Danvers Map
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts, Danvers is most widely known for its association with the 1692 Salem witch trials, and for its famous asylum, the Danvers State Hospital.
The land that is now Danvers was once controlled by the Naumkeag branch of the Massachusett tribe. Around 1630, settlers converted an existing Naumkeag trail into the Old Ipswich Road, creating a connection to the main cities of Salem and Boston. Danvers was permanently settled in 1636 as Salem Village, and eventually petitioned the Crown for a charter as a town. According to legend, the King, rather than signing the charter, returned it with the message "The King Unwilling." On June 9, 1757, however, the town was incorporated anyway, and the King's rebuff was defiantly given a place on the town's seal. The town was named for the Danvers Osborn family.
The historical event for which Danvers is probably most well-known is the Witch Hysteria of 1692. The house of one of the convicted "witches," Rebecca Nurse, is still standing in Danvers and can be visited as a historical landmark.
Nearby cities include Melrose, Stoneham, Rowley, Revere, Wilmington.