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Month: February 2023

Ipswich Arts Association

February 26, 2023April 25, 2023 Gordon HarrisLeave a comment

The Ipswich Arts Association held its organizational meeting on February 26th at 2pm at the Ebsco Hall (5 Peatfield Street, We hope you'll join us in becoming a founding member! Join at https://www.ipswichartassociation.org/shop

Posted in ArtsTagged Ipswich Arts

“Dalliance and Too much Familiarity”

February 26, 2023March 15, 2024 Gordon HarrisLeave a comment

William Row v. John Leigh, Mar. 28, 1673: “For insinuating dalliance and too much familiarity with his wife and drawing away her affections from her husband, to the great detriment both in his estate and the comfort of his life.”

Posted in StoriesTagged 1673, Court, John Spark, town government

The Price Act, Passed at Ipswich, February 1777

February 22, 2023March 15, 2024 Gordon HarrisLeave a comment
Ipswich Price Act 1777

In 1777, the Ipswich Selectmen and the Committee of Correspondence and Safety, acting under the authority of the General Court, issued a schedule of prices covering all articles of food, clothing, wages of labor of every kind, entertainment at hotels, shipping rates etc.

Posted in Documents, History, Revolutionary WarTagged 1777, Price Act, Revolutionary War

Leslie’s Retreat, or How the Revolutionary War Almost Began in Salem, February 26, 1775

February 22, 2023February 27, 2025 Gordon Harris10 Comments
Leslie's Retreat mural in Salem MA

In our struggle for Independence, the British military received its first setback from the inhabitants of Salem in an episode that could not have been more ludicrous or entertaining if it had been written for Monty Python.

Posted in Legends, Revolutionary WarTagged 1775, February, Revolutionary War, Salem, war

The Commons

February 15, 2023January 5, 2025 Gordon Harris1 Comment

When the Town of Ipswich was established, ownership of a house and land within the town bounds carried with it the right of pasturage beyond the Common Fence. In 1788, the commoners resigned all their land interests to pay the heavy town debt incurred during the Revolution.

Posted in History, StoriesTagged Commons, Hog Island, Necks, Plum Island

Paul Revere’s Not So Famous Ride Through Ipswich, December 13, 1774

February 13, 2023December 31, 2024 Gordon Harris2 Comments
Paul Revere's ride handing out handbills

On the cold icy morning of December 13, 1774, Paul Revere headed out on a 60 mile gallop from Boston along the Old Bay Road through Ipswich to warn the citizens of Portsmouth that British troops may be landing.

Posted in People, Revolutionary War, StoriesTagged 1774, conspiracy, December, Ipswich, Ipswich Neighbors, Revolutionary War

Stories From the Courts

February 7, 2023October 30, 2024 Gordon Harris1 Comment
Records of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County MA

In 1641, the General Court established four quarter-annual courts kept yearly by the magistrates of Ipswich & Salem, two to be held at Salem & the other two at Ipswich, with jurisdiction in all matters not reserved to the Court of Assistants. Read stories of Ipswich residents who faced the magistrates.

Posted in StoriesTagged courts, Essex Courts

The Keeping of Cattle on Jeffreys Neck

February 7, 2023August 1, 2025 Gordon HarrisLeave a comment

In Ipswich, cows would be put to pasture on the Neck in the spring, and every October they would be rounded up and herded into a pen. Many of the town's laws regarding land use, property rights, labor and sanitation grew from issues surrounding the keeping of livestock.

Posted in RoadsTagged Commons, Necks
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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© Gordon Harris 2026

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