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Vestiges of Ipswich Village on the Old Rowley Road
The following narrative includes excerpts from Ipswich Village and the Old Rowley Road. by Thomas Franklin Waters in 1915. “At the very beginning of the Town, High Street was the road to Newbury or...
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Block prints from the 1950 IHS calendar: Old Time Ipswich
Many thanks to Bill Barton for sharing the Ipswich High School Calendar for 1950, titled “Old Time Ipswich.” The slideshow below features block prints created and printed by the students for each month...
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Primary Colors
Don’t you just love the American political process? Especially in the times through which we now pass, so fraught with fear and uncertainty. If you were to take it all too seriously, you would...
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Properly Seated
February 17, Wednesday Evening Lecture, 7:30pm Properly Seated: Two Centuries of Chairs in the Ipswich Museum From the Whipples to the Heards, from the Pilgrim settlement to industrial America, chairs...
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“Old Salem,” by Eleanor Putnam
In 1886, Arlo Bates published Old Salem, containing five charming stories written by his mother, Harriet Leonora Vose Bates (AKA Eleanor Putnam). I learned of this small, quaint book in a post at The...
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The missing dunes at Castle Neck
When Google maps first went online, it showed a couple of large dunes at the tip of Crane Beach, one labelled “The Great Dune.” It was the tallest of the newer dunes, comparable in size to Wigwam Hill,...
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The River View Cash Market, 1935
Fred Cronin graduated from the Manning High School class of 1914. He operated the South Side store for a few years, and later owned the River View Cash Market at the Town landing. He was a well-known...
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George Dexter’s Ipswich
Perhaps the best-known early Ipswich Photographer was George Dexter (1862-1927). His photograph’s along with those of Edward Lee Darling (1874-1962) provide a wonderful visual history of the town....
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Colonial and Colonial Revival
streetsofsalem Over the years I have encountered people who were opposed to historic districts for a variety of reasons, prominently property rights and the sense that such building restrictions...
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Where are these houses?
I recently received photos taken in the very early 20th Century of several houses that I have been unable to identify. Some of the houses are old, but others are new houses or under construction. Some...
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Primary Primer
Well, the results of the South Carolina Democratic Primary are in…yawn…… and it appears that Hillary’s firewall held fast against The Bern of Democratic Socialism. Those good folks in the Palmetto...
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Debatable Discourse, or Mud Slinging Made Easy!
This past Thursday, over 16.9 million of us tuned into the fair and balanced Fox News Channel to watch the final four Republican candidates debate the serious issues which face America today. We were...
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The Greek Hotel
The J. J. Goodhue home at the corner of Market Street and Saltonstall Streets is visible in the 1872 Ipswich village map, and in the 1884 village map, but the 1910 village map identifies it as the...
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The Ipswich Town Farm, 1817-1928
Ipswich 1872 map, Town Farm Road, with the “Alms House” at the end. Ipswich established its first poorhouse in 1717, and until then the poor and incapacitated were simply let out to the lowest bidder....
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The boy who fell beneath the ice, March 19, 1802
The Rev. Joseph Dana served the Second Congregational Church at the South Green from 1765 until his death in 1827 at age 85. His tombstone in the Old South Cemetery reads: “In memory of the Rev Joseph...
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The Curse of Salem: A Hocus Pocus
“The spiral that we saw in Salem is the same one that spurred the Red Scare, and the same one that causes paranoia in parts of our society today. Perhaps the innocent women and men may find their...
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Remembering Taffy Hill
by Beverly Perna Ipswich lost a great friend recently with the death of Howard “Taffy” Hill. Memories poured forth as residents learned he had passed away at the age of 87 on March 26, 2011. Hill was a...
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The Old Town Clock
The old town clock, salvaged from the 1965 fire, was beyond restoration. From All that Remains, Volume 1 of Tales of Old Ipswich by Harold Bowen, I was watching the workmen install the new electric...
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Election night in Ipswich
From Tales of Olde Ispwich, Volume I, 1975 “Hot time in the Old Town Tonight” Old Aaron Wells resided on Loney’s Lane, and each year he was a candidate for Selectman. He promised that if he won, he...
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The “Little Old Lady from Ipswich” who was seen around the world
Mrs. Jack Hayes In 1934, Mrs. Mary C. Hayes became the centerpiece of a poster that was placed in 25,000 English-speaking theaters throughout the world. Mrs. Hayes was chosen as the model by famous...
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