On the Massachusetts North Shore
In 1778, sixteen-year-old Ezra Ross of Ipswich was condemned to death for the murder of Joshua Spooner of Brookfield. Spooner's wife Bathsheba became the first woman executed in the newly-created United States of America. Ezra Ross is buried in an unmarked grave at the Leslie Road Cemetery.
by Gordon Harris On October 14, 2025, Microsoft ended support for Windows 10, which will no longer receive hardware and security updates. An estimated 200 million computers built before 2017 (Intel 8th Generation) don't have TPM 2.0, and can't be updated to Windows 11. Windows 10 will still be safe for any purpose that doesn't… Continue reading Installing Linux Kubuntu on your unsupported Windows 10 computer.
By Gordon Harris The above photo is from the New York Times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWKSoxG1K7w Through the winter’s ice and coldDown Nicollet AvenueA city aflame fought fire and ice‘Neath an occupier’s bootsKing Trump’s private army from the DHSGuns belted to their coatsCame to Minneapolis to enforce the lawOr so their story goesAgainst smoke and rubber bulletsBy the… Continue reading The Streets of Minneapolis
The Embargo Act of 1807 put New England ports at a standstill and its towns into a depression. The Ipswich Town Meeting petitioned the President to relieve "the people of this once prosperous country from their present embarrassed and distressed condition." The town found Jefferson's answer "Not Satisfactory."
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
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.
Winter Wellness Sampler is back for its 4th year! Join us for a seasonal series designed to help you move through the darkest, coldest months with care, curiosity, and connection. The January 23 session will be held at Boone Hall, Ascension Episcopal Church, located on County Street. The next seven sessions will be held at the Ipswich Town… Continue reading 2026 Winter Wellness Sampler, January 23 – March 20, 2026 (LOCATION UPDATE: Jan. 23 will be held at Boone Hall)
Photos of Market St. from the present day back to the early days of photography.
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 photo above is the house at 13 Topsfield Road, and the photo below is the same house. The 1884 Ipswich map shows the house owned by William G. Brown. It was owned by William F. Hayes in the first half of the 20th Century. Hayes was a large landowner in Ipswich, began divesting his properties in… Continue reading William G. Brown House, 13 Topsfield Road
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
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.
""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. "
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."
Over 400 Ipswich citizens and neighbors lined South Main Street for the 47th consecutive Ipswich Rally for Democracy at noon on Saturday, January 10, joining a broad coalition of groups across the country calling for a coordinated ICE Out For Good Weekend to demand accountability, honor lives lost, and make visible the human cost of ICE’s… Continue reading Ipswich “Ice Out for Good” rally, Saturday, January 10
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.
Historic Ipswich 