The Georgia Room at the Switzer Library presents a program on how the Salem witch trials played out in one Massachusetts town

Front of Switzer Library, a brick building with a white columned entranceway

Witches are often a fun, playful theme of Halloween, but they are also the subject of a tragic part of American history: the witch trials that took place in colonial Massachusetts, leading to accusations against more than 200 people, and the execution of at least 20.

The Georgia Room of the Switzer Library is holding an event featuring a book about the way the witch trials played out in one Massachusetts town: Andover.

Here are the details of the event, reprinted from the Cobb Public Library Facebook page:

The Georgia Room is proud to present “In the Shadow of Salem: Families and Their Allies” with author Richard Hite and CJ Majahad, the Director Emeritus of the North Andover Historical Society. This is a presentation about Andover’s involvement in the witch hunt with some background information on the event as a whole.

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Family connections were significant to the witch hunt throughout the region, but nowhere were they more evident than in Andover. Genealogical sources were a huge factor in the research that went into the writing of the book and will also be discussed. This is a hybrid author talk and will be livestreamed in the Georgia Room or in the convenience of your own home. To receive the livestream link, email halet@cobbcat.org

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#SwitzerLibrary | Tuesday, October 4 | 6 pm

About the Cobb County Public Library

According to the Cobb County Public Library website:

Cobb County Public Library is a 15-branch system headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, where its staff members serve a diverse population of over 750,000 people. Cobb is one of Georgia’s fastest-growing counties, and Cobb County Public Library is dedicated to being a resource center in the community by providing equal access to information, materials, and services.

History of Cobb’s library system

The first public library in Cobb County was opened in the home of Sarah Freeman Clarke in Marietta. The first standalone library building, opened on Church Street in 1893 and was named for Clarke.

Libraries were opened in Acworth and Austell in subsequent years, and in 1959, the city of Marietta and several other Cobb County libraries combined to form a countywide system that began the Cobb County Public Library as we know it today.

You can read more about the history of the Cobb County Public Library by following this link.