Historic Salem Walking Tour | McIntire Historic District

McIntire Historic District | Architectural Walking Tour
Credit: Bethany Bourgault Samuel McIntire, the district’s namesake, was a prominent, influential architect in the late 1700s. He was hired by Salem’s wealthiest merchants and businessmen to design their grand dwellings, and is now oftentimes thought of as responsible for designing the signature look of the city. After 1790, McIntire worked primarily as a woodcarver, carving intricate designs for his high-paying clients. Many of his works remain in their original locations, and you can see some of his most famous homes along the walking trail. McIntire is buried in Salem’s Burying Point Cemetery, the oldest burial ground in the city of Salem. His current neighbors include a Mayflower passenger and Justice Hawthorne of the infamous witch trials.

The district’s walking trail begins at Driver Park – a small plot at the intersection of Essex, Summer, and North streets with a monument to Captain William Driver in the center. Driver, a Salem-native who captained his first ship at the age of 21, is best known for nicknaming the American flag “Old Glory.”

Directly across the street is the former home of Jonathan Corwin, a wealthy 17th century merchant who, because of his early wealth and social status, served as a judge during the Salem Witch Trials. Visitors can choose either a guided or self-guided tour to see what daily life was like for a family so intimately involved in Salem’s most infamous period.

Continuing down Essex Street, walkers encounter the Mary Lindall House, a Georgian-style home built in 1755, that for a time housed Count Rumford – a prominent inventor of the day. Not far from there is the First Church of Salem. The building, built in the Gothic Revival style of the 19th century in 1835, houses a congregation that’s been worshiping since 1629.