Welcome to Danvers

Danvers is a town in Essex County about 17 miles north of Boston, where Route 1, I-95, and Route 128 come together. Once known as Salem Village, it pairs First Period houses from the 1600s with a rail trail, a 165-acre town park, and a tidal harbor at Danversport.

About Danvers

Danvers began as Salem Village, a farming settlement of Salem that was permanently settled in 1636. The witchcraft accusations of 1692 began here, in the household of the Reverend Samuel Parris. Salem Village was set off as a district in 1752 and became the town of Danvers in 1757, likely named for Danvers Osborn. The town seal still carries the phrase "The King Unwilling," from the legend that King George II vetoed the incorporation. In 1855 the southern part of town, South Danvers, became a separate town, renamed Peabody in 1868.

Danvers militiamen marched from the Village Training Field on April 19, 1775, and General Israel Putnam was born in the town in 1718. In the 1800s Danvers grew around shoemaking, brickmaking, and carpet weaving. Danvers borders Topsfield to the north, Wenham to the northeast, Beverly to the east, Salem to the southeast, Peabody to the south and southwest, and Middleton to the northwest.

Getting Around

Danvers has no commuter rail station, and the MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line stops in nearby Salem and Beverly. MBTA buses connect Danvers with Salem Depot and with Central Square in Lynn. Massport's Logan Express runs from Liberty Tree Mall to Logan Airport. I-95, Route 128, and Route 1 pass through town, and Routes 35, 62, and 114 cross it.

Danvers Real Estate

Danvers real estate spans more than three centuries. First Period houses from the late 1600s still stand, including the Samuel Holten House and the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, along with center-chimney saltboxes and gambrel-roofed houses from the 1700s. The 1800s added Federal houses, five-bay Greek Revival homes, Italianate and Second Empire houses, and later Queen Anne, Shingle Style, and Colonial Revival homes near the town center and the old mill villages.

The Salem Village Historic District, along Centre, Collins, Hobart, Ingersoll, and Forest streets, is the town's local historic district and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The former Danvers State Hospital campus, opened in 1878, is now an apartment community. Neighborhoods include Danvers Square, Danvers Center, Danversport, Putnamville, Tapleyville, and Hathorne.

Living in Danvers

Endicott Park covers 165 acres with trails, gravel roads, historic farm buildings, an animal barn, and a playground. The Danvers Rail Trail, a 4.3-mile stone dust path on a former railroad line, links downtown with neighborhoods, parks, and trails in Peabody, Wenham, and Topsfield. Next door, Glen Magna Farms is home to the Derby Summer House, designed by Samuel McIntire in 1794 and now a National Historic Landmark.

The Rebecca Nurse Homestead on Pine Street is a museum on more than 25 acres, with a reproduction of the 1672 Salem Village Meeting House. At Danversport, Pope's Landing on the Porter River has boat ramps, a pier, and a picnic park, and the Crane River Marina is the town's public marina. The Peabody Institute Library on Sylvan Street, Danvers' own public library, is housed in an 1892 Georgian Revival building.

Questions About Danvers

What kinds of homes are in Danvers?

Danvers has First Period houses from the late 1600s, Colonial saltboxes and gambrel-roofed homes, and Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate houses from the 1800s. Queen Anne and Colonial Revival homes, houses near the Danversport waterfront, and apartments on the former state hospital campus add variety.

How do you get to Boston from Danvers?

Danvers has no commuter rail station, but trains to North Station leave from nearby Salem and Beverly. MBTA buses connect Danvers with Salem Depot, and I-95, Route 128, and Route 1 run through town.

What is the Salem Village Historic District?

The Salem Village Historic District covers the heart of old Salem Village along Centre, Collins, Hobart, Ingersoll, and Forest streets, including the site of the 1681 village parsonage. It is the town's local historic district and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

To see homes for sale in Danvers, browse the listings below. Thinking of buying or selling in Danvers? Call (617) 848-9616 or get a free home valuation. Danvers is part of our North of Boston guide.

Photos: Fletcher, CC BY 4.0 and Daderot, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.