Reports

This year marks the forty-ninth year of operation of the Danvers Archival Center. The Archives opened in the borrowed basement of the Danvers Historical Society’s Memorial Hall on Page Street in October 1972. In 1981 we moved to our new, permanent home in the renovated and enlarged Peabody Institute Library at 15 Sylvan Street.

The collections of the Danvers Archival Center are securely stored in a fire-retardant and environmentally friendly space in the Peabody Avenue underground area of the Peabody Institute Library. The facility includes a spacious public reading room, secure manuscript storage area, and a 6-hour fire-rated walk-in vault. The collection policy for the Archives calls for the preservation of all written, printed, and pictorial materials relating to the history and development of Salem Village and Danvers. Our combined collections make up one of the largest and most important documentary resources of a community of its size in the United States. Besides retaining, preserving, and cataloguing all current and backlog records of Danvers, the Archival Center is committed to continuously upgrading our collection through gifts, deposits, and purchases.

This report will give an overview of activities relating to the Archival Center and Town Archivist for fiscal year 2022, which dates between July 2021 and June 2022.

Thanks to Library Director Noelle Boc who is always willing to assist with any Archive concern or request, including needs for our physical rooms. Many thanks also to Assistant Director Jennifer McGeorge who keeps me informed about library and staff news, and assists me in many other ways. So too, our library accountant Susan Kontos is ever of aid to me with my budget, by ordering materials, and with a willingness to find means of payment for the myriad and sometimes unusual vendors with whom I do business. My colleague Julie Silk keeps the Archives a smooth, and efficient operation. Julie is an enthusiastic worker and is always willing to do any job necessary. She is a pleasure to work with. Julie is also the only one who knows how to perform many of our necessary tasks, and often improves my letter-writing and cataloguing drafts.

Thomas Marsella, one of my longest serving and most dedicated volunteers, continues his Wednesday morning work here at the Archival Center. This past year Tom donated scores of hours in researching and cataloguing newly acquired gifts and purchases, as well as some of the backlog of Archival collections. I am fortunate for Tom’s assistance.

During FY 2022 we obtained, accessioned, processed, and catalogued 51 books for inclusion within our Public Reading Room collection. Twenty-one of the volumes were acquired through gifts, while 26 were purchased, and 4 were deposits.

Among several items added by gift to our nationally known “Ellerton J. Brehaut Witchcraft Collection” was a volume donated by its author who used the Archives for research. Heather Greene authored Lights, Camera, Witchcraft (2021), concerning Salem witchcraft events and themes displayed in both the cinema and on television. One segment included a description of the 1985 American Playhouse film Three Sovereigns for Sarah, of which I was historical consultant. Reproduced in the book was a photograph I took of Vanessa Redgrave in costume during film production.

A number of purchased witchcraft volumes were added to our collection including: Reading the Salem Witch Child by Kristina West (2020); A World of Darkness by David W. Price (2020); The Traitor’s Wife by Kathleen Kent (2010); Unclean Spirits by D. P. Walker (1981); and Elizabethan Demonology by Thomas A. Spalding (1880).

We also were very pleased to obtain two copies of Daniel Gagnon’s new biography of Rebecca Nurse titled, A Salem Witch (2021). Teacher and historian, Dan is a native of Danvers, who is an active member of the Danvers Historical Society, and Danvers Alarm List Company, which manages the Rebecca Nurse Homestead. He also serves on the Danvers Historic District Commission. Dan researched this very fine volume using many sources, including the Archival Center. I wrote a blurb for the back cover of the well written book, and he used three items of our photo collection as illustrations in his book, for which the Archive Special Fund received a fee. In his acknowledgements Dan wrote: “Richard Trask, Danvers Town Archivist, was beyond helpful in answering my many questions and pointing me in the right direction for sources. His knowledge of Salem Village and Danvers history is unsurpassed.”

A significant early work acquired for our witchcraft collection was The Great Power and Rage of the Devil by Edward Milard. An English imprint by J. Wilford, the leather-bound volume dates to 1730.

As a reference set of volumes to be used with both our witchcraft and Danvers collections was a complete set of 14 volumes we purchased of the classic Biographical Sketches of Harvard Graduates, 1642-1767, edited by John L. Sibley, and published between 1873 and 1972 by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Included through purchase within our “Danvers History” book collection this past year were: The Diary and Letters of Benjamin Pickman by George F. Dow (1928); Crumbling Castles by Tom Kirsch (2019) concerning Danvers State Hospital; and Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (2021 edition). A rare volume purchased was: A Defence . . . of the Doctrine of Original Sin by Peter Clark, minister of Salem Village and Danvers. Published in 1760 by Edes and Gill in Boston, the actual writing of this Clark dissertation undoubtedly took place in what was then the church parsonage, now a Town of Danvers archaeological site to the rear of 67 Centre Street.

Gift history books included: Report of the Water Committee (1874); Essex County Deeds 1639-1678 (2003); Archaeological Reconnaissance . . . Crease & Cook by Barbara Donohue (2016); Heritage 2022 by Danvers High School; Danvers Directory (1924); a copy of Country Estates of Old Danvers signed and inscribed by Charles S. Tapley “For director of The Crucible – June 1961”; Annual Report of the School Committee (1857); and Annual Report of the Town of Danvers (2021). A deposit item from the Danvers Historical Society was a copy of a typescript History of Danvers Zoning from 1946 to 1982. We also acquired by gift 5 copies of the Danvers Magazine (2020-21) for our H file.

Also donated through four different sources were multiple history and witchcraft books and pamphlets which duplicate those we already have. Some are included in our “extras” shelf, while others are offered for sale to boost our “Archive Special Fund.”

Newspapers added to our collection by gift included five issues of the Danvers Mirror from 1885 and one dated June 7, 1890; while the Historical Society deposited 8 Danvers Herald newspapers from the 1950s, and 2 copies of the Essex County Mercury (1854 & 1862).

Among objects we obtained which are collected due to their having printed or pictorial information concerning Danvers on them were: a large buff & light blue commemorative fringed coverlet of Danvers, featuring 8 historic buildings and with the Danvers Town Seal in the center (ca. 1976); a ceramic tile by “Screencraft” featuring in blue an image of the Town Hall with the words “Holten High School 1855-1931,” and another tile with a transfer image of the First Church, which burned in the 1890s; and a 6”x4”x4” wooden box labeled “Standard White Chalk Crayons – One Gross” (ca. 1910).

Two very interesting, fragile printed items on cloth were given by Paula Noyes of Danvers. The two professionally framed and matted artifacts are of the local Suffrage Movement, being a gold silk 24¼” long banner with 1½” tall block lettering reading “SALEM SUFFRAGE LEAGUE,” together with a gold-colored 23” long triangular felt pennant with 5” black streamers, proclaiming “VOTES FOR WOMEN.” These items were owned prior to 1919 by daughters of the John Putnam family who lived on Burroughs Street – Sarah Putnam, Louise (Putnam) Clark, and Eunice Hyde (Putnam) Watters. Along with this wonderful gift was a copy print photograph of the 9 members of the Putnam family.

Among other printed materials we received at the Archives, but are not included in the accessioned book collection are: deposits from the Danvers Historical Society of 11 Danvers High School football programs (1948-1960); three football programs of St. John’s Prep (1957 & 1959); gifts of about 50 copies of The Holten magazine; and over 100 duplicate copies of Statement of the Accounts of Danvers, Valuations of the Town of Danvers, Street Poll Lists, and Town of Danvers Annual Reports.

Our subscription list of periodicals available to the public, and as reference materials includes publications of The Essex Society of Genealogy; The Essex Peabody Museum; The Manuscript Society; Old House Journal; New England Archivist; About Towne by The Towne Family Association; American Archivist; and Preservation, the publication of the National Trust. Current issues are kept on the periodical case next to the Archive main entrance, and below the bulletin board. Older issues of the periodicals are stored in the Manuscript Storage Room.

Over 250 computer-generated catalogue cards were added to our Danvers History, Witchcraft, and Manuscript Catalogues, including main entry, title, and subject cards, while other cards were added to our individual specialized photographic, map, and plan catalogues.

“Ephemera” is a class of paper items which are typically small, single items, pamphlets, sheets, etc., originally meant for temporary use. These items can be very revealing point-in-time bits of history, though they generally do not warrant individual cataloguing within the archival collection. Much of our ephemera collection is stored within acid-free folders under appropriate subject headings placed in vertical file cabinets.

Among items of ephemera donated to us this past year were: trade cards for The Consolidated Electric Company (1910), and M. C. Lord, tailor (ca. 1890); Holten High School Graduating Exercises (1970); Brief Guide of Danvers (ca. 1920); Baptist Church brochure (1910); Holten High School Class of 1879 reunion program (1920); news clippings and a roster of the Danvers Hockey Club (1949-1950); poster of Danvers Fire Alarm Box Numbers published by The Falcon Press (ca. 1970s); several photo advertisement folders from C. A. Wells, Conway Photo Service, and Woodman’s Drug Store (1940s & 1950s); a color advertisement offering for sale by Sotheby’s “Overlook,” the Greek Revival mansion on Pine Street (1987); an 11” long 6-fold brochure “Sing-along at Romie’s Ye Olde Oyster House” (ca. 1980s); and 3 programs and 25 news clippings of The Eastern Star (1960s).

The ephemera file is always being added to by me whenever I find an item such as a real estate color card featuring a local house, an appropriate article from a newspaper, magazine, or web site, a local brochure I found, etc., etc.

Gift forms were sent out to 35 individuals or organizations which had donated books, photos, ephemera, and manuscripts to the Archival Center, reflecting from one to over 200 items per gift form. Likewise, in our processing of materials, we came across some items not related to Danvers, which we sent off as gifts to appropriate sister institutions. Two such items were a three-ring binder filled with information on a gentleman who lived and died in Marblehead, and for which the Marblehead Museum was grateful, and a 1909 resolution on the death of Richard J. Barry of Peabody which was sent to their Historical Society.

Several organizations and Town agencies temporarily borrowed items from our collections, including original or copies of photographs and documents for exhibition or research purposes.

This was a banner year for obtaining a very large number of photographic items. Gift items numbered 674 images (including 250 Danvers postcards), while 7 photographs and prints were obtained through purchase, and a whopping 1,308 photographs were placed on deposit from the Danvers Historical Society, chiefly of color images of Glen Magna and its gardens.

Among the vast number of donated pictorial images were: a very rare albumen photograph of members of a fire company and their engine in Danvers Square (ca. 1859); 6 half side albumen stereo views of scenes and houses in and around Danvers Square (ca. 1870); a carte-de-visite albumen photograph showing Danvers Square, with a young man sitting aboard a delivery wagon (ca. 1866); a copy-photo of the Maple Street Elementary School graduating class of ca. 1925; 6 photos of the Danvers Plains Railroad Station (1930s-1960s); 4 roll photographs, each from separate donors, of Holten High School graduating classes (1931, 1936, 1941, 1943); a large framed color poster “Danvers, Massachusetts ’86” showing visual caricatures of various businesses and places in town (1986); a photograph with vignette pictures of 22 Holten High School graduates and two teachers, including Sarah Richmond (1879); a horse-drawn comical  Danvers “temperance” float in a parade (ca. 1920); Danvers Hockey Club team photo (1950); 4 Holten High School Reunion group photos (1966, 1981, 1991, & 2001); oversized color postcard of “The Admiral’s Dining Room, Danversport Yacht Club” (ca. 1990s); 9 4”x6” graduation photographs of members of the Class of 1936; a Christmas card with color photo of the Maple Street Church altar (ca. 1970s); a copy print of a gouache painting of Oak Knoll by Eleanor P. Curtis (ca. 1920s); 12 color photos of tearing down 21-31 Maple Street (1980); 11 8”x10” photos of Albert Hoffer and his Television Service business (1950s); 7 8”x10” photos of the Cullen Coal Silo on Hobart Street (1975); and Danvers World War I soldiers “Welcome Home” parade on Maple Street (1919).

Also given were 2 color photos of the 2022 burial at Walnut Grove Cemetery of beloved Danvers educator and many-year captain of the recreated Danvers Alarm List Company George Meehan, with militia members lined up for a three volley musket “Honors.” My good friend George had been a loyal supporter of the Danvers Archival Center, including, with his family, helping to move the Archive contents from Memorial Hall to the new Library building in 1981. George will very much be missed!

One very fine and interesting photograph donated to us is a cabinet size albumen photograph dated September 2, 1896, of a large group of children dressed in finery for an outdoor program which was photographed by Albert O. Elwell of Danvers. Included on the reverse are the names of all the participants.

Audio-visual media acquired by donation this year included a CD by Richard Randleman of songs created from 15 poems by Margaret Proctor Wood (2001).

Among purchased photographs obtained by the Archives this past fiscal year were: a cabinet photograph of Whittier, which the poet signed “John Greenleaf Whittier from crayon in 1880”; 5 stereograph photographs on yellow mounts of the George Peabody funeral events in 1870, including two taken in Portland, Maine showing a crowd at City Hall awaiting a viewing of Peabody’s coffin, and another of the Portland harbor with three warships in the distance, among which is HMS Monarch, which carried Peabody’s body from England.

As time allows, we continue to process our large backlog of photographic images, the best or most fragile of which are placed in clear, mylar-type sleeves. Our photos are stored within acid-free Hollinger containers, the majority stored by street address or by surname of individual families. Our most historically valuable images are kept within our walk-in vault, and so noted within our Photograph Catalogue. Only a small portion of these pictures are actually catalogued, and these tend to be very early photographic images or signed items, such as a George Peabody carte-de-visite photograph signed by him.

A very large deposit collection of photographs from the Danvers Historical Society included deposits from Matt Martin, the Society’s Building & Grounds Restoration Manager. This material had to be examined, sorted, and filed. Among these deposit collections processed were: an album of 280 color photos of Glen Magna buildings and grounds (1987-2003); 372 individual photos of various sizes (1900-2010); 9 8”x10” prints of the interior of the William C. Endicott house at 163 Marlborough Street in Boston (1913); 224 photos in a three-ring binder of Glen Magna sites and events gathered by Lois Goodnow (1998-2004); 100 color prints of the Derby Summer House and statuary (1980s-1990s); 74 35mm transparencies of the second floor of the mansion (1980s); and a “Gilson Adjustable Album” of 239 early snapshot photographs taken by the Endicotts of all aspects of their activities at Glen Magna, including buildings, grounds, vehicles, visitors, etc. (ca. 1900-1907). This interesting album was made part of our catalogued photograph collection.

In relation to the Archival Center’s extensive visual arts collection, in May 2022 I requested a meeting with Barry Kaplan, owner of The Finer Image, a well-known photo and media business located on Park Street. Besides being its owner, Barry is also a noted professional photographer. I requested that he create professional, well lighted, digital images of our many oversize flat artworks, documents, hung paintings, and prints for a preservation CD and archival prints to be stored in our Hollinger boxed photo collections. These chosen items (about 55 in number) had never previously been reproduced, due to their large size. Agreeing to the project, most of Barry’s photographic copying work would be done within the Archives, though I also requested he photograph the two Richard Ellery murals located in the Gordon Room, and the large painting of George Peabody hanging in the Library lobby.

Over several days and 10 hours work within the Archives, Barry set up lighting and captured the various oversize images. At his lab he then edited, color-corrected, and prepared digital files of each item, so that he could make my requested three prints each on Epson Hot Press 8”x10” high quality paper stock. As we were approaching the end of FY2022, we divided the project so that the photographing and lab work, along with one print each would be accomplished in this fiscal year, with the remainder of the copy images created next fiscal year.

The resulting preservation prints are sharp and colorful. Upon processing, they will become a great additional source for research, copying, and preservation, and will be easily filed within our photo and picture collection. Thanks to Barry for his skill and artistry.Our manuscript collection continues to grow with donations, deposits, and purchases. Among manuscripts we were gifted this past fiscal year were: a Maple Street Church temperance pledge booklet stating that those signing “will abstain from the use of all intoxicating drinks,” with about 255 people signing (ca. 1860s & 1877); Danvers Women’s Association scrapbook of news clippings (1923-1926); two volumes of Holten High School Class of 1879 reunion records (1979-1945, 1947-1951, 1954); color photocopy of the manuscript medical note book, Synopsis Medicinae kept by Dr. Zerobabel Endecott (ca. 1677); household receipts of the Condon family at 55 High Street (1925-1941); a box of papers originally collected by me regarding the attempt to save the 1869 Danvers Plains Railroad Station (2002-2022); two lithograph Masonic membership certificates for George Henry Wood to the Joseph Warren Lodge in Boston (1867), and the Royal Arch Chapter in Danvers (1869); and an eighth grade diploma of Patricia Condon (1939).

Elizabeth Harris donated a large number of research files relating to the history of the Proctor Farm at Conant Street and the people who resided there, including notes, photocopies of documents, and a partial 1982 typescript titled “Three Centuries of Life at the Rea-Proctor Farm.” Also included was extensive research Elizabeth did on the residency at the farm of Timothy Pickering, one of our nation’s “founding fathers,” who held cabinet positions under Presidents Washington and Adams. Pickering was an advocate of scientific farming, and the papers include much information on Pickering’s farming there. It will take some time to go through and sort this material into several topic areas, but it is a very interesting group of materials.

Among the backlog of Town of Danvers 18^th century Board of Selectmen materials catalogued this year are a trio of very hard-luck stories: a letter from Daniel Jacobs asking for tax relief due to “the soer Judgement of consuming fier” when his dwelling burned down (1773); a letter from Salem Jail from Humphry Marsh entreating the Selectmen “out of pity to my pore wife and children to release me from this dolfull place of confinement” due to debt, probably non-payment of taxes (1772); and a letter from Peter Wayte also seeking tax relief as his wife and children have raging distempers (1774). Ah, for the good old days! We can only hope the Selectmen looked kindly on these men, and gave them some sort of relief.

One fairly unique aspect of our collections is the fact that the Archival Center acts as a permanent depository for the records of numerous churches and organizations in Danvers.

The very active Danvers Garden Club has been a major civic group since its establishment in 1930. In the mid-1990s the Club began depositing their records, including meetings, events, programs etc., at the Archives. In recent years they have continued to augment their deposit collections so that this year with such a large influx of new material, we reformatted the collection integrating material since their initial deposit back in 1996 with the newer materials. Resorted, re-boxed, and re-catalogued, the collection includes new deposits including anniversary events and flower shows, annual reports & Executive Board records up through 2001, 14 three-ring binder volumes of press and publicity (1997-2018), and printed Yearbooks up to 2021. We give many thanks to Jane Dembowski, our contact person with the Garden Club, for her efforts.

Each year we also attempt to catalogue some of the backlog of manuscripts belonging to the Danvers Historical Society, which papers were put on permanent loan at the Archival Center as the “Historical Society Collection.” Newly catalogued Historical Society items are: a scrapbook kept by Francis Raymond Cashman, a Navy veteran and Danvers police officer (1947-1950, 1956); a 24 page typescript letter to the Danvers Historical Society from Lucinda Putnam Watts while living at Torquay, England, describing activities in war-time England (1917); a partially printed certificate from the American Fund for French Wounded acknowledging Georgianne Ropes for her assistance (1919); feasibility study of the Holten-Richmond School by Knight, Bagge & Anderson, Inc. (2001); and a baseball score book for the Danvers Twilight League, including statistics of my Dad, Gardner S. Trask, Sr. (1934).

Items obtained through purchase for our manuscript collection are found through many sources, including auction sales, autograph catalogues, on-line web sites, and through eBay. Among the purchased manuscript items relating to Danvers obtained this past fiscal year were: a letter from Dr. Samuel Holten to Dr. Jonathan Prince, being the earliest letter we have from Holten (1757); a partially printed vellum Presidential military appointment with military vignettes, an eagle, and a gold wafer, the commission signed by Grover Cleveland and Secretary of War William C. Endicott (1888); a letter signed by Endicott from “Washington City” on Department of War stationary concerning the Congressional Directory (1885); a very attractive pocket accounting notebook in a green dyed animal skin cover, with an 8” wooden stylus secured by loops given to sea captain Philemon Putnam in Marseilles, France and containing invoices (July 1824); and an invitation to a Boston Church for the ordination of Rev. Appleton of the Danvers Unitarian Church (1845).

We also acquired two Timothy Pickering items. The first is an envelope cover sheet sent by Pickering to “Samuel Hodgdon Esq. Philadelphia,” and marked “Free” with Pickering’s signature as Secretary of State (August 31, 1798). The second item is a memorandum signed by Pickering as a U. S. Senator relating to previous events during his tenure as Secretary of State under President John Adams (December 26, 1805).

Within our “Richard P. Zollo John Greenleaf Whittier Collection” we purchased several documents. Whittier responded from Oak Knoll in April 1886 to famed American landscape architect H. W. S. Cleveland’s request for a fair copy of Whittier’s 1863 poem “The Answer,” with writing out six stanzas, and signing the letter “I am truly thy friend.” Interestingly, in June I received an email request from Lance Neckar, who is writing a book about Cleveland and asked if we had information about him. Cleveland had lived in Danvers in the late 1850s for several years at 417 Maple Street, and I responded to him with some information. Neckar replied to my email, “Wow! Thank you so much for relaying this critically useful information!” It was only later that I realized Cleveland was represented within our Whittier manuscript collection. Serendipity strikes again.

Another Whittier acquisition was an autograph fair copy stanza from Whittier’s poem “The Red River Voyager,” first published in 1859. The next of this year’s Whittier acquisitions was an autograph letter signed from Oak Knoll. Whittier was a major celebrity in the late 19^th century, and upon each of his birthdays the public sent him many well wishes and requests. This response by Whittier in December 1886 from Danvers to an unknown correspondent is revealing. “My dear friend, age, illness & hundreds of letters like this which I cannot answer, must excuse me from doing more than to sign myself with all good wishes for friends associated with thee, and with heartfelt thanks for their remembrance of my birthday.” The final Whittier item obtained this year is another ALS sent in March 1889, in which the poet thanks the Prospect Ave. Church Club for “giving me a place in their calendar,” most likely publishing a calendar with a Whittier poem or image included on the publication. Each of these four Whittier items was acquired from a different source.

Another class of document is broadsides. Broadsides are generally large, one-sided printed items meant to be posted for public information. Acquired this year through a Danvers Historical Society deposit was Order of Service . . . Ordination of Richard Tolman as minister of the Maple Street Church. Printed by The Danvers Currier Office, the sheet is dated September 17, 1845.

An important Revolutionary War era broadside from the Town of Danvers collection was also catalogued. This item was sent to Danvers in March 1777 from the “State of Massachusetts Bay” for the means to furnish soldiers with “good Fire Arms.”

Our map collection includes both manuscript and printed maps relating to the Town of Danvers, or smaller geographical areas within the community. This year all our items were donations. One interesting item was a manuscript map of Beverly including what is now East Danvers, showing roads and houses (ca. 1830s). Also, a blueprint map from the Town Engineering Department which we catalogued was a July 1978 plan to alter wetlands at Sandy Beach off River Street; two printed United States Department of the Interior Geological Surveys of the Salem Quadrant, one dated 1970, the other 1979; a copy plan of subdivision of part of Woodvale (1959); an oversize Danvers Precinct Map by the Engineering Department (1972); and a folding advertisement map of Danvers (ca. 1960s). A very fine and handsome 32” x 24” framed and matted color map was donated to us of Danvers, published by D. G. Beers from Maps of Essex County in 1872.

Since the Covid Pandemic first affected the United States, and the resulting drastic reduction of open hours the Library was forced to endure, I have not been keeping specific Archive statistics. Generally, physical visitation to the Archives has been waning, while email requests have grown immensely. Our pre-Covid Archive hours of operation, in place since the 1970s, were reconsidered with the change in societal patterns. Our previous Monday early evening opening till 7:30 pm has seen little use for years, and closing for an hour for lunch on Wednesday & Thursday often necessitated researchers to have to leave the Archives for the hour, and us having to secure and then reopen the Archives in less than an hour. Our open hours were somewhat confusing, as three days were inconsistent with the others. The new schedule we have instituted is to have the Archives open Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 4 pm, with Friday replacing Tuesday as a non-open work day in which I would be able to perform outside tasks such as site visits, photographing, visiting vendors, etc. I also have the option, as during the Covid outbreak, to work on emails and other tasks from home during some hours on Friday, using my home computer and scanner. At the end of this fiscal year the Library, through instructions by Town Hall, diminished full-time work hours from 37½ hours per week to 35 hours. The new Archive schedule seems to be simpler and more convenient to visitations.

At the end of FY2022 the Archive Special Fund had a balance of $1,940. This fund was established many years ago in order to have money available in case important but expensive items came to our attention and would overwhelm our regular budget. In FY2019 we purchased a very rare and expensive 1692 Salem Village witchcraft sermon, Christ’s Fidelity by Rev. Deodat Lawson, in which our entire previous Special Fund money was used. We have slowly begun to rebuild the fund. Added this year was $1,059, including a wonderful $500 donation to the fund by Thomas and Marlene Marsella, our volunteer and his wife who appreciate the significance of the Archives. Also donated was $100 each by two out-of-state researchers who wanted to thank the Archives for information gleaned for them. Other money was given for book sales, reference fees, and the fee ($270) for 6 house markers.

In early January 2022, we were very saddened to learn that our friend, Robert Jarvis Leonard III, had died the previous December. Robert was a talented painter who for over 20 years had provided wooden house markers to the Archival Center, each painted with information on the house’s date of construction, along with the name and occupation of the home’s first occupant. Since its inception in 1975 this House Marker Program has researched and fabricated over 500 markers for Danvers home owners.

Robert lived in Providence, Rhode Island, and we corresponded by mail concerning new orders. He was 82 years old, had served in the Army during the Korean War, and graduated from Georgetown University. He was a fine woodworker and had established his well-known sign and decorative business, Ould Colony Artisans, with his wife Judith.

Robert was a gentleman who loved both history and the arts, and his friendship and talents will be very much missed.

I began a quest to find another talented painter who could and would make signs for us using our specifications, and at a reasonable price. After several leads that did not pan out, lo and behold within our midst was such a person. Local artist Lisa Hutchinson, who has a Danvers-based business called, daydreamdesigns, met with me and enthusiastically agreed to fabricate the sign blanks and paint the text for our sign program. We will be again offering this service to Danvers residents, at the very modest price of $65. Thanks to Lisa, our successful 48-year-old house marker program will continue serving individuals and the community in marking the history of our local dwellings.

Among items purchased this past year for the Archives was an 8-foot aluminum-silvered flag pole and gold stand. The pole will be used to display our previously donated blue-and-yellow embroidered Town Seal placed in the middle of a fabric field of white and with yellow fringed sides, which is our designated Town of Danvers flag. Also, for safety purposes we exchanged the room’s liquid fire extinguisher for a specialized archival-safe, 15.5 lb. Halotron Fire Extinguisher from Encore Fire Protection. The red canister extinguisher is positioned near my desk and adjacent to the collection of architecture reference books. Also purchased to give more space for our numerous ephemera files were two 5-drawer putty color file cabinets standing 60 inches high and with a depth of 26.5 inches. Among supplies purchased were various toner cartridges for our LaserJet Pro 400 color printer, inert polyester envelopes for use in storing fragile documents and photographs, 25 acid-free Hollinger document storage boxes, and several packages of archival photo storage envelopes.

Each year I am contacted several times for on-air or cable interviews concerning Danvers-related subjects. An NPR radio station in Connecticut conducted an over-the-phone interview in March concerning our famous Endecott Pear Tree, and in June John Archer and I were invited by Mark Zuberek to his Danvers cable program Topics of the Town. Among other topics, we discussed the recent history of the Danvers State Hospital.

On March 3, 2022, the Peabody Essex Museum sponsored a 1½ hour long zoom program titled The Endless Fascination with the Salem Witch Trials: An Expert Panel Discussion. I joined Marilynne Roach, Margo Burns, and Emerson Baker as panelists. My formal presentation was a discussion of our Brehaut Witchcraft Collection, showing many popular and rare volumes from our Archive collection. This program was viewed by hundreds throughout the United States, and is now available via YouTube. (We will be including the segment about our Brehaut Witchcraft collection on our Archive website.)

Another zoom program in which I participated was on May 1, 2022, again along with several witchcraft scholars. The program was sponsored by the Salem Witch Museum as part of their Ancestry Day event. Throughout the year I also have given 5 pre-arranged interviews with researchers and book authors on witchcraft, colonial life, and other local topics.

I continue to serve as a Commissioner of the Essex County National Heritage Area as Danvers Town Archivist. Other organizational connections include serving as a member of the Salem Village Historic District Commission, which typically meets in the Gordon Room for our public meetings, and as a resource person for the Danvers Preservation Commission, particularly in regard to researching structures which have been requested by owners to be demolished.

In mid-September 2021 I participated on a Sunday with the Danvers Historical Society, graveyard restorers, and members of the Endicott Family Association in clearing dense vegetation and restoring the 17^th century Endecott Burial Ground off Clinton Avenue. As Archivist, I had researched photos of the graveyard as it appeared in the 1930s and locations of graves.

In mid-October 2021 I participated, along with Noelle and other staff, in a Library presentation for 20 adult “cadets” studying the workings of the Town of Danvers, shepherded by the Assistant Town Manager Jen Breaker. Included was a visit to the Archives and a short talk by me. Then in early May 2022 I met and discussed the town and its history with the delightful Jasmine Ramón, the new Director of Equity and Inclusion for Danvers. During various times I have also participated in Zoom meetings regarding 17^th century houses of Essex County sponsored by Essex Heritage, and in regional Zoom meetings preparing for the 250^th anniversary of the American Revolution.

The Archival Center continues to act as a resource for town agencies needing historic or background information. Among departments assisted were the Town Clerk, Building Inspector, Fire Department, Planning Department, Recreation Department, Town Manager, Historic District Commission, and Preservation Commission.

The Preservation Commission continues to request from the Archives reports on buildings, as part of the Danvers Demolition Delay By-Law. I made site visits to several houses and prepared reports on requested structures for the Commission, which reports were then made part of our house files.

For the past decade or so, the Town, due to lack of buildable space, has experienced many requests to demolish older or smaller homes in order to build new, larger dwellings. This has brought on a crisis of developers wanting to destroy a number of architecturally and/or historically significant Danvers buildings for new construction. The Town has a one-year demolition delay by-law managed by the Danvers Preservation Commission. The delay can be instituted upon justification of the significance of the building, but unless a solution for preservation is found within the one-year delay, the dwelling can be torn down after 12 months. Presently there is a preservation crisis in Danvers relating to a group of disparate historic structures awaiting their fate.

The historic 1868 Danvers Plains Railroad Station now located off Cherry Street on the property of Townsend Energy had been given a further reprieve in July 2021, with a further one-year demolition delay being instituted. This continues the almost 20-year saga of trying to find a preservation solution to this once-beautiful and architecturally significant structure.  In October 2021 a citizens’ petition was successful in creating a warrant article for a Town Meeting in November. Selectman and Preservation Commission chair Daniel Bennett spearheaded the effort to attempt to get the Town to be given the station at no cost, move it to Town property on Hobart Street, and restore the exterior of the station at a cost not to exceed one million, two hundred thousand dollars. The Town would then have time to locate interested parties which would rent and/or purchase the building for appropriate commercial or other uses. The Select Board would have control of the project. Such a project would need a 2/3rds vote of Town meeting. The group spearheading this effort included Dan Bennett, Planning Board member Louis George, Selectman Matthew Duggan, Preservation Commission member Sandra Lane, and me.

The Special Town Meeting was held on November 15, 2021, at which a number of people spoke.  Some of my remarks included:

“In 1868 Danversite and Railroad Master Carpenter, Charles N. Ingalls, a Civil War veteran of Andrew’s Sharpshooters, and resident at 7 Holten Street, built the architecturally significant Gothic style Danvers Plains Railroad Station on Essex Street.   Rich with detail, the 66’x25’ depot featured a hip roof, a surrounding 10 foot canopy supported with paired brackets, and intricately detailed bargeboards. In 1923, with the decline of rail service, this building was moved 1,000 feet to become the primary station in Danvers at the confluence of the B & M Railroad western and eastern divisions. By about 1960 the station was abandoned, and there it has been sitting awaiting either a new, useful life, or what is now its imminent destruction.

Everyone seems to want to preserve this building into what should become one of Danvers’ signature structures. It could be developed into a way fare for our popular Rail Trail, function as a business such as an architect’s or lawyer’s office, become a specialty shop or shops, or be fashioned into a fine dining establishment. Our unique station will be able to contribute, just like the many other unique, preserved railroad stations in Massachusetts that have been saved by other committed citizens or local governments for local uses – including 17 that have become community or municipal buildings, and 158 made into commercial properties. Or in a few months it will become a pile of 19^th century refuse ready to be carted to landfill. What a waste and what a local defeat. Scores of people have been trying to save this station since 2002. The Townsends, owners of the building, have been more than patient. Several times we almost thought we had a solution to saving it, only to be knocked on our behinds.

Danvers Town Meeting never had the opportunity to save any of the past number of remarkable and historic dwellings we have lost.  But now, this time, you do have a voice. And a vote! Yes, you are being asked to do something which Danvers never has done, but which many other enlightened communities do on occasion, to save a piece of our town heritage and make it into something generations into the future will be able to view and enjoy.  I sincerely have confidence that such a vote will be good for our community, and for its future.”

Unfortunately, Town Meeting defeated the request, and as of July 2022 this architectural gem can be torn down at any time.

Another large preservation issue emerged in the last few years. In the summer of 2018 application was made for the demolition of 11 buildings within the Maple Street, Hobart Street, Putnam Street area owned by the Lee family. As Town Archivist, I spent significant time researching these buildings for the Preservation Commission public hearings. Though 2 were deemed by me as insignificant, 2 outside the purview of the Demolition Delay Bylaw, and almost all of 128 Maple Street also not worthy of preservation, the 1913 triple decker storefront at 1 Hobart and the 1909 residence at 5 (7) Hobart appeared to be possible candidates for adaptive reuse.

Three of the structures – 146 Maple Street (ca. 1860), the home of Daniel J. Preston, Major of the 36^th U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War (a regiment similar to that depicted in the Hollywood movie Glory); 53 North Putnam Street (1882); and the Adventist Chapel, the second oldest church in Danvers (1877) at 2 Putnam Court – were very significant, with fine architectural style and rich individual histories. So, too, just the original façade of 128 Maple Street might be considered for preservation, restoration, and integration into new construction, recalling its former interesting exterior when built in the 1880s as a roller-skating rink, and converted in the 1890s as an Armory for the Danvers Militia Company K, which in 1898-9 marched off to serve in the Spanish-American War. (See the article on 128 Maple Street on the Archives’ website for a history of this complex. https://www.danverslibrary.org/archive/128-maple-street/ )

A delay was placed on these structures, and I believed strongly enough about several of these buildings to write to the owners offering some concrete suggestions as to how the most significant ones might be saved. I also suggested consideration of an option regarding the Railroad Freight building at 6 Hobart Street, and the relocation of the ornate 1868 Danvers Plains Station located on the Townsend property, also in danger of demolition.

By 2022, after the major Covid outbreak quarantine, a determination was made by Town Counsel that a new Demolition Delay application for 7 of the buildings designated “worthy of Preservation” was not necessary. I was concerned that the now new development plan might wipe away the historic structures, and sent out a letter voicing my strong concerns to the Preservation Commission, Select Board, Town Manager, Lee representatives and their lawyer, and the Building Inspector, urging action to see if some accommodation might be reached. No replies were forthcoming, and I fear the new development plan will lead to a preservation and heritage catastrophe for Danvers.

And to make preservations matters even worse, during this 2022 fiscal year two architecturally and historically significant structures, one of national importance, were requested by their owners to be demolished. The property owner of the historic ca. 1717 “First Period” James Putnam Jr. house at 42 Summer Street submitted a demolition application on February 23, 2022. This house is one of only about 250 surviving early American dwellings dating prior to 1720 within the entire United States. The original house was added to in the mid-18^th century with a high style Georgian building attached to the original, and with a gambrel roof above the two sections. This homestead was the ancestral home of three Putnam brothers, all 18^th century graduates of Harvard College. One brother later served as the last Massachusetts Attorney General of Massachusetts during British rule, and, as a Tory, fled the colony at the outbreak of the American Revolution. Another brother who eventually owned the homestead was a noted area physician who served the Continental forces during the war.

In the early 1800s Timothy Pickering resided here. A founding father, Pickering was a three-time cabinet officer under both Presidents George Washington and John Adams, including serving as Secretary of State. While at the Summer Street home he practiced cutting-edge scientific agriculture. Later associations with the house included John Greenleaf Whittier and his artistic muse, Phoebe Woodman. The house as of 2022 included a fantastic interior featuring an exposed “First Period” frame and fireplace breasts, as well as high style Georgian paneling, Indian shutters, and all manner of Georgian finish. The house is an historical and architectural gem of national significance.

Following a site visit by the Commission and me, and a report I put together as Town Archivist, the Danvers Preservation Commission determined the property to be “Historically Significant” at a March 10, 2022, public meeting. A Public Hearing was held on April 14, and continued to May 12, 2022, at Danvers Town Hall, at which time I gave my report, numerous letters from in state and out were received supporting the preservation of the house, and various individuals and representatives of organizations and the neighborhood spoke for the structure’s survival. At the conclusion of the public hearing the Commission voted unanimously that the building was “Worthy of Preservation” and instituted a 12-month demolition delay for time to possibly find a solution to its preservation, the delay to expire on May 13, 2023.

Likewise, on March 14, 2022, the owner of the historic Greek Revival style ca. 1844 Putnam-Learoyd House located within a large lot at 367 Maple Street submitted a demolition permit for the house only, and not for other structures on the property. This lovely, symmetrical Greek Revival style house possessing original exterior and interior architectural features, and a contemporary attached ell, was built in 1844 by Danvers master carpenter Calvin Putnam. In 1897 the house was the scene of an attempted murder of occupant Albert Learoyd and members of the household by a former hired hand named William Kennedy. A sensational, media hyped series of court proceedings terminated in a trial finding Kennedy guilty of attempted murder, and being given a long prison term. All New England newspapers covered the trial daily, with art sketches of people and places associated with the events, including Learoyd’s young, lovely, and abused wife taking the witness stand. This media circus was followed near and far throughout New England and beyond.

As with the Summer Street house, the Commission and I visited the Maple Street home, followed by a Public Hearing on May 12, 2022. The Commission voted unanimously that the building was “Worthy of Preservation” and instituted a 12-month demolition delay for time to possibly find a solution to its preservation, the delay to expire on May 13, 2023.

Another Town agency, the Danvers Historic District Commission, of which I am a member, met on May 23, 2022, to consider what best to do to help preserve these two historic dwellings. We voted unanimously to begin the process of possibly establishing local, single-parcel historic districts under MGL Chapter 40C of the dwellings at 42 Summer Street and 367 Maple Street, and began serving as a Local Historic District Study Committee.

Commission member Daniel Gagnon and I agreed to prepare reports on both houses using resources including manuscripts, town records, previous surveys, maps, photographs, and secondary sources of the Danvers Archival Center. Following the process outlined in Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40C, a Preliminary Study Report would be submitted to the Massachusetts Historical Commission and the Town of Danvers Planning Board. After the required 60-day waiting period following submission to the MHC, and the legal notification to the property owner, the Danvers Historic District Commission would hold a public hearing and a determination to request Town Meeting to establish these two potential properties as Historic Districts. We await to see if these two Danvers gems can be saved as historic home residential dwellings.

Though the historically and architecturally significant built environment of the Town of Danvers seems to yearly lose buildings which contribute to its unique heritage, the Danvers Archival Center quietly continues to locate, collect, preserve, and make available to the public a large collection of documents, printed items, maps, and other two-dimensional historic resources.

This fiscal year significant Danvers-related items have been added to our witchcraft, manuscript, and photographic collections, and many kind people have given historically or culturally interesting items for their long-term preservation and use. We continue to take seriously our role as the institutional memory and manuscript repository for Danvers, yet I wish we could also stem the continued destruction of our historic dwellings and built environment.

                                                                                                Richard B. Trask
Town Archivist