A four-story hotel on Market Street in Salem in 1834 was turned into an impromptu courtroom where a bounty hunter was put on trial after pulling into town with a wagon of Black men, women and children he believed to be fugitive slaves. Chaos erupted when the man pulled a gun and threatened the room after a judge ruled his captives were not escaped slaves. Two of them got away through a window that December night and several more eventually made their way to freedom. The history of the Slave Catcher Trial, held at what was more recently known as the Salem City Cafe, is retold through the 7 Step…
