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On the Massachusetts North Shore

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Month: January 2022

A romantic tale from the Great Snow of Feb. 21-24, 1717

January 29, 2022December 1, 2024 Gordon HarrisLeave a comment

Snowstorms on the 20th and 24th of February 1717 covered the earth up to 20 ft. deep. In some places houses were completely buried, and paths were dug from house to house under the snow. A widow in Medford burned her furniture to keep the children warm.

Posted in Stories, Storms, winterTagged 1717, Newbury, snow, storm

A History of Clark Pond, Great Neck, Ipswich MA

January 28, 2022April 25, 2023 Gordon Harris1 Comment
Clark Pond Wildlife Conservation Area Ipswich MA

Clark Pond was originally an intertidal salt marsh supported by fresh water sources draining from the surrounding hills and tidal salt water from the ocean. Around 1897, A. B. Clark built a stone dam at the northeast corner creating a fresh water pond for duck hunting and built gunning blinds into the bank.

Posted in PlacesTagged geology

Abigail Adams to John Adams: “All Men Would be Tyrants if They Could.”

January 18, 2022January 29, 2026 Gordon HarrisLeave a comment

March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams to John Adams: "In the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors."

Posted in Commentary, PeopleTagged 1776, Abigail Adams, John Adams, women

My Father’s Letter, Feb. 10, 1948

January 17, 2022January 29, 2026 Gordon Harris8 Comments
David Harris letter

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, this is a letter to the Atlanta Journal from my father David Aubren Harris, a Mississippi native, in support of President Truman's civil rights initiatives. He received a vicious racist letter in response.

Posted in Commentary, PeopleTagged Atlanta Journal, Civil Rights, Harry Truman

January 12, 1912: Lawrence Bread and Roses strike

January 10, 2022November 15, 2024 Gordon Harris1 Comment
Lawrence textile "Bread and Roses" strike marchers

On January 12, 1912, the labor protest later known as the "Bread and Roses" strike began in Lawrence, MA. Violent methods were used to suppress the protest, but the strikers maintained their solidarity.

Posted in History, VideoTagged 1912, January, labor strike, lawrence, mill

The Marblehead Smallpox Riot, January 1774

January 1, 2022December 1, 2024 Gordon Harris1 Comment
The Marblehead smallpox riot

In 1773, the selectmen ordered all houses where the disease had appeared to be closed, and dogs to be killed immediately. The fears of the inhabitants increased when permission was granted to build a smallpox hospital on Cat Island.

Posted in History, Revolutionary War, StoriesTagged 1774, conspiracy, epidemic, January, Marblehead, Smallpox
Ipswich MA historic photos by William Varrel
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Early Inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts by Abraham Hammatt
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Ipswich Massachusetts Revisited by William Varrel
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ยฉ Gordon Harris 2026

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