Peabody

13. John Proctor House

Plate 16; on Lowell Street, one-tenth mile south
of its intersection with Prospect Street

John Proctor, an early opponent of the witch hunt, lived in this house in 1692. One of the afflicted girls, Mary Warren, was a maidservant in his household. Proctor had cured her fits with a good whipping and maintained that the others could be cured with similar treatment. In April 1692, John and his wife Elizabeth were accused of witchcraft. John was tried in early August and hanged later that month. Elizabeth was found pregnant at the time of her condemnation and was granted a stay of execution. She would escape the gallows and eventually remarry. The stream which runs behind the house is known to this day as Proctor Brook. The Proctor house is privately owned.