Sara S.
Yelp
Chock full of local history.
If you're in the Salem area, you have to amble on over to visit the grounds of Ropes Mansion. The house, painstakingly restored, is gorgeous and is a testament to great architecture and local history.
I had a chance to visit the grounds during a visit to friends who live in the area. If you go to Salem, there truly are a handful of "must visit" spots no self-respecting tourist should pass up and Ropes Mansion is one of them. I was pretty impressed with the grounds and garden, learning about the home's pedigree and finding out little tidbits of the early Salemites who once inhabited the home.
The mansion dates back to early eighteenth century (circa 1720) and has been remodeled and restored extensively throughout the years. The stunning garden behind the home was added later, though, roughly 1912, I believe. The garden is a sight to be seen as well, open to the public all year. If you like gardens and other similar spots of quiet repose, then you don't want to skip a trip out back to the garden, which boasts curved pathways, benches for reading and a koi pond. It's one of the best-kept gardens I've ever seen, truly spectacular.
Back to the house and its history. It was erected in the Georgian Colonial style, built by businessman Sam Barnhard, although the property was purchased by Judge Nathaniel Ropes around 1768, with generations of the Ropes family residing in the stately home until 1907, when it was purchased by the Peabody Essex Museum. It's been a museum ever since, open to the public on Saturdays through the fall. A fire in 2009 destroyed part of the roof and attic, temporarily closing the house to the public after major restoration work had to be done. It reopened to the public a few years back.
The home is located in the McIntire Historic District of Salem and is also recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
As for the home itself, it houses a wonderful display a 18th and 19th century period furnishings, including rugs, art, ceramics, glassware and other antiques of the era. It's a great way to see into the past and check out the way that people of means lived during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Legend says this place is haunted, as in seriously haunted by the ghosts of Nathaniel Ropes and his wife, Abigail. Both apparently died in the home (not an unusual occurrence back in the day, but anyway) and their ghosts are said to still inhabit the property to this day- according to Salem legend, at least. Locals claim this is one of the most haunted sites in the city, so take that with a grain of salt, but I do know that I was also told this was a majorly haunted location when I first visited the house, so there you go. Did I see any ghostly apparitions or feel any other worldly presence? No, but other people swear by it and I can't speak to their experiences, only my own.
The site has some contemporary notoriety attached to it as well. Filmmakers used the site to film the Sarah Jessica Parker-Bette Midler movie, "Hocus Pocus," about 25 years ago.
Again, if you like history, beautiful gardens and old architecture, then this is probably a stop you will want to check out if you're in the Salem area. While there is a lot of similar history and houses in Salem, this one is definitely one of the nicest.
