Then & Now: 16 Lynde St. — From Chapel to Witch Dungeon

While the above building at 16 Lynde St. has no historical connection to the Salem witchcraft hysteria, it does have an interesting history.

The above architectural drawing by Strafford and Symonds, Boston architects, envisions what the East Church Chapel would look like when completed in 1897. The East Church, (First Church Society), had this chapel built at 16 Lynde St. on a lot that formerly held the Chamberlain residence.

This style of architecture was known as 'Stick Style' and was characterized by its decorative wood trim on the outside that emphasized the underlying building's structure. The decorative trim in these wooden buildings was known as stick work, thus the name.

This style was popular mainly in the period from 1860-1890 and gave way to the Queen Ann Style. There are very few examples of this style still visible and this is said to be the best example of this type locally.

The East Church's main church was on Washington Square from around 1845 in what is now the Witch Museum. Prior to this building, another smaller wooden church was located on the corner of Essex and Hardy Streets. The East Church has a long history in Salem, dating back to Puritan times. Its best known pastor was Dr. William Bentley, the noted diarist of Salem, who chronicled daily life in Salem from 1784 to 1819. His observances and thoughts offer glimpses of this important time in Salem's history, when the church was forefront in society and the life of Salem.

When this chapel was built, it was to fulfill the needs of the East Parish by the First Church Society. It was designed to provide for a large Meeting Hall, Library, Dining Hall as well as an apartment for the minister. The cost was $6000.

In 1902, there was a major fire at the East Church which resulted in rebuilding that presumably addressed many of the functions provided at the chapel. That, coupled with re-building and funding for the renovations, made the East Church willing to forgo this chapel. After some 10 years of use by the East Church, the chapel was transferred to the Church of Christ Scientists for its use in 1908. At the time, this was a new denomination that was rapidly growing throughout the metropolitan Boston area.

The Church of Christ Scientist was founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879. Known as a healer from a young age, Mary Baker Eddy studied biblical teaching after she was healed from a life-threatening injury that happened to her while living in Lynn in 1866. This study resulted in what she termed her discovery of Christian Science, as documented in her book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, published in 1875.

From this book and her advocacy of Christian Science, a church was founded,"to commemorate the word and works of our Master, which should reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing” (Church Manual, p.17). This religion, which espoused the belief that proper spirituality could be taught, resulting in healing without medicine or medical intervention, became very popular and rapidly grew from its roots in Boston to the rest of the country and eventually the world.

In 1908, The First Church of Christ (Scientist), after meeting for several years at various places in Salem, moved to 16 Lynde St. The church schedule was to have a Sunday service at 10:30 led by a layperson using the Bible as "pastor." These services consisted of hymns, readings from the Bible and Mary Baker Eddy's books and fellowship. On Wednesday evenings there was a 7:30 service, during which members gave testimonials about their experience using Christian Science.

A major component of all Christian Science churches is the Reading Room where members and the public could go and read about Christian Science as well as read their award-winning newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor, 1908, that has as its motto, "To injure no man, but to bless all mankind." In the Salem Church this room was open to the public each day from 3 to 5 p.m. except on Sundays.

The First Church of Christ Scientist remained here until 1980 when the building was sold and the Witch Dungeon Museum, which had been operating in part of the building, took over the rest of the space.

For over three decades, The Witch Dungeon has been offering re-enactments of the witch trials and tours of the dungeon cells where the accused where kept for extended periods. The original site of the jail where the accused were held is a few streets over, at 4 Federal St. where the Essex County District Attorney's Office is currently. The dungeons here give us a glimpse of what the real dungeon looked like on Federal Street before the building gave way to a phone company building in the 1950s. These living history presentations continue to be popular with school groups, tours and tourists.