In 1644, the Town of Ipswich ordered, "If a man refuse to tye up his dogg's legg and hee bee found scrapeing up fish in a corne fielde, the owner thereof shall pay twelve pence damages, beside whatever damage the dogg doth. But if any fish their house lotts and receive damage by doggs the owners of those house lotts shall bear the damage themselves."
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/
The Ipswich River
The 35-mile Ipswich River flows into the Atlantic Ocean at Ipswich Bay. The Ipswich River Water Association works to protect the river and its watershed. Foote Brothers Canoes on Topsfield Rd provides rentals and shuttle service from April to October.
One Third for the Widow
Under Puritan law an adult unmarried woman was a feme sole, and could own property and sign contracts. A married woman was a feme covert and could not own property individually. Widows regained the status of feme sole but the Right of Dower entitled them to keep only one third of their property. When a woman was left a widow some men like vultures were ready to take the other two thirds.
A Wager on the Rooster
In 1900, Raymond Dodge was painting the First Church steeple. Angus Savory bet him five dollars that he didn't dare to go up and sit on the rooster's back.
Ipswich Town Meeting
Town meeting has been a cardinal element of local government in New England for about four hundred years. In Massachusetts, they started in the early 1600s and were formally recognized until 1641. No doubt meetings were pretty rocky during the Puritan era. Things got so raucous that the Legislature finally had to impose rules governing all town meetings, some of which, with slight modifications, are still on the books.
Emma Jane Mitchell Safford
Emma Jane Mitchell Safford was a descendant of Massasoit, Sachem of the Wampanoag. Her daughter, also Emma, tried to help her relatives regain land taken from them on the reservation.
Parades
Photos from 20th Century Ipswich parades
The Missing Dunes at Castle Neck
The "Great Dune" at the end of Castle Neck has disappeared, the point is retreating, and the opening to Essex Bay between Castle Neck and Wingaersheek Beach has widened.
History of Great Neck
Before the settlement of Ipswich was begun in 1633 by John Winthrop, William Jeffrey, who had come over in 1623, had purchased from the Indians a title to the glacial drumlin which bears his name. By 1639 the whole tract was set apart as a common pasture by the new town, and in 1666 the General Court gave Jeffrey five hundred acres of land elsewhere. After the early eighteenth century, the Necks remained as the only common lands retained by the Commoners.
Bombshell from Louisbourg
Mounted securely to a stone post at the corner of Middle and Independent Streets in Newburyport, there was for many years a large cast-iron bombshell, thrown from a mortar at the Second Siege of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia in 1758.
Moll Pitcher, the Fortune Teller of Lynn and Marblehead
Soon after her marriage she was known as a fortune-teller, her clients increasing during the fifty years that she afterwards lived. Her fame reached every fireside in New England, and her successful predictions were the themes of many midnight vigils and story-tellers.
Candlewood
An Ancient Neighborhood in Ipswich, Massachusetts, written by Thomas Franklin Waters, with genealogies of John Brown, William Fellows, and Robert Kinsman)
Soffron Brothers Ipswich Clams
Soffron Brothers were the exclusive suppliers of clams to the Howard Johnson chain for 32 years, which featured Ipswich Fried Clams on the menu. The four brothers, Tom, George, Pete and Steve, were the children of Greek immigrants who came to work at the Ipswich mills. Their Ipswich factory was at Brown Square in the building that now houses the Ipswich Ale Brewery.
A Photographic History of the Ipswich Mills Dam
Geologically, the Ipswich River is quite young. The Laurentide ice sheet during the most recent ice age receded to the northern border of Massachusetts around 14,000 years ago. As the ice sheet melted, the sea level rose about 100 ft. higher than current levels, putting much of the North Shore area temporarily under water until… Continue reading A Photographic History of the Ipswich Mills Dam
John Dunton’s Visit to Ipswich and Rowley in 1686
in 1686, Mr. and Mrs. Stewart on High St. were favored with a visit from the book seller John Dunton, who came to Ipswich "in the course of his saddle-bag peregrinations."
Ralph W. Burnham, Antiques and Hooked Rugs
Traditional hand rug hooked rugs were the most popular item in Ipswich antiques dealer Ralph Warren Burnham's shop on High St. in Ipswich.
Historic Ipswich 