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Danvers was originally settled in 1630 by John Endecott, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, who built a house and set up his extensive "Orchard Farms" in the area now know as Danversport. The first settlement in present-day Danvers was that of Salem Village. In 1638, the Selectmen of Salem granted a small group of settlers the right to establish a village in the area now called "Danvers Highlands." The inhabitants remained legally dependent on Salem in civil and ecclesiastic matters, although as time passed, the farmers began to petition for more independence from Salem. This village was part of the frontier in its early years, and wild animals, harsh weather, and hostile Indians were a real and constant threat to these Puritan pioneers. In 1672, Salem Village had become a parish, at which time, her dependence on Salem was somewhat lifted and she established her own congregation.
In 1671, the Salem Villagers began using a field at the center of the village for military training, and in 1709, Nathaniel Ingersoll, owner of the property, willed the field to the inhabitants as "a training place forever." From that time on the village training field, located at present day 85 Centre Street, has been used for military training.
For many years, the inhabitants of Salem Village repeatedly petitioned the General Court to be made completely separate from Salem; but it was not until 1752 that the Village was made into the "District of Danvers." In 1757, the district was incorporated into a township, and Danvers could send a representative to the General Court
During the 1760's and 1770's Danvers took a politically active role in the growing revolutionary turmoil, and her record during the revolutionary War is indeed a proud one. Over three hundred Danversites served actively in the war, and Danversport built and outfitted four Privateers. So, too, Danvers gave the nation such famous sons as Brigadier General Israel Putnam and Dr. Samuel Holten, a president of the Continental Congress and signer of the Articles of Confederation. Holten, who was also a member of the General Court, Provincial Congress, and Massachusetts Committee of Safety, had in the early 1770's been instructed by the Danvers Town Meeting "to look well to the rights of the people." Town Meeting had, as early as 1765, voiced its opposition to British Parliamentary abuse. In 1770 it voted, "not to import, buy, or use tea until the tax shall be removed,' and in February 1773, it was voted
that we will use all lawful endeavors for recovering, maintaining, and preserving the invaluable rights and privileges of this people, and stand ready if need be to risk our lives and fortunes in defense of those liberties which our forefather purchased at so dear a rate.
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