The Greater Salem area welcomes visitors year-round to its historic memorials and cemeteries, and we wanted to share some thoughts on proper visitation etiquette for these sites.
While we realize that many visitors like to leave mementos to show they care and some of these seemingly harmless tokens can sometimes cause real damage. While we can’t speak for other sites, we just ask that, in the future, while visiting the Nurse Family Cemetery and the Witch Victims Memorial in Danvers, you try to follow these guidelines.
Please also be aware that grave rubbings are illegal in Massachusetts under state law and local ordinances. The pressure and material involved can damage a stone’s surface, causing etching, flaking, or accelerated deterioration—especially on historic gravestones. Instead, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation recommends using a raking light or flashlight to illuminate inscriptions and photographing them.
A Few Things to Avoid
Please do not leave:
- Perishable items like food, including pumpkins. These items rot and decay, draw insects and rodents, and end up making a mess that can stain the stones or monuments they’re placed on.
- Wax candles, glass bottles, or plastic-wrapped flower bouquets. These items eventually degrade, get broken, or blow around, becoming litter. (If you’d like to leave flowers, please remove the plastic wrapping and lay them on the ground in front of the stone.)
- Coins or other metal items were wedged into gaps or cracks in the stones. Over the past few years, we’ve collected over $50 in coins from our monument, and the damage left behind (staining, divots that collect water and grow mildew) is permanent.
The amount of money that we had to pry off of our 1885 granite obelisk dedicated to Rebecca Nurse
Other items left on top of other gravestones or shoved into the crevices of the granite obelisk
We often see people leaving items without quite knowing why—just that others have done so before them—so we wanted to offer a little context for those who are curious. Many traditions are familiar, like leaving flowers, but others include leaving stones or rocks on a grave; you can read more about that practice here. Leaving coins of different denominations is also a well-known military tradition, which you can read about here.
While these are all beautiful sentiments, the best way to show you care is simply to visit, pay your respects, and leave the space as you found it.
A Shared Responsibility
Historic cemeteries and monuments serve as outdoor museums, preserving not just the memory of those laid to rest, but the artistic and cultural heritage of past generations. The elaborate Victorian monuments, simple Puritan markers, and memorial stones each represent irreplaceable pieces of our shared history, and they depend on every visitor’s care to remain intact for those who come after us.
Your thoughtful approach to visiting honors both the deceased and the community working to preserve these spaces. Together, we can protect these historic treasures while still allowing for meaningful visits and remembrance.
Thank You!