4 Mt. Pleasant St., Ipswich MA

4 Mount Pleasant Ave., the William Hayes Building (c. 1890)

The house at 4 Mount Pleasant Ave. was originally the home of Dr. Asahel and Wilhelmena Wildes at the corner of Central and Hammatt Streets. After Dr. Wildes’ death, Wilhelmena sold it to William Hayes, who converted it into apartments. The building was moved to Mount Pleasant Ave. in the 1950s to make way for the building that housed Conley’s Drug Store, now a Chinese restaurant. The photo above shows the house now, facing Mount Pleasant St. The photo above shows the house now, facing Mount Pleasant St.

House being moved
The house is being moved down Hammatt Street to its new location on Mount Pleasant Street. This is the rear of the house, which is now hidden by a large addition. On the left is the building that now houses the NAPA store; beyond it is 9 Hammatt St. On the right is 10 Hammatt Street.

The photo above shows the house being moved around 1950 down Hammatt Street, then right on Washington Street to this location at 30 Mount Pleasant.

The Hayes house is shown on Central Street in the 1893 Ipswich Birdseye Map

Additions and alterations to the building make it difficult to recognize. The image above is a screenshot from the 1893 Ipswich Birdseye map. The 1910 Ipswich map shows the configuration of the building, including the two bay extensions on either side of the front of the house.

The Hayes Building at the corner of Hammatt and Central Streets in the 1910 Ipswich map shows the two tall bay extensions on the front of the house. The 1910 Ipswich Census shows 2 families and 4 boarders living at the Hayes Establishment, 50-48 Central Street, a rental property/boarding house.
This photo from the 1894 Central Street fire shows the Hayes house on the far right, which was separated from the flames by Wildes Court.

Asahel & Wilhelma Wildes

In 1841, Dr. Asahel Wildes (1813-1879) was appointed collector of the port of Ipswich. During the years 1856 to 1879, he bought up a sizable stretch of wetland on both sides of what is now Central Street. The screenshot below from the 1872 map shows the size of his lot. His wife, Wilhelmina, outlived him and was the stepdaughter of Abraham Hammatt, who wrote the “Hammatt Papers: Early inhabitants of Ipswich, Mass. 1633-1700.” Asahel and Wilhelmina were clever investors, in the right place at the right time. Farley Brook was drained, and Central Street was laid out in 1860. The former wetland was sold as lots for businesses and houses between Market Street to Mineral Street, which first appeared in the 1884 map. The entire business block from Market Street to Wildes Court burned down in 1894, but did not touch the Wildes house between Wildes Court and Hammatt Street. The house was moved to Mt. Pleasant St. in the 1950s to build the old Conleys Drugstore and is now a Chinese restaurant.

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