The following is an excerpt from a presentation given on November 14, 1889, at the dedication of the Boston Massacre and Crispus Attucks Monument at Boston Common, which memorializes victims Crispus Attucks, Samuel Maverick, James Caldwell, Samuel Gray, and Patrick Carr. ADDRESS BY MR. JOHN FISKE The troubles and disorders in Boston, which led to… Continue reading Memorial to Crispus Attucks
Year: 2026
The Great Snows of 2011 and 2015
The winter of 2011 received the most snow in Ipswich since the Blizzard of '78, but during the Snowmaggedon of 2015 we received over 100 inches in less than a month.
Market Street
Photos of Market St. from the present day back to the early days of photography.
The Constitutional Convention and Establishment of the Electoral College
Many of our founding fathers had little trust in the instincts of the common man. John Adams observed that "Pure democracy has also been viewed as a threat to individual rights," and warned against the “tyranny of the majority.” Alexander Hamilton, one of the three authors of the "Federalist Papers" defended the system of electors by which we choose a President today.
The 1641 Massachusetts Body of Liberties
At the Massachusetts General Court, May 13, 1640, it was voted that the elders of the churches and other freemen of the Commonwealth gather their thoughts and counsels about a body of laws for the Colony and present them to the general court within eight months. Two schemes were proposed, but Governor Winthrop assigned the… Continue reading The 1641 Massachusetts Body of Liberties
The Body of Liberties, the “Ipswich Connection,” and the Origin of Written Constitutionalism in Massachusetts
However benign John Winthrop’s intentions were, the system he tried to construct rested on the discretion, or will, of individual magistrates. However, he was defeated by the Ipswich Connection’s campaign for the “skill” or “rule” of written law; and if we still prize the ideal that government should operate based on laws, not men, we owe that partly to their promotion of the Body of Liberties.
“Vindidation of the Government of New England Churches,” by Rev. John Wise
""It is certainly a great truth, namely, that man's original liberty after it is resigned (yet under due restrictions) ought to be cherished in all wise governments; or otherwise, a man in making himself a subject, he alters himself from a freeman into a slave, which to do is repugnant to the law of nature. "
Ipswich Voters Unanimously Support the Massachusetts Circular Letter, February 11, 1768
The voters of the Town of Ipswich resolved on August 11, 1768, that "Thanks be given to the worthy and much esteemed ninety-two gentlemen of the late Honorable House of Representatives for their firmness and steadiness in standing up for and adhering to the just rights and Liberties of the Subjects when it was required of them at the Peril of their political existence."
John Eales, Beehive Maker
The inhabitants of Newbury perceived bee-keeping as a new and profitable industry, but needed someone with experience. John Eales, an elderly pauper who had been sent away to Ipswich, was returned by the Court to Newbury to assist them in their efforts. An old English customs was his assistants "telling the bees" when their keeper died.
Establishment of the Ipswich Mills as a Global Leader in Hosiery
by Stephen Miles, 1/1/2026, Ipswich Historical Society Board Member 1986-1989; President 1989-92; Member Ipswich Historical Commission Richard Candee, Director of Preservation Studies at Boston University, presented a lecture on "The Industrial Heritage of the North Coast" on Sunday, February 9, 1986, at the Heard House (the Ipswich Museum), Main Street in Ipswich. This lecture was… Continue reading Establishment of the Ipswich Mills as a Global Leader in Hosiery
Historic Ipswich 