In 1909, W. Starling Burgess joined with Augustus Moore Herring to form the Herring-Burgess Company, manufacturing aircraft under a license with the Wright Brothers, thus becoming the first licensed aircraft manufacturer in the United States. Burgess took the initial flight of his first plane in 1908 at Chebacco Lake in Hamilton, MA. Flight tests of Burgess biplanes were conducted in November and December, 1910 near Essex Road in Ipswich
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/
Roads to Paradise
"The ancient way, now called not inaptly Paradise Road, winds through long stretches of woodland, where ferns and brakes grow luxuriantly, and every kind of wild flower finds congenial haunt in open glades or shaded nooks.”
The Topsfield Linear Common and the Grand Wenham Canal
The canal was completed in 1917 under a Massachusetts "Act to Provide an Additional Water Supply for the Cities of Salem and Beverly" and transports water from the Ipswich River to Wenham Lake.
William Clancy, WWI Hero
William Clancy, a young Ipswich man, enlisted in the English Army, and was the first American to carry the Stars and Stripes into action during WWI.
Warned Out
The settlement in Ipswich set itself resolutely to the task of guarding against undesirable prospective citizens. The practice of "warning out" strangers was finally abolished in 1793.
The “Dungeons of Ipswich” During the War of 1812
On October 7, 1813, the keeper of the Ipswich jail was given orders by the President "to "receive into his custody and safely keep in dungeons, in the gaol aforesaid, 16 British prisoners of war" as hostages.
The Ipswich Clam
Ipswich is known as the home of the fried clam, although the claim has long been disputed by the town of Essex. The mud in the salt marshes along the Ipswich, Eagle, Essex and Parker Rivers is what gives our clams their wonderful taste. Ipswich was also home to Soffron Bros which produced clam strips for Howard Johnsons restaurants.
Dustbane – Sawdust in a Can!
Dustbane Products was founded in 1908 by two entrepreneurial Canadians who managed to convince people to buy pine-scented sawdust for cleaning floors. U.S. Manufacturing plants were established in Chicago and Ipswich.
“Ipswich Town” by James Appleton Morgan
I love to think of old Ipswich town Old Ipswich town in the east countree, Whence on the tide, you can float down Through long salt grass to the wailing sea.
Newburyport and its Neighborhood in 1874, by Harriet Prescott Spofford
"The history of Newburyport, and of her mother Newbury, much of which has become incorporated with herself, is replete with striking facts and marvels. "
Depot Square
The Eastern Railroad ran from Boston to Portland, continuing to Canada and was the primary competition of the Boston and Maine Railroad until it was acquired by the B&M in the late 1880s to become the B&M's Eastern Division. The Ipswich Depot sat at the location of the Institution for Savings at Depot Square.
The Ipswich Company, Massachusetts State Guard, 1942
The Ipswich Company of the Massachusetts State Guard during WWII
Captain Arthur H. Hardy, 1972
Arthur Hans Hardy grew up in Ipswich, On a mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos on March 14, 1972, Hardy's aircraft was hit and he bailed out nar enemy troops. His body is buried at Highland Cemetery in Ipswich.
A Tragic Story from Old Gloucester
In 1821, the Annisquam woods was the scene of a murder. A youth, Gorham Parsons, while chopping wood, struck and instantly killed a boy of 10 years, named Eben Davis with a hatchet.
Clam Battle!
Life Magazine, July 16, 1945: The government had taken over the lands for a Wildlife Refuge, and the clam battle was on. Ipswich hunters were afraid of losing their private hunting reserves. Ipswich farmers were afraid of losing their land.
Eunice Stanwood Caldwell Cowles
Eunice Caldwell attended Ipswich Female Seminary from 1828 to 1829, where she began a lasting friendship with Mary Lyon. She married the Reverend John Phelps Cowles in 1838, and returned to Ipswich in 1844 to reopen the Seminary, which they ran until it closed in 1876.
