Donna Seger and Brad Austin
From the publisher
Salem, MA is best known today for its infamous witch trials in 1692, yet there is much more to this small city. An important trading center since its founding in 1626, Salem was also the scene of dynamic social and material changes in the twentieth century. Salem’s Centuries develops a more inclusive and comprehensive historical framework and expands upon the city’s signature eras of witch trials and maritime ascendancy.
In advance of the city’s quadricentennial, the editors and contributors highlight the depth and diversity of Salem’s history, including stories of indigenous peoples, early settlers, African Americans, and immigrants, spanning from the American and industrial revolutions to World War II and the present. Chronologically arranged by century, chapters examine how Salem’s history has been lost or distorted in its public presentations over time.
Salem’s Centuries is a fresh look at an old American city. And yes, it includes the accused witches.
Reviews
“Salem’s Centuries is a remarkable collection of inventive essays exploring a wide range of topics, from the dispossession of Salem’s indigenous peoples to its heyday as a center of global commerce to the lives of the Puritan descendants, African Americans, and immigrants from around the world who made the city their home. Together, these essays illuminate how the city’s past, real and imagined, has shaped its contemporary landscape and people.” — David Glassberg, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and author of Sense of History: The Place of the Past in American Life
“Donna Seger and Brad Austin have not only assembled new perspectives on Salem—ones that highlight once-ignored Indigenous, Black, working-class, immigrant, and emigrant experiences—they have shown why these matter, even outside the Witch City’s boundaries. And because the authors do their history in public, foregrounding how they use their sources to understand the past, this volume also serves as a model for how to make local history lively and relevant.”— Jacob A. C. Remes, Clinical Associate Professor of History at New York University, and author of Disaster Citizenship: Survivors, Solidarity, and Power in the Progressive Era
Mentioned in this discussion
Some of our earlier History Camp Author Discussions discussions and presentations related to Salem history
[Broadcast on February 5, 2026; recorded earlier.]