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The Witch Trail Committee was formed in 1968 by youth members and adult leaders of a Boy Scout Troop in Winthrop, Massachusetts, and has since been passed on through several other troops. The original group planned to research and document a historic trail in the Boston area as part of a troop project. The purpose of the project was to publish information that could be used by individuals or groups as an introduction to the rich history of the Boston area through first hand experience and on-sight visitation. The scope of the project did not limit its impact to just Boy Scouts. The documentation is appropriate for all types of youth, school, church and other groups and clubs as well as individuals. The Freedom Trail in and around downtown Boston already existed, so the troop decided on another historic event and area in the Boston vicinity. Salem was chosen for its renowned history surrounding the witch hysteria of the late 1600’s. The Witch Trail became the first of nine historic trails to be documented by the troop, and also gave rise to the name of the group. Documentation was presented to the Boy Scouts of America National Office. The National Office declared the Witch Trail to be a “Historic BSA Trail”. Soon it became apparent to the troop how well received the Witch Trail was and what an opportunity existed to come up with additional trails. So over the next several years the group researched, documented, cleaned and marked eight other trails that were also declared Historic BSA Trails. NOTE: Hiking these trails qualifies toward earning the BSA Historic Trails Award. The Witch Trail Committee first documented the nine trails in and around Boston in individual pamphlets, but later combined them into a single book. The book has been updated every few years to take into consideration such things as landmarks that have been moved or redesigned or repainted, streets that became one-way or were opened to two-way traffic or were closed, zip code changes, area code changes, admission prices, telephone number changes, etc. Today the Witch Trail Committee supports itself and its efforts not only through the sale of the book, but also through sale of embroidered patches and pewter medals for each of the individual trails. The group also custom designs and produces other pewter items such as bolo ties, neckerchiefs, belt buckles, medals, and medallions. The group is always open to a challenge in designing and producing pewter items for your group. In the near future, the Witch Trail Committee plans to document additional trails in southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. |
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Copyright© 2002; The Witch Trail Committee