Charcoal sketches From "Gloucester and Cape Ann" by S. G. W. Benjamin, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, September 1875
Category: Places
Crane Beach
Crane Beach belongs to the Trustees of Reservations and is part of the historic Crane Estate. The property includes Crane Castle, miles of shoreline, and over 5 miles of marked trails through the dunes at Castle Neck and Steep Hill Beach, open year-round.
Asbury Grove Methodist Camp Meeting, Hamilton MA
The Asbury Grove Methodist Camp Meeting on Asbury St. in Hamilton is listed in the National Register of Historic Districts, and has a collection of historic buildings that were built between 1870 and 1960. 12,000 people, most from Boston, attended the first camp meeting in 1859.
The Jewel Mill and Stone Arch Bridge
In 1642, a dam and fulling mill were built on the Mill River in Rowley. The stone arch bridge on this property was constructed between 1850 and 1870.
The Hovey Clan and Knowlton’s Close, a 19th Century Neighborhood
In 1844, John Sawyer sold to Josiah Caldwell an undeveloped tract known as "Knowlton's Close." Caldwell sold the land in house lots, where houses constructed in the popular vernacular Greek Revival style still stand today.
Saving the Rooster
The gilded weathercock at the First Church in Ipswich has graced the steeple of every church at that location since the middle of the 18th Century.
The Town Wharf
The Ipswich Town Landing is one of several locations along the River where wharves were located over the centuries.
South Congregational Church
The South Congregational church burned on December 10, 1977. The lot is now a small park with two benches and a bell, surrounded by the old foundation.
Manning’s Neck
The first settlers of Ipswich were given rights to use of the Common land. Unfenced tillage lots beyond the residential area were assigned in areas set apart for this use, including the area of Newmarch Street which was known as Manning's Neck.
Diamond Stage
In 1673, two fishermen from the Isles of Shoals, Andrew Diamond and Harry Maine, arrived together in Ipswich. Mr. Diamond built a platform for salting and shipping fish, and became quite successful. The location is still known today as Diamond Stage.
The Bridges of Ipswich
Excerpts from Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, by Thomas Franklin Waters "The stone bridges which span the Ipswich river with their graceful arches are picturesque and interesting. The readiness with which the Town proceeded to build the latter two stone bridges is in singular contrast with the belligerent opposition to the earliest ones. Footbridge from… Continue reading The Bridges of Ipswich
Pingrey’s Plain, the Gallows Lot
Long before the intersection of Mile Lane and High Street became famous for the Clam Box, it was known as Pingrey’s Plain, and was where the wicked were hung.
The Ipswich Town Farm, 1817-1928
Ipswich established its first poorhouse in 1717, and until then the poor and incapacitated were simply let out to the lowest bidder. In 1817 the town voted to build a town poor farm on what is now Town Farm Road.
Along the Ipswich River
Historic photos of the Ipswich River from original glass negatives taken by early Ipswich photographers Arthur Wesley Dow, George Dexter and Edward L. Darling.
Chelmsford Center for the Arts
The former town hall in Chelmsford, MA was erected in 1879. Town Meeting voted to use Community Preservation Funds to renovate and restore the building, and on July 4, 2012 the Chelmsford Center for the Arts opened in the fully-restored elegant facility.
The Giles Firmin Park: from Tannery to Arboretum to Playground
The locality became very unsightly and in 1906, the land and buildings were bought by a private association which removed the unsightly buildings, laid out the lot as a park and garden.
Historic Ipswich 