47 County Street, the Benjamin Grant House (1735)

This house sits on land that was originally granted to John Proctor by the town of Ipswich. Joseph Burnham owned a portion of the property between Elm Street and the River by 1722, and sold a house lot at the south corner of his homestead to Benjamin Grant, Feb. 27, 1735-6 (71: 128), on which Grant built his house. The front façade is slightly asymmetrical with a noticeable change in the roofline, indicating that the right half of the house was added later.

Benjamin Grant was born in 1701 to Robert and Mary Grant, who had settled in Ipswich from England. The Ipswich Vital Records show that Anne Perkins and Benjamin Grant expressed their intentions on Feb. 2, 1722-3, and the death of Benjamin, son of Benjamin and Anne, on Sept. 20, 1736, at 5 years, 1 month. Corporal Benjamin Grant was killed in the French and Indian War in 1756. She died as a widow at age 104 in Rowley.

Mary Foster and Robert Grant — A page from Pane-Joyce Genealogy

Benjamin sold the house and lot to Samuel Gibson, March 17, 1746 (89: 237), and John Gibson sold to Daniel Ross, an old Revolutionary soldier, his interest in the estate, which was already partly owned by Ross in 1785 (141: 188; 144: 191). Ross’ daughter married Ephraim Parsons, and the house stayed in the Parsons family through the 19th century. The Benjamin Grant House was purchased by Stephen and Catherine Green in 1981, who initiated a two-year project to restore the home to its original character.

Benjamin Grant house in Ipswich sign — Historical Commission plaque on the Benjamin Grant House

Preservation Agreement

This house is protected by a Preservation Agreement between the owners, the Town of Ipswich, and the Historical Commission. Protected elements include: Front and side facades

The center brick chimney and the original fabric of the four attached fireplaces
Wide pine board floors throughout the house
Two two-panel doors, vertical feather-edged sheathing, bolection molding around the fireplaces, and a mantle
The horizontal panel above the second-floor fireplace
Major members of the frame