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A folly and a barn for free
In the early 20th Century, a small building that can best be described as a “folly” was built on Labor in Vain Road past Gould’s Creek, and an old post and beam barn was moved across the road. The...
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Moll Pitcher, the fortune-teller of Lynn and Marblehead
By Sidney Perley, published March 1899 in the Essex Antiquarian “Moll Pitcher,” the famous fortune-teller of Lynn, has no birth record. So the place of her first appearance in life cannot be thus...
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19th Century: Religion divided the town
Excerpts from Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony by Thomas Franklin Waters The Congregational Church The Congregational Church, founded by the first settlers, maintained the old order for many...
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An MLK Day Reflection – “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”
by Helen Breen Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was first established as a national holiday by President Ronald Reagan in 1983. THE LAST SPEECH On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., flew into...
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“Millend” Ipswich, 1635
Excerpts from “Millend, Ipswich” by M.B.V. Perley, 1901 MILLEND was located about the Saltonstall Mill (*the present location of the EBSCO and the Mill District). The ground has become historic. There...
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Battles of the bridges
Excerpts from Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, by Thomas Franklin Waters The stone bridges which span the Ipswich river with their graceful arches are picturesque and interesting, but the...
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Vote Yes for Pony Express
The 128-acre Pony Express Farm is bordered by Chebacco, Essex and Candlewood Roads. The property includes a large polo field, open fields, woods, trails and wetlands along the western bank of the...
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Born in a refuge camp
By Ingrid Miles, Ipswich I was born in a refugee camp and I feel as if I am reliving my parents nightmare after World War II when my dad had to modify his name and identify himself as Christian; my...
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Colonial-era houses of Merrimac, Massachusetts
Merrimac sits on the Merrimack river abutting the southeastern border of New Hampshire. Settled by the English in 1638 as a part of Salisbury and later as a part of Amesbury around the village of...
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The Railroad in Ipswich
Ipswich Museum winter 2015 exhibit Dates: Saturdays and Sundays, February 4 – April 30, 2017, 1-4 pm. Cost: family non-members $10, individual non-members $5, and free for museum members. This exhibit...
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The Man in Full: Honoring the Life and Times of Ipswich Police Officer...
By Gavin Keenan Retired Ipswich Police Officer and local legend Charles Benjamin Schwartz passed away on January 19, 2017. Charlie had struggled with cancer this last year and as he would say, “Gave it...
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Old Roads and Bridges of Newbury and Newburyport
Text by James B. Stone, from Images from the Past , published by the Newbury 350th anniversary Committee. Featured image: Bridge over the Merrimack River in Newburyport. When the first settlers arrived...
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Colonial houses of West Newbury MA
The town of West Newbury provides the following history: West Newbury’s history as a tow began in 1635 when 23 men and their families, all from England, sailed through Plum Island Sound and up the...
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Jefferson’s Warning to the White House | Time.com
From an article by Nancy Gibbs, Time Magazine, February 6, 2017: Jefferson’s Warning to the White House During the campaign of 1800, a Federalists newspaper article stated that with Jefferson as...
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Groveland Colonial houses
Groveland, MA was settled asthe East Parish of Bradford, a part of the town of Rowley in the early Colonial era. Before Bradford was separated from Rowley in 1672, it was called “Rowley on the...
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High Spirits on Town Hill
Standing 14′ high and about 12′ wide, the new bronze sculpture by Chris Williams on North Main St. in Ipswich honors the town’s creative community. It was conceived and funded by Ipswich resident...
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The Marblehead smallpox riot, 1773
From The History and Traditions of Marblehead” by Samuel Roads. Featured image by Charles Green. During the year 1773, the attention of the inhabitants of Marblehead was for a time occupied in...
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In Ipswich, we are all immigrants
Featured image: Immigrant workers at the Ipswich Hosiery Mill, by Ipswich photographer George Dexter. The earliest evidence of habitation in Ipswich was discovered in the 1950’s at the Bull Brook...
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“Kiss of Death” at New England textile mills
The weaver, after loading a new pirn wrapped with thread into a shuttle, drew the loose end through the hole with her breath. Certainly no one connected this habit with the observation, made sometime...
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