On the Massachusetts North Shore
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 land on which this house sits was part of a large grant to John Proctor and was divided into lots after Proctor moved to Chebacco. In 1735, Joseph Burnham sold an empty corner of his homestead to Benjamin Grant, and Grant soon constructed the first section of the house. The front façade is asymmetrical,… Continue reading The 1735 Benjamin & Ann Grant House, 47 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 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.
Circles, Lines, & Squares, Free family-friendly folk dance sampler with a mix of contras, squares, and circles at the Ipswich Town Hall Gym. Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, 7-9 pm Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, 7-9 pm Friday, Apr. 3, 2026, 7-9 pm Friday, May 1, 2026, 7-9 pm
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Images of Market Square in Ipswich from the past 300 years.
Many ships and lives were lost in the Great Colonial Hurricane, including 21 passengers who had set out from Ipswich on August 21, 1635 on a small bark named "Watch and Wait." As they rounded Cape Ann they were suddenly met by the force of the winds.
Historic Ipswich 