Memorial for Mary Webster

Hadley, Massachussets

Mary Webster was a resident of Hadley, a small 17th-century farming community in western Massachusetts. She first appears in the historical record when she was tried for witchcraft in Northampton and Boston in 1683. Despite being acquitted, she was attacked and lynched upon returning home — beaten and hung from a tree. She miraculously survived and lived for another eleven years.

This conceptual memorial celebrates Mary's resilience. Located on the Hadley town green, not far from the site of the attack, it is divided into two sections. Visitors first descend into a concrete subterranean path six feet below grade, representing Mary's near-death. Emerging from the ground, they ascend to a wood platform symbolizing her return to life. A stele on the platform is engraved with a poem about her hanging by Margaret Atwood.

The memorial seeks to advance equity in public commemoration, ensuring that women's stories of struggle and survival are given enduring form in the built environment.

Pictured: Perspective render, Memorial to Mary Webster, Hadley, Massachusetts