Boston Common and public execution/witch trial misperceptions

Boston Common, established in 1634, was historically used for militia training, grazing, public punishments, and occasional executions during the colonial period. Some popular accounts conflate Boston Common with sites of the Salem witch trial hangings; the executions associated with the 1692 witch trials occurred in and around Salem, not on Boston Common. The Common's early use for public justice is documented in colonial records but is distinct from Salem's trials.