Public Safety
Voters at the 2021 Special Town Meeting and Election agreed to replace our century-old fire and police facilities with a modern structure. The Public Safety Property Re-Use Working Group was recently...
View ArticleThe British attack on Sandy Bay
Rockport experienced one of the oddest invasions in U.S. history during the War of 1812 when the town's fearless residents stopped the British with rocks and anything they could get their hands on.…...
View ArticleThe tragic story of Rebecca Rawson, 1679
Rebecca Rawson of Newbury became one of the most popular young ladies in Boston society. She married a charming but cunning young man who left her desolate in London. On her return to America, the ship...
View ArticleWilliam Oakes and the great Ipswich putdown
Selection from Ipswich Yesterday by Alice Keenan, 1982. Photos by George Dexter and Edward L. Darling. Ipswich has the habit, long ingrained, of turning on those who love her most, and who, innocently...
View ArticleAbraham Knowlton, “Workman of rare skill”
Ipswich is home to two groundbreaking masterworks of early eighteenth century America, a paneled wall and a pulpit. Both were made by Abraham Knowlton (1699- 1751), a woodworker who is less well known...
View ArticleThe Great Ipswich Fright, April 21, 1775
A rumor spread that two British ships were in the river, and were going to burn the town. The news spread as far as New Hampshire, and in every place the report was that the regulars were but a few...
View ArticleThe Revolutionary letters of Joseph and Sarah Hodgkins
Throughout the Revolutionary War, Joseph Hodgkins sent letters home from the battlefronts to his wife, Sarah, detailing the desperate troop conditions and longing for home. The physical letters are...
View ArticleIpswich in the Civil War
By Harold Bowen: The monument was first erected by the town in 1871 as a memorial to those who died in the Civil War. It had an iron fence all around it and inside the enclosure was a stack of cannon...
View ArticleNathaniel Ward: “The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America”
The Rev. Nathaniel Ward emigrated to Massachusetts in 1634 and served for two years as the minister in Ipswich. His "Body of Liberties" established a code of fundamental principles of government for...
View ArticleThomas Dennis, legendary Ipswich joiner
Thomas Dennis (1638–1706), came to Ipswich from Devonshire, England. His home at 7 County Street still stands, and is where he practiced his trade as a joiner and master carver. The furniture of Thomas...
View ArticleThe U.S. Supreme Court and its relation to the Salem witch trials
The United States Supreme Court is expected to make a decision about women's rights based on a ruling by a judge who lived 400 years ago, and who based his opinion on Medieval precedents.… Continue...
View ArticleThe Story Behind the Story of Wigwam Hill
As a researcher on Indigenous history here, I was captivated by this account, both for its romance and its tragedy. Who were these people? Where did they come from and where did they go? Why was all...
View ArticleHall-Haskell House Gallery 2022 art schedule
The Hall-Haskell House Gallery shares 36 S. Main St. with the Ipswich Visitor Center.… Continue reading Hall-Haskell House Gallery 2022 art schedule →
View ArticleSaving the Egypt River
In partnership with the Parker River Clean Water Association, the Ipswich River Watershed Association produced a new video on the plight of the Egypt River. The video begins by asking Ipswich residents...
View ArticleAsphalt deserts
Impermeable surfaces like asphalt pavement absorbs solar radiation and re-emits radiation as heat, In recent years pavement has been reduced on Washington and N. Main Streets. Future re-use of the...
View ArticleStatements of Interest requested for Public Safety properties
If you or your organization or department are interested in submitting a proposal for future use of either the present Ipswich Fire Station building or the Police Station building, please click here to...
View ArticleAccount of the soldiers of Chebacco Parish at Bunker Hill
Of the men from Chebacco parish who were in the battle at Bunker Hill, the names of six are known: James Andrews, Benjamin Burnham, Nehemiah Choate, Aaron Perkins, Jesse Story Jr., a minor who was...
View ArticleTime Bandits
Originally posted on Gavin Keenan Writes: As I sit down to write this, the official change of season is a few hours away. The Hummingbirds left the feeder last week with little notice. They didn’t stop...
View ArticleAn introduction to First Period architecture in Ipswich
Of the roughly 300 houses that were constructed (in part of in whole) during the first century of English settlement of Massachusetts, 59 are in Ipswich. In this video, Ipswich Town Historian Gordon...
View ArticleImages from the Ipswich Rotary “harnecues,” 1952-55
Horse shows were held at Maplecroft Farm on Essex Rd. from 1952 through 1955, sponsored by Ipswich Rotary. Known as "harnecues," the two-day events combined harness racing with barbecues to augment the...
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