Hannah Duston was born in Ipswich in 1657 while her mother was visiting her relatives the Shatswells. A bronze statue in Haverhill honors her daring escape, killing and scalping a dozen Abanaki captors.
Author: Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris is a local historian living in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and publisher of the Historic Ipswich site. Follow him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordonrharris/
Descendants of John and Judith Gator Perkins of Ipswich
John Perkins, who identified himself as "the Elder," and his wife Judith Gator were the immigrant ancestors of the Ipswich Perkins family from the mother country.
The Lord-Harris House, 52 High Street
In 1660, Henry Kingsbury, who arrived with John Winthrop in 1630 on the ship Arbella, sold a house lot at today’s 52 High Street to Robert Lord, the son of early Ipswich settlers Robert and Mary Waite Lord. Architectural details indicate, however, that the oldest part of this double house dates to after 1716, when… Continue reading The Lord-Harris House, 52 High Street
41 Turkey Shore, the William Howard House
William Howard was born in 1634 and is believed to have married Tabitha, the daughter of his neighbor Robert Kinsman, about 1673. Nothing more is known about him, other than that his profession was making felt and felt hats. In 1679, he bought this lot from Daniel Rindge, with the 1638 home of Thomas Emerson… Continue reading 41 Turkey Shore, the William Howard House
The Reginald Foster House, 6 Water St.
In 1657, Roger Preston sold this lot with a house on it to Reginald Foster, who arrived in Ipswich in 1638 with his wife Judith Wignol, five sons, and two daughters. The existing house was once attributed to Preston, but the oldest part was likely constructed by Reginald Foster's son Deacon Jacob Foster after 1681,… Continue reading The Reginald Foster House, 6 Water St.
The Dennis-Dodge House, 10 County St.
The 17th-century home of Thomas Dennis, the famous 17th-century joiner, and his wife, Grace, who died in 1686, is at 7 County Street. They had three children: Thomas, who died young, John, and Elizabeth, who married Ebenezer Hovey. In 1685, Thomas Dennis purchased the lot at 10 County Street for his “new dwelling house,” and the property… Continue reading The Dennis-Dodge House, 10 County St.
The Edward & Faith Brown House, 27 High St.
The Ipswich Historical Commission awarded the 2025 Mary P. Conley Preservation Award to the owners of the historic Edward Brown House at 27 High Street. Edward Brown arrived in Ipswich with the early settlers, married Faith Lord, and served as a marshal for the town. The eastern half is believed to have been constructed in… Continue reading The Edward & Faith Brown House, 27 High St.
The Hanging of John Williams and William Schooler, July 1637
In 1637, two men convicted on separate counts of murder were executed in Boston on the same gallows. John Williams was convicted of killing John Hoddy near Great Pond in Wenham on the road to Ipswich. William Schooler was tried in Ipswich and found guilty of killing Mary Scholy on the path to Piscataqua.
The Great Colonial Hurricane and the Wreck of the Angel Gabriel, August, 1635
In August 1635, the 240-ton Angel Gabriel sank in Pemaquid Bay after sailing into the most intense hurricane in New England history. Among the survivors were members of the Cogswell, Burnham and Andrews families, who settled in an area of Ipswich known as Chebacco.
Ipswich and the American Revolution, Part 2: The Revolutionary War
On June 10th, 1776, the men of Ipswich, in Town-meeting assembled, instructed their Representatives, that if the Continental Congress should for the safety of the said Colonies Declare them Independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, they will solemnly engage with their lives and Fortunes to support them in the Measure.
County Street
County Street is in the Ipswich Architectural Preservation District and has some of the oldest houses in town. The section between East and Summer Streets was originally called Cross St, and the section between the County Street Bridge and Poplar Street was known as Mill St. The roads were connected when the County Street Bridge was… Continue reading County Street
Ipswich and the Salem Witchcraft Trials
During the Salem witch trials, Elizabeth Howe of Linebrook Road was tried and hanged. The Ipswich jail was filled with the accused, but the ministers of the town opposed the trials as a delusion. Residents blocked the bridge to prevent the accusing girls from being brought into Ipswich.
Mehitable Braybrook, who Burned Down Jacob and Sarah Perkins’ House, Married John Downing and Was Arrested for Witchcraft
She was charged with burning down her master's house and was arrested years later during the witchcraft trials. Her husband had been captured and indentured by Cromwell's forces in Ireland.
Abraham Knowlton, “Workman of Rare Skill”
Ipswich is home to two groundbreaking masterworks of early eighteenth century America, a paneled wall and a pulpit. Both were made by Abraham Knowlton (1699- 1751), a woodworker who is less well known than he deserves to be.
1910 Ipswich Census and Maps
The 121 handwritten 1910 Federal Census survey forms for Ipswich provide a wealth of information about the population of Ipswich during its greatest period of industrial growth, which included the arrival of hundreds of immigrants to work in the Ipswich Mills. Survey forms for Ipswich are provided through Archive.org. The lists below begin on the first… Continue reading 1910 Ipswich Census and Maps
The 2016 Ipswich Drought
Based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Palmer Drought Severity Index, the three-month period between May 1 and July 31 was the driest for those three months in Massachusetts since 1966 and the ninth driest on record. Due to the shortage of rainfall and continued high water demand, the Ipswich Water Department issued a Drought… Continue reading The 2016 Ipswich Drought
