The Ipswich Sparrow, a subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow, was first identified on Crane Beach in 1868.
The Ipswich Sparrow
Author: Gordon Harris
Gordon Harris is a local historian living in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and publisher of the Historic Ipswich site. Follow him at https://gordonharris.bsky.social/
The “Kiss of Death” at New England Textile Mills
The weaver, after loading thread into a shuttle, drew the loose end through the hole with her breath. No one connected this habit with the observation that weavers were dying of consumption, known now as tuberculosis.
Lords Square
Lord's Square is not a square at all, and no one knows the right way to spell it. The bewildering intersection abuts the Old North Burying Ground and the largest collection of First Period houses in America.
The Legend of Goody Cole
Some said that Goody Cole took the shapes of eagles, dogs, cats and apes. At last she lay under sentence of death in the Ipswich jail for changing a child in its cradle.
The Witchcraft Trial of Elizabeth Morse of Newbury, 1680
Elizabeth Morse of Newbury was accused and found guilty of being a witch. She was initially sentenced to be hanged, but after spending a year in the Boston jail, she was sent home
The Shipwrecks at Ipswich Bar
The Ipswich Bar has a long history of tragic shipwrecks. Its swift currents and shallow waters are especially dangerous during storms, and many ships have gone aground. The hull of the Ada K. Damon sits on Steep Hill Beach.
The Grand Hotels of Gloucester and Cape Ann
At the beginning of the 20th Century, Cape Ann was a popular destination for tourists. Gloucester's grand hotels were the subject of "The Summer Hotel Guide," published in 1905.
“At Long last, Sir, Have You Left No Sense of Decency?”
On June 9, 1954, before a nationwide television audience, Joseph Welch of Waltham replied to Joseph McCarthy, "Until this moment, Senator, I think I have never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness."
Her Name Was Patience
"Know all men by these presents I, Thomas Burnam of Ipswich, do by these presents bargain, sell, sett over and confirm unto the said Robert Dodge, a negro girl known by the name of Patience...To have and to hold said negro girl Patience during her natural life."
Thomas and Elizabeth Lull, the Caldwell Sons and their Descendants
The youngest daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Lull, Sr married William Caldwell in 1714. The wives of his brothers, John and Jacob, were her nieces, being the daughters of Thomas Lull Jr. The Caldwell family became prominent, while the Lull family name disappeared from Ipswich.
The Bull Brook Paleo-Indian Discovery
in the early 1950s, a group of young amateur archeologists men discovered one of the largest Paleo-Indian sites in North America along the banks of Bull Brook and the Egypt River in Ipswich, with over 6,000 artifacts uncovered.
Lydia Wardwell on her Presentment for Coming Naked into Newbury Meeting House
In 1661, Lydia Perkins of Newbury had become a Quaker, and the church issued demands that she appear and give reasons for her withdrawal. Her angry response was to appear naked in the Meeting House. She was ordered to appear at the Salem court, and was then taken to Ipswich and severely whipped.
Persecution of Quakers by the Puritans
Beginning in 1656, laws forbade any captain to land Quakers. Any individual of that sect was to be committed at once to the House of Correction, to be severely whipped on his or her entrance, and kept constantly at work, and none were suffered to speak with them. In Ipswich, Roger Darby his wife lived on High St, and were warned, fined and dealt with harshly.
Women in Ipswich History
Stories on this site about women in local history from the early days of the settlement through the Twentieth Century.
The Dark Day, May 19, 1780
At noon, a "midnight darkness" had fallen on Essex County. Candles were lighted, and fowls went to roost. By the next morning, dark ash lay four or five inches thick.
The Ipswich Minutemen at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775
Capt Nathaniel Wade's company and Capt. Abraham Dodge's company fought from the trenches in Col. Moses Little's regiment. 18-year-old Jessie Story of Chebacco Parish was killed, the first Ipswich man to lay down his life in the struggle for Independence.
Historic Ipswich 