beer that isn’t quite a beer. Malt, yes. Water, yes. Yeast, of course. Hops, no way. This is a Gruit. A medieval ale brewed without hops. We used yarrow flower, sarsaparilla root and juniper berries plus we added local honey. Expect flavors of root beer without the sweetness, elements of gin from the juniper with a nice fruitiness from the Kölsch yeast. It releases Thursday in the taproom.
For our final seasonal tour with the Daniels House, we're reviving the Christmas Fireside Tales for the month of December! Sitting next to a fire, telling tales of history is what Christmas was traditionally all about.
Maybe you haven't forgotten about Christmas, I know I could revive some of that cheerful time during this non-winter we're having.
It's never too early to plan ahead! Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/89866241347
For our fall (around here, it's the Halloween) season tour with the Daniels House Bed and Breakfast is a history of modern Halloween and the Witch Trials!
We'll take a quick walk around the neighborhood, exploring the sights and architecture associated with the Trials and its time period, followed by a breakdown of how Halloween evolved into the holiday we know today. An experience made richer knowing that The Daniels House, c1667, has stood witness to both.
Running Sept - Oct. As we all know, this season fills up quick. It's never too early to plan ahead and get your tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/89865170143
The Salem Story, our summer offering with the Daniels House will run from June - Sept.
On this walking tour, we'll explore the streets and architecture of Salem from its humble beginnings as a 17th century fishing village to grand trading port during the 19th century Golden Age. We'll see how trade, fame, and wealth permanently changed the city and the international perception of early America.
It's not too early to get tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/89860819129
Daniels House Partnership Seasonal Tour #1: Starting in February and running through March we'll be doing a Winter Warmer around the Daniels house parlor fireplace. With a drink in hand (BYOB, coffee & tea provided) we'll be talking about original lifestyles, notable winters, and infamous events this house stood witness to.
Get your tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/89058330865
We're teaming up with the c1667 Bed and Breakfast to bring you tours for every season!
I'll be introducing them in the coming days. Meanwhile, think about this: what would be like to stay in one of this country's oldest homes. Then make it a reality:
https://www.danielshousesalem.com/
(Photo 2: Historic American Building Survey inventory photo c1934)
| Monday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Tuesday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Thursday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Friday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
| Saturday | 09:00 - 17:00 |
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