Tour the site of the Great Salem Fire, October 6, 1774 with retired park ranger, Curtis White. The fire destroyed shops, a meeting-house, dwellings, and the Custom House. Was the fire a diversionary tactic to deter the arrest of Massachusetts delegates who met in defiance of the Massachusetts Government Act? This 1.25-mile walking tour will...

On October 7, 1774, ninety chosen representatives met at Salem in defiance of General Gage’s order. They elected John Hancock to serve as chairman. They resolved to form themselves into “a Provincial Congress...to take into consideration the dangerous and alarming situation of public affairs in this province, and to consult and determine on such measures...