DANVERS — Efforts have ramped up to save one of the most important sites linked to the Salem Witch Trials that’s still standing today.
A Change.org petition to save Ingersoll’s Tavern at 199 Hobart St. in Danvers has garnered nearly 2,400 signatures from across the country and around the world since it was posted on Sept. 15.
The goal: To keep the building from deteriorating beyond repair. The problem: Nothing can happen until the owner agrees to act, at least for now.
Decaying history
Ingersoll’s Tavern, also known as Ingersoll’s Ordinary, was built in the 1670s and was the site where the first falsely accused “witches” in the Salem Witch Trials were set to be examined in March 1692.
The examinations had to be moved when the crowd of spectators became too big for the tavern to accommodate. But the building would still host throngs of people gathering to discuss the trials throughout that spring and summer, with some of the guests throwing fits at the tavern they falsely said were brought on by the “witches.”
Today, the site is a private home that has sat empty since owner and New Hampshire resident Grenville Thoron bought the property in 2011.
A hole in the roof caused by storm damage five years ago remains covered by a tarp. There is no electricity or running water, and the exterior woodwork is chipping apart in some spots.
A 17th century barn on the property collapsed several years ago. The Danvers Fire Department has marked the tavern with a “X” so first responders won’t enter the building in the event of a fire (though the property has not officially been condemned).
Danvers Historical Society President Dave McKenna said he has seen recent photos of the home’s first-floor interior that show holes in some of the walls. He’s also concerned the hole in the roof has caused water damage and that animals have gotten inside.
Danvers officials and local historians have requested permission from Thoron to inspect the property dozens of times, McKenna said. Despite multiple promises to let them inside, Thoron hasn’t kept his word.
“I said we would sign waivers to go in there,” McKenna said. “He’s standing by this thing that the place has to be ‘broom clean’ before we can go in, whatever that means.”
Officials don’t know how damaged the property is beyond what they can see from the street. They have met with Thoron at the property in the past, but weren’t allowed inside and a planned meeting at the site last week fell through, said McKenna, who has become a point of contact between the town and Thoron.
“It’s just frustrating because I’ve got people who are very interested in helping,” McKenna said. “I’ve got a couple of organizations who have expressed interest in taking it over, but until we know what we’re taking over, I can’t really sit down with anybody.”
Trying to push forward
The Change.org petition calling for Thoron to restore the property and allow officials to inspect it was started by Georgia resident Nicole Miller.
Miller visited the tavern while on a trip to the Salem area last year, and was shocked to see its poor condition.
“I looked up the owner, but I really didn’t know what else to do at that point,” she said. “Fast forward to earlier this year, it had popped up on some other people’s radars and renewed my interest in it.
“Given its history, it’s something we can’t allow to continue to deteriorate.”
She hopes the petition will show Thoron how many people want to save the property.
“For what it’s worth, I really think he wants to save the house,” McKenna said. “He wants to donate it to somebody. So I don’t think we’ve got to show him a petition to say all these people want to save it, because he wants to save it too. But they’re just trying to get him to do something.”
The Town of Danvers is also taking steps to save the property. The town has petitioned the state’s attorney general to enter the property into a receivership that force Thoron to sell the tavern to a third party following a process that typically takes six to nine months.
Danvers has initiated such a process for properties where the owner has died or abandoned it, but never in a case when the owner is still in the picture, said Aaron Henry, Danvers’ director of land use and community services.
Thoron did acknowledge an initial letter from the Attorney General’s Office in early September, but has not responded to further paperwork acknowledging that the Hobart Street property has been entered into the receivership program, Henry said.
If Thoron does not respond with steps he is taking to improve the property, the state will likely take him to court, Henry said.
“Hopefully, he comes correct and does the right thing because we just want the outcome,” Henry said. “We don’t really want to get there running over anybody.”
Thoron could end up in court by the end of 2024 if he does not respond adequately to the state. But the town doesn’t have a clear timeline for next steps because this is its first time dealing with a situation like this, Henry said.
Whoever buys the home through the receivership would have to protect the historical integrity of the structure, but could completely modernize the inside. The town also doesn’t have any say over who could buy it once it is in a receivership, Henry said.
When asked what he is hoping to do with the property and when he will allow the town to inspect the site, Thoron told The Salem News this week via text that he has offered the tavern’s deed to the Danvers Historical Society and some funds to fix it. He did not respond to follow up questions.
The historical society can’t afford to take on a project this big and it has no idea how much money is needed to take care of the property because Thoron won’t let anyone inside, McKenna said. The organization sold off the historic General Israel Putnam House several years ago because it couldn’t afford its upkeep.
Town Meeting passed a Demolition by Neglect bylaw in the spring to protect properties like the tavern. Under the bylaw, owners of Danvers homes on the National Register of Historic Places that have been deemed the “most nationally significant structures” could not allow these properties to fall apart to the point where demolition is necessary.
The bylaw could only be applied to such properties if they have significant structural issues.
The town hasn’t turned to that option for the tavern yet because the bylaw would force the owner to address structural issues only, whereas the receivership will require the new owner to fix any building or life safety code issue, Henry said.
“The goal of this is to put this back in the housing market, so I think we get a better end result if we stick with the receivership process,” he said. “Plus, they’ve already instigated that, so I don’t want to muddy the waters by putting another process in play here.”
The bylaw doesn’t automatically allow the town to inspect the tavern’s interior, either. Danvers officials would still need Thoron’s permission to enter the property, and the same is largely the case in the receivership process.
“If it gets to the point of the court appointing a receiver, it’s quite possible that our building commissioner may get brought into that at some point to say, ‘Hey, we need you to get into the building now,’” Henry said. “But again, we’ll have to wait and see how that goes.”
Henry said it’s “welcome news” that the attorney general is moving along with the receivership process.
“We’ve gotten more and more calls, there’s the petition,” he said. “It’s all great, it’s all visibility that we need on this topic, but the only person we need to see it all is ignoring us.”
Contact Caroline Enos at CEnos@northofboston.com