Since fall is just around the corner and public interest in the Salem Witch Trials tends to peak around then, I decided to write about Salem Witch Trials historic sites on the seacoast for the August 27, 2026 edition of the Seacoast Scene newspaper.
Not a lot of people know that the Salem Witch Trials actually spread to many of the neighboring towns in Massachusetts and even in Maine, which was a part of the Massachusetts Bay colony at the time. This has created many historic sites with connections to the trials all across New England.
In the article, I write about the site of accused witch Susannah Martin’s house in Amesbury, MA; the site of the assistant to the General Court, Robert Pike’s house, in Salisbury, MA; the site of Robert Pike’s and accused witch Mary Perkins Bradbury’s graves in Salisbury; and Witchtrot Road in South Berwick, Maine.
I already knew about the majority of these sites before writing the article, but I learned about Witchtrot Road only after I started researching the article, and, it turns out it is located in a nearby town just 10 minutes from where I live.
Witchtrot Road is reportedly the road that Reverend George Burroughs and his arresting officers traveled on after he was accused of witchcraft and arrested at his home in Wells, Maine.
Yet, in researching the road with the help of the Old Berwick Historical Society, I discovered the history of the road and the legend associated with it is actually quite complicated. I gathered more information about the road than I could actually fit in the article, so I decided to post whatever I had to cut out here.
Witchtrot Road in South Berwick, Maine
After contacting John D. Demos, Vice President of the Old Berwick Historic Society, he got in touch with Salem State professor and author of A Storm of Witchcraft Emerson W. Baker, and they provided the following answers to my questions about the road:
“Based on our e-mails, and all the above, here is my suggested answer to Rebecca’s specific questions:
We have not gone through all the town records looking for when the town of Berwick (or South Berwick, after it split off in 1814) first designated the road by that name, so do have a definitive answer to your questions. But drawing upon Old Berwick Historical Society’s book, The Placenames of South Berwick, as well as our own collective research, we can offer the following.
In the seventeenth century, Newichawannock was the Native name also used by English settlers to refer to the falls in the Salmon Falls River in present-day South Berwick. The term “Road to Newichawannock” was used to describe the Native trails that became the road from both York and Wells to South Berwick.
In the 1790s, the town of Berwick referred to what is now Witchtrot Road as “Highway from the Meetinghouse to Wells.” The earliest reference we can find in the York County, Maine records is an 1801 reference to in a probate record to “….about 10 acres in Witchtrot, near Wilkinson’s all in Berwick.” This makes it sound more like a region than a road. The earliest reference specifically to “Witchtrot Road” is an 1816 deed from John and Samuel Lord to Simeon Lord to property bounded “by said Witchtrot Road” in York Deeds volume 96 pages 212-213.
It should be noted that there is also a Witchtrot Road in Wakefield and Sanbornville, New Hampshire, almost 40 miles north of the road of the same name in South Berwick, so clearly not a part of the same road. We don’t know anything about the history of that road, but it certainly is in the wrong part of New Hampshire, but it is a part of New Hampshire that was not settled until the mid-eighteenth century, well after the Salem witch trials.
As to the legend associating the road with George Burroughs’s trip south from Wells to face charges of witchcraft in Salem, Emerson “Tad” Baker has suggested, taking the road Newichannock Road, was not really a shortcut, but would have been more miles than the coastal route. The alternative was the King’s Highway, which lay along the coastline of York County.
Illustration of Burroughs and the lawmen being spooked by a storm in Maine while traveling back to Salem, Mass. Illustration by Alfred Rudolph Waud, published in A Popular History of the United States, circa 1878.
The advantage of going to Newichawannock was the ability to cross the Salmon Falls River at a narrow spot. Taking the King’s Highway required a longer and more dangerous passage across the mouth of the Piscataqua River.
However, taking the inland, and heavily wooded Newichawannock Road in the middle of King William’s War would have been a huge risk – a very likely spot for a Wabanaki ambush. Sticking to the coast – heavily settled by the English – was a much safer alternative, even with the longer river crossing. So, it seems highly unlikely that they would have taken Burroughs down the Newichawannock Road.
Instead of being associated with the witch trials, Baker suggests that the “-wich-“in Newichawannock is the likely source of the term ‘Witchtrot.’”
Norma Keim, who is also a member of the Old Berwick Historic Society and actually lives on Witchtrot Road, also provided some very interesting answers to my questions:
“I have the privilege of living on the road, since 1982. I have the dubious honor of being the oldest living OBHS member, active since 1989! Like John, I am also on the Board of Directors. The Witchtrot is a difficult topic. I am uncertain what John has sent you so far, so I am communicating with you directly.
Here follows MY response to your inquires about the name, Witchtrot Road in South Berwick: 1) who officially named it? 2) When did that name first appear? 3) the additional question about “What it’s like to have Salem Witch trials related to the town of South Berwick?”
Responding to your latest question first, South Berwick has a long history, since the early 1600s, and it’s reflected in generations of storytelling, architecture and its stonewalls and tree lines. People move here, because of it. Often, people move here from other states because of its excellent public school system, only to learn that their early ancestors actually CAME from South Berwick! People who live on Witchtrot Road today, with that address, also tend to be intrigued with its history.
Only in recent decades have the Salem Witch Trials become a topic of wide-spread interest! A local inn – the Stage House Inn, dating from the early 1800s, has a special room devoted to the story of Witchtrot Road and Rev. George Burroughs, of Wells, the prominent witch taken to Salem, tried and hanged.
1) Who officially named the road, Witchtrot Road? It was never officially named by anyone. The names of roads in this area changed all the time, named by the people who lived on them, over generations, since the mid-1600s. 2) When did the name appear? The name, Witchtrot Road, is undoubtedly related to the Newichawannock Indian trail. This regionally important trail ran from the north of NH, through Rochester NH (1) to the Indian village of Cochecho (today’s Dover NH), paralleling today’s Salmon Falls River (then called the Newichawannock River).
Today’s Sligo Road, paralleling the Salmon Falls River, is the old Newichawannock Trail. There is evidence that today’s Witchtrot Road originally connected the native population in this area of Maine, with Webhannet, the native village in Wells, on the seacoast.
Over the centuries, it has been called “the Way to Wells”, Old South (Parish) Road, South Road, Witchtrot Road. Until the mid-1900s, it was not a through road – one could access it from Route 91 only so far.
One could access it from the other end, Emery’s Bridge Road, only so far. The mid-section was unavailable to wheeled traffic of any sort – wooden wagons or early automobiles.
To access the village of York from the Emery’s Bridge end, another old trail mid-way on Witchtrot Road, led to York, accounting for ANOTHER Witchtrot Road in York, on Route 91, today accessed by the York transfer station.”
I also wrote about some sites in Massachusetts, such as the site of Susannah Martin’s house in Amesbury. I contacted the Amesbury Historical Society and asked them about the history of the site.
Most of what Jon Camp told me I was able to use in the article, but another member of the historical society, Steve Klomps, also gave me a lot of info, and I wasn’t able to include it all, so I’ll post it here:
“As you probably already know Martin Road is bifurcated by Interstate 494, which runs over the original site of the house.
Martin Road is an early road, laid out by Susannah’s husband George Martin. By 1659 he had purchased a 20 acre River Lot, a long narrow lot running north from the Merrimack River. He built a house at the North end of this lot by 1660.
The North part of Martin Road, from Rt 110 (the old Road to Haverhill) to the house site was laid out through common land to provide access to the house. The house was sited on the North side of Fox Island Swamp.
By 1667 George Martin had built a causeway and bridge over the swamp, and then extended the road South through his property to provide access to the Merrimack River.
I think the original house was taken down at a very early date, possibly not long after Susannah was executed in 1692. Her son William Martin lived on a part of the original River Lot on the South side of Fox Island Swamp, where descendants lived for several generations.
This is probably more information than you are looking for, but hopefully it is of some use. Let me know if you have any questions.”
I’m very grateful for all of the amazing information these historical society members have provided me with, and I hope if you go to see these sites in person, you’ll also stop by these historical societies as well to learn more about the history of these charming towns.
If you want to learn more about these sites, I’ve also listed the sources I used to research the article.
Sources: “Susannah Martin Memorial.” Amesbury Improvement Association, amesburyimprovement.wordpress.com/susanna-martin-memorial/ “Historic Marker Detail: AME.904 Martin, Susanna Marker.” Macris, mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=AME.904 “SWP No. 092: Susannah Martin Executed July 19, 1692.” Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project, salem.lib.virginia.edu/n92.html “Susannah Martin House Marker.” Salem Witch Museum, salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/susannah-martin-house-marker/ “Robert Pike Homestead, Site of.” Salem Witch Museum, salemwitchmuseum.com/locations/robert-pike-homestead-site-of/ “The witches and witchcraft in Wells and Arundel.” Seacoast Online, 29 Oct. 2009, seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/york-star/2009/10/29/the-witches-witchcraft-in-wells/51703282007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z113425e005600v113425d–38–b–38–&gca-ft=117&gca-ds=sophi “Where did the name of South Berwick’s Witchtrot Road come from?” Old Berwick Historical Society, oldberwick.org/history-articles/places-landmarks/where-did-the-name-of-south-berwicks-witchtrot-road-come-from.html “Meetinghouse History Gallery.” Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit, wellsogunquithistory.org/meetinghouse Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice. “The Witchcraft Trial of Reverend George Burroughs.” History of Massachusetts Blog, 9 Apr. 2017, historyofmassachusetts.org/reverend-george-burroughs-salem/ “Panelists List Projects for Town Improvements.” The Daily News, 17 Jul. 1963, p. 3. “Improvement Unit Elects.” Amesbury News, 11 Apr. 1963, p. 6. “Sharp Tongue Earned Her Witch’s Fate.” Amesbury News, 25 Oct. 1962, p. 11. “In Memory of Susannah Martin.” Sun Journal, 4 May. 1895, p. 5. “The Old Town of Berwick – Sarah Orne Jewett’s history of South Berwick.” Old Berwick Historical Society, oldberwick.org/history-articles/historic-publications/jewett-writings/the-old-town-of-berwick-sarah-orne-jewetts-history-of-south-berwick.html “Portion of Interstate 495 to be Named in Memory of Salem Witch Trial Victim.” Wavelengths, 26 Sept 2022, whav.net/2022/09/26/portion-of-interstate-495-to-be-named-in-honor-of-salem-witch-trial-victim/
