What's In A Name? A History of Salem Names for Local Landmarks

From early days, Salem residents have given nicknames to various places and parts of the town.

Some of these names have stuck and even found their way onto maps and guidebooks, while others have all but disappeared from use. With the advent of GPS systems, these nicknames are probably now an endangered category.

If someone mentions Gallows or Castle Hill, most Salemites know where they are and why they are so named; one for the witch executions the other for the Native American stronghold or castle. There are many more to consider.

I can recall conversations with older relatives who grew up in Salem and would still refer to places by nicknames. This was always a challenge if you asked for directions. Certain relatives giving me directions seemed to take pleasure from using nicknames. When I asked about the nickname, I would not only get directions but a mini history lesson on why the nickname came to be.

When my Aunt Sadie would talk about some friend living near Johnny Cake Hill, I thought it was some sort of bakery. When asked for clarification, she told me that it wasn’t too far from Blubber Hollow, a nickname that has seemed to stick, at least to my generation. The name hearkens back to the production of whale oil in the area that eventually became home to most of the leather companies in Salem. This was the area of Boston, Bridge and Grove Streets, where the great Salem Fire had started.

Johnny Cake Hill, I learned, was around the corner on Boston Street near the old tree. If you look at the vintage postcard above of the huge tree that grew in the middle of Boston Street close to the current AOH, then you now know the Johnny Cake Hill area. I do not know for a fact, but presume there was indeed a bakery that served Johnny Cakes. Having a vague recollection that Johnny cakes are similar to fried dough, I went searching and found a recipe from an 1896 Good Housekeeping magazine. That recipe is in the photo section above.

This same aunt who was a young lady at the turn of the 20th century had a wealth of knowledge when it came to these names and would often pepper her conversations with them. I recall a conversation between my Aunt Sadie and my mother where they talked about going up Mill Hill, which I was told was Mill Street toward Canal and Washington streets. In earlier times, this area of Mill and Margin Streets was referred to as Knocker’s Hole. This name was derived from the work at a shipyard that was here. The constant pounding of hammers working on ships earned it the name.

Neck Gate was a common expression in Salem for hundreds of years. It referred to the area of Essex Street, near where Ziggy’s is now — Webb and Derby Streets where Fort Ave. goes toward the . The old expression that’s mentioned in a number of Salem history books was, “It’s a mile from Buffum’s Corner to Neck Gate.” This referred to the somewhat straight run from Buffum’s Corner at Essex and Boston Streets by the Buffum house and store in the 1700s to the end of Essex Street and the beginning of the Neck at the end of Derby Street. The neck is the readily identified narrow land between and Salem Harbor leading to the Willows and . Its name is apparent when looking at a map of Salem.

name grew out of a nickname. The beach at the head of the Beverly Bar was known as Ram’s Horn Cove because of Ram’s Horn Rock or Rocks on which the inner beacon for Beverly Bar was built. Dr. Bentley, in his diary, refers to the rocky point beside this beach as Bar Point. He went on to write about the amount of land that was washed away between this point and Hospital Point, which is now referred to as the Willows. The term Bar refers to the area where deep waters meet the more shallow waters of the mouth of a river. It can be treacherous at times, hence the warning beacon.

In the 1850s, this beach was referred to as Horse Beach by residents downtown who nicknamed it because this beach, being far enough away from residences, was a good place to bury dead horses. While originally it was just referred to as Horse Beach, that nickname eventually changed to its current official name of Dead Horse Beach.

Some other nicknames that were recalled in the Salem Directory of 1910 but are now lost in the haze of time and history are listed below:

• The area from the Big Tree on Boston Street to the Peabody Burying Ground was known as Trask’s Plain after a land owner.

• The Nubble was the area nearby the Peabody burying ground on Boston Street. In those days, Peabody was still South Danvers.

• Goose Lane ran from Federal to Fowler Street.

• Lovers' Lane was off of Tremont Street.

• Plank Alley was part of Elm Street between Charter and Essex streets. This was an unpaved, muddy area where wooden planks stabilized the walking. That area is now part of Hawthorne Boulevard.

• Vinegar hill was on Broad Street.

• Circus Lane is now Hathorne Street. This was so named because the fields bordering the Street were rented out for circus performances.

• Carltonville is a nickname for a section of Mason Street in North Salem. Mason Street was laid out in 1797 and named after the prominent sea captain Jonathan Mason from North Salem.

• Liberty Hill was off of Appleton Street in North Salem. This area had a popular picnic area.

• North Salem itself was first officially called Pigeonville but was later nicknamed North Fields which was how it was known until the area developed into North Salem.

• Castletonville was the nickname of the area of Winthrop and Endicott Streets. In the 1890s, it was nicknamed Nauvoo. This name was based on a Salem man named Joe Smith building a house there. Apparently, this was at the same time that the Mormon leader, Joe Smith settled Nauvoo in Illinois. According to the Mormon Joe Smith, the name Nauvoo is Hebrew for beautiful place. Because they shared a name, this area was briefly referred to as such.

• These are just a few of the nicknames associated with places in Salem. There are more, however. There are also a number of locations and streets that have had name changes over the years, but we’ll save those for another day.

Have a Happy and prosperous New Year!