In 1681, the inhabitants of Salem Village built a home at this site for their minister. Ministers who lived here included George Burroughs from 1681 to 1683, who was accused in 1692 of being a witch and hanged; Deodat Lawson from 1684 to 1688, author of the first volume about Salem Village witchcraft; Samuel Parris from 1689 to 1696, minister during the witchcraft hysteria; Joseph Green from 1698 to 1715, a noted diarist and area peacemaker; Peter Clark from 1717 to 1768, a famed theological author; and Benjamin Wadsworth from 1772 to 1826, who tore down the old parsonage in 1784. In this house in 1692, Tituba, Rev. Parris' slave, told the girls of the household stories of witchcraft that nurtured the village witchcraft hysteria and resulted in the deaths of 23 persons. The house was the scene of many incidents during the hysteria and became one of the most important sites in colonial American history. Archaeological excavation began here in 1970.
