Salem’s Gallows & Grace: The Delaney Murder & Rachel Belden Brooks

Salem, Oregon has always been a city of secrets—but few run as deep as those hidden within the Delaney-Edwards House. Before this graceful landmark hosted seances and afternoon tea, it was the stage for greed, betrayal, and one of the most shocking crimes in Oregon’s early history.When wealthy settler Daniel Delaney Sr. was gunned down just outside his front door in 1865, the investigation pulled back the curtain on a frontier community built on contradictions—prosperity and prejudice, freedom and bondage.The killing set off one of Salem’s first sensational murder trials, culminating in Oregon’s first double hanging. But behind the spectacle lay a deeper story—one that exposes the uneasy truths of race, power, and “justice” in a young state still defining its conscience.At its heart is Rachel Belden Brooks, the woman Delaney once enslaved and brought to Oregon in defiance of the territory’s laws. Years later, she would take his estate to court, demanding wages for decades of unpaid labor and claiming her own measure of justice. And there was Jack DeWolf, the young Black boy whose brave eyewitness testimony helped bring two killers to the gallows—though the memory would haunt him, and the city itself, for life.From whispered fortunes and back-room confessions to the gallows built beneath Salem’s oak trees, this story unearths the complicated legacy of a place where law and morality often diverged. If the walls of the Delaney-Edwards House could talk, they’d have plenty to say about gold, guilt, and ghosts—and the many lives intertwined within its walls that refused to be forgotten.GET TICKETS to Ghosts of the Grand! (Use code: CULTMEMBER for $5 off). You're invited into the shadowed halls of Salem’s historic, 125-year-old Grand Theatre for an unforgettable haunted experience. Step beyond the stage and into the darkness, where immersive storytelling, chilling performances, and eerie surprises await around every corner.  Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! If you have any true crime, paranormal, or witchy stories you'd like to share with us & possibly have them read (out loud) on an episode, email us [email protected] or use this link. There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts. Sources