The Pattee Area

The Pattee Area. . , A cordwainer (shoemaker) by trade, Jonathan Pattee used this portion of the site as the foundation for his house. The wooden structure burned in 1855. Pattee's techniques for stonework were cruder and more utilitarian then those of the original builders. Despite this comparatively unskilled work, Pattee's alterations to this open area made it habit- able. In 19th century Salem, Town records show that the chambers on this site were used to shelter those who had fallen on hard times. Pattee later employed the site to hide runaway slaves shortly before the Civil War, a secret act of courage that was later confirmed by the discovery of broken manacles on the site. The Pattee family was not without its own problems, however. Following Jonathan Pattee's 1849 death his son Seth began de- constructing the existing structures, pawning the archaic stones off to local quarrymen illegally to evade the town quarry tax. After 14 years of abuse, what remained of the site was saved by the intervention of Jonathan's grandson George in 1863.