Hale Farm

Built in 1694, the John Hale House was home to many generations of the Hale family. It features several later additions, including a 1745 gambrel-roofed ell extension which now contains the main entrance near Hale Street. The property, which was once 100 acres that reached to the ocean, is still a restful green space near downtown Beverly. Reverend Hale was responsible for the establishment of the First Parish Church in Beverly in 1667, and for writing the petition to the Great and General Court separating Beverly from Salem in 1668. Hale’s involvement with the Salem Witchcraft trials led him to author his famous analysis “A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft”, which is considered a classic of colonial American literature