Rowley

Benjamin Scott Jr. house

Rowley was settled by Rev. Ezekiel Rogers and company and incorporated 1639.

Explore

Rowley Historical Society at the Platts-Bradstreet house (1677), 233 Main Street. The memorial for Salem witch trials victim Margaret (Stephenson) Scott (c. 1615-1692) is across the street (on the green). Currently, the society’s website is offline. Visit the Facebook page.

Rowley Burial Ground, 139(?) Main Street. Margaret Scott’s daughter-in-law Susannah (Scales) Scott (1650-1719) is buried at this cemetery.

Benjamin Scott Jr. house (1676), 187 Central Street. PRIVATE home. Margaret Scott may have lived with her son here after her husband died. If not, she lived nearby on same street (formerly known as Holmes Street).

Research

Phillips Library, 306 Newburyport Turnpike. The PEM Collection Center is the new home of Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum research library. The library features an extensive collection of volumes, logbooks, photographs, and archival materials. The Philcat catalog is searchable online.

Rowley Public Library, 141 Main Street. Local history room.

Online Books & Records

Early records of Rowley, Mass. First record of the First Church by Blodgette (1898)

Early records of the town of Rowley, Massachusetts, 1639-1672: being volume 1 of the printed records of the town by Mighill and Blodgette (1894)

Early settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts: a genealogical record of the families who settled in Rowley before 1700, with several generations of their descendants by George B. Blodgette (1933)

History of Rowley, anciently including Bradford, Boxford, and Georgetown, from the year 1639 to the present time by Thomas Gage (1840)

Blog Posts

Why go to Rowley? Salem’s PEM research library of course