15. Site of the Meetinghouse of the First Church in Salem
(Plate 17; marker located on Essex Street near the southeast corner of its intersection with Washington Street).

In 1692, the meetinghouse of the First Church stood on this site. On April 11, Sarah Cloyce and John and Elizabeth Proctor were examined here. On the day of her trial, Bridget Bishop's specter reportedly pried up a plank from the meetinghouse and sent it crashing about the interior. Barely one month later, on July 3, Rebecca Nurse was brought here and publicly excommunicated.