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The Joshua Ward House on Washington Street in Salem, Massachusetts is a c. 1784 Federal-style building constructed on land that previously belonged to George Corwin, sheriff during the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials. In their book Architecture in Salem: An Illustrated Guide, Architectural historians, Carolyn and Bryant Tolles state that the building was likely designed by housewright Samuel Luscomb, Jr., and built with the assistance of the McIntire brothers—Samuel, Joseph, and Angier.
The Joshua Ward House with its sloping front yard would have once overlooked Salem Harbor and Ward Wharf, which has been filled in over the centuries to expand Salem’s downtown. Joshua Ward, a prominent ship owner, merchant, and rum distiller would have watched from his home as trade ships returned to Salem from the West Indies, brimming with spices and molasses, ingredients vital to his distillery.
On October 29, 1789, Joshua Ward hosted President George Washington, who was visiting Salem during a tour of New England. Washington spent the night in the Ward house and chronicled this visit in his journal, now part of the Smithsonian’s collection. Washington’s visit was also recorded in the diary of Salem’s Reverend William Bentley. According to Bentley, “The General then retired to the house of Mr. Joshua Ward. This assignation was made at the General’s particular request.” Upon Joshua Ward’s death in 1825, the house was transformed into a hotel and tavern, appropriately named for Washington.
The Washington House as it was known persisted as a hotel and tavern until the 1940s, when the building became a men’s furnishing store, Joe the Hatter. As downtown Salem became the shopping hub of the North Shore, the Joshua Ward House was eventually obscured from the street by commercial structures. Most notably, the men’s apparel store Giblees, blocked the stately mansion from view for many years. This continued until the late 1970s when the house underwent extensive preservation and restoration work. The project was spearheaded by Salem architect Staley McDermet and paid for with grants provided by the Salem Redevelopment Authority. Following this restoration, the Joshua Ward House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978; and was included in downtown’s national historic district, established in 1983.
Following the launch of Haunted Happenings in 1982, the Joshua Ward House began to attract the attention of tourists interested in the home’s historic past and the land’s ties to the Salem Witchcraft Trials. In the 1980s, while the building was being used as a real estate office, an otherwise uneventful employee picture day allegedly took an interesting turn when one of the photographs taken showed a ghostly image of a woman now known as the “Lady in Black.” Since then, the home has been featured on numerous ghost tours and documentaries.
In 1994, the home was purchased by Robert Murphy, an antiquarian book dealer and owner of Higginson Book Company. Murphy headquartered his business out of the Ward House for several years and welcomed those interested in the house’s history.
In 2015, The Joshua Ward House once again was transformed, this time into a boutique hotel, fittingly called The Merchant.
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Digitized Archives
Joshua Ward House Photographs and Ephemera
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