Ipwich Architectural Research

• Visit the page, Historic Houses and Buildings of Ipswich
• Order a plaque for your historic home
• Town Historian Gordon Harris provides custom architectural and genealogical tours.

Ipswich sources of information:

• Partial List of Historic Houses compiled for the Ipswich Historical Commission, updated in 2021 from Sue Nelson’s 2006 list, including dates of construction, historic name, and information relevant to the Demolition Review Bylaw and the Architectural Preservation District.
• The Ipswich Vision Solutions site is the fallback when research has not been done. It is not reliable for the date of construction, but it is the source of many photos on this site. Click on the Parcel ID to view a property. On the property page, the Salem Deeds book and page number are shown as the Legal Reference.” This is the deed for the current owner. Deeds generally list the name of the previous owner and their deed’s book and page. You can search deeds backward this way on the Salem Deeds site.
• Detailed house and lot research in “Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony,” Vol. 1 by Thomas Franklin Waters. The book is available on Archive.org with an updated search window.
• The Ipswich inventory on the MACRIS site (This is the official inventory, but it is over 40 years old and somewhat outdated.
• Architectural Styles
• The annual Mary Conley Award
• Historic Houses Partial List (PDF)
• Preservation Agreements
• MACRIS
• Demolition Delay Bylaw
• Architectural Preservation District
• Photos of First Period and covenanted houses by Johanne Cassia for the Ipswich Historical Commission.

Deeds

• Salem Deeds Record Search: This is a very useful resource for viewing or researching lot deeds back to the 17th Century. Because the site uses ASPX, the first click on a Salem Deeds link takes you to their home page, but it starts a session. Click on the deed link again, or use the Book and Page feature to search a deed. MAKE SURE TO CLICK ON “IMAGE” to see the results (do not hit return).
• Salem Deeds Index Search: Use the Index Books to search by name and time period. NOTE: You must use the search button. Hitting return will take you back to the home page.
• Salem Deeds homeowners search
• Ipswich Deeds Volumes 1 and 2 by George Freeman Sanborn Jr. These two volumes span the period from 1640 to 1666 and contain essential information on the earliest settlers of Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, Topsfield, Salisbury, Hampton, Exeter, and neighboring towns.

Probate Records

• Probate Records Volume I 1634-1664 (Archive.org)
• Probate Records Volume II 1665-1674 (Archive.org)
• Probate Records Volume III 1675-1681 (Archive.org)

Historic maps of Ipswich

Thomas Franklin Waters researched the early lot assignments in the 1641 map of land grants (which combines Diagrams 1-5). The 1832-1910 maps show the names of the owners. The latter maps show the shape of the house.

Historic Architecture Resources

• Combined map of 1641 land grants, from Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Diagram No. 1
• Diagram No. 2
• Diagram No. 3
• Diagram No. 4
• Diagram No. 5
• 1832 Philander town map at Digital Commonwealth (online, scroll in to the upper left for high resolution of the historic area of town )
• 1856 Essex County and town map (scroll in for high resolution )
• 1872 Ipswich interactive map at Ward Maps
• 1884 Ipswich Center map (Ward Maps) Bird’s-eye map, very high resolution (online, scroll in for high resolution)
• 1910 Ipswich Village historic center map section 8 (online, scroll in for high resolution)
• 1910 Topsfield – Ipswich – Essex – Hamilton – Wenham 1910 index to maps sections
• Registry of Historic Places listings
• Researching the age and history of your historic house
• The ancient houses of Essex County: Beverly, Danvers, Essex, Gloucester, Groveland, Hamilton, Ipswich, Marblehead, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salem, Topsfield, Wenham, West Newbury
• First Period houses of Essex County
• First, Second, and Third Period houses of Ipswich
• First Period construction
• MACRIS inventory of Ipswich houses

Ancestry & Genealogy

Visit the page, Settlers and Early Inhabitants of Ipswich

Cemeteries

Visit the page, Ipswich Burying Grounds: Interments at ten Ipswich Cemeteries

History

Visit the page, Ipswich History

Literature

Visit the page, Books & Documents