24 Green St., Ipswich MA

24 Green St., the Ira Worcester House (by 1864)

The lot on which the house at 24 Green St. was granted to Philip Fowler. In 1655, Deacon Thomas Knowlton was the owner. A half acre was sold to Dr. John Manning, on Jan. 6, 1792 (239: 240), which his administrator sold to Isaac Stanwood, with other land, as the deed mentions an acre, Oct. 31, 1825 (245:287). Mr. Stanwood sold Ira Worcester, a house lot, 103 feet front, on March 4, 1851 (509: 293). It is unclear if the owner of this house is indicated in the 1856 Ipswich map. The Ipswich Assessors’ site indicates a construction date of 1864. The 1872 Ipswich Map shows the owner of 24 Green St. as Ira Worcester. The 1884 Ipswich Map shows the owner of 24 Green St. as “D. T. Worcester.” The 1910 Ipswich Map shows the owner of 22-24 Green St. as “Mrs. Worcester.”

1893 Birdseye Map of Ipswich MA
The house at 24 Green St. is circled in this screenshot from the 1893 Ipswich Birdseye Map.

Ira Worcester was the Master of the House of Corrections and Superintendent of Asylum for the Insane in Ipswich. In the 1845 Massachusetts Register, he is listed as the Prison Keeper at Ipswich. He was born in Sanford, ME, on Nov. 10, 1803, and married Ruth G. Stevens of Salisbury, MA, on Nov. 12, 1831. They had five children: Daniel, Leigh, Mary, Sarah, and James.

In the first half of the 19th century, County land extended from Green Street to the North Green. In December 1860, Ira Worcester and others of Ipswich, Hamilton, Wenham, and Essex addressed a petition to the County Commissioners, asking that a way be laid out over land owned by the County and that a bridge be constructed. The County Commissioners laid out County Street on March 5, 1861.

The Ipswich Jail and Insane Asylum
The Ipswich Jail and Insane Asylum were on Green St. across from the Ira Worcester House. The jail was demolished in 1937 to build the high school building, which is now the Ipswich Town Hall.

Previous to the construction of this fine house, Ira Worcester purchased half of a house and the land between his house and the Ipswich River on June 19, 1841 (325:175) and sold it to Essex County on May 10, 1843 (378:17). The County sold to James and Peely Safford, 90 feet on Green St., on March 1, 1859 (589:75). The Saffords moved their house from its original location between the river and the Jail to its present location, and the County constructed the jail workhouse that is now Whipple Terrace, as shown in the 1872 Ipswich map.

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