The historic neighborhoods of Meeting House Green, High Street, the East End, and the South Green offer well-preserved streetscapes of 17th to 20th century homes. Walking tours of historic Ipswich are led by Gordon Harris.
View houses by date of construction:
View houses by historic districts and neighborhoods:
COMPREHENSIVE IPSWICH INDEX
Or view a list of historic houses in Ipswich without the photos. To update or add information, please contact Gordon Harris at gordonharris2@gmail.com
Click on the names or images to read the histories of the houses listed.
- View this list without photos.
- Email Gordon Harris at historicipswich@gmail.com with your additions or corrections for this site.
- Houses names are the first owner or a person who lived in them.
- Street addresses are listed alphabetically by the first digit. (For example, 9 High Street follows 89 High Street).
Agawam Ave.
Return to index
Argilla Road
44 Argilla Rd. (c 1930) - This seemingly gothic revival house is not on the 1910 map. A 1920 date is on the Patriot Properties site.
89 Argilla Rd. (1834) - The Ipswich Historical Commission refers to this house as the Dr. John Manning farm. In 1897 Theodore Wendel married Philena Stone, and they spent their summers in this house at the farm on Argilla Road that she inherited from her family. … Continue reading 89 Argilla Rd. (1834) →
Return to index
Brown Square
Return to index
Brown Street
12 Brown St. (c 1890) - Several homes on this street were built by the short-lived Essex Hosiery Company to house their employees. The house is typical of the vernacular Victorian "gable with ell" homes built at the end of the 19th Century on Brown, Cottage and Mineral Streets.… Continue reading 12 Brown St. (c 1890) →
Return to index
Candlewood Road
3 Candlewood Rd., the Brown-Whipple house (1812) - Joseph Brown built this house in 1812 as a dwelling for his son, James, and sold him the house and 3 acres, Dec. 23, 1817. The entire estate of Joseph Brown eventually was inherited by James. In 1852, D. F. Brown and the other heirs sold their interest to Hervey Whipple, who had married Martha P., daughter of James Brown, July 3, 1852. The heirs of Hervey Whipple still occupied into the 21st Century. … Continue reading 3 Candlewood Rd., the Brown-Whipple house (1812) →
14 Candlewood Road, the Joseph Brown and Elizabeth Perkins house (1779) - Elizabeth Brown, descendant of the early Candlewood settler John Brown, was the wife of Captain Perkins, and gained possession of this lot. In December, 1779, their daughter, Elizabeth, became the wife of Joseph Brown, of the same family line, who built this house.… Continue reading 14 Candlewood Road, the Joseph Brown and Elizabeth Perkins house (1779) →
Return to index
Central Street
Return to index
County Road
Return to index
County Street
Return to index
Depot Square
Return to index
East Street
Return to index
Elm Street
22 Elm St. (c. 1840) - The house at 22 Elm Street sits behind other houses on the street, its foundation resting in the Ipswich River. The Ipswich assessors site gives the date of construction as 1840. The 1856 Ipswich map indicates that this building may have originated as worker housing or part of a grist mill. Several mills operated at… Continue reading 22 Elm St. (c. 1840) →
Return to index
Essex Road
Return to index
Fellows Road
Return to index
Fox Creek Road
Return to index
Green Street
Return to index
Hammatt Street
Return to index
Heartbreak Road
Return to index
High Street
19 High Street, the John Blake house (1885) - This house is not show in the 1884 map of Ipswich, but is shown on the 1887 Ipswich Birdseye map. In the 1910 map, the owner is John A. Blake, who also owned the Thomas Lord house next door at 17 High St.
285 High Street, the Daniel Nourse house (1809) - Daniel Nourse, a farmer, bought the property in 1790 and built the present house in 1809. This was the home of John W. Nourse, farmer, civil engineer, and local historian who uncovered hundreds of Native American artifacts in his fields. The Nourse family cemetery is located nearby. A milestone from the Old Bay Road is in the basement wall. This is one of the finest Federal-era houses in Ipswich Village and has fallen into decay through neglect. … Continue reading 285 High Street, the Daniel Nourse house (1809) →
290 High Street, the Jacob Pickard house, (1812) - Jacob Pickard, Jr. of Rowley, married Tabitha Jewett in 1788, purchased and inherited land at this location and built this house. He purchased the Jewett sawmill on Dow Brook in 1816, and with his sons, Isaac and Nathaniel, "operated the mill with the old-fashioned up-and-down saw until the later half of the century."… Continue reading 290 High Street, the Jacob Pickard house, (1812) →
Return to index
Highland Avenue
Return to index
Hovey Street
Return to index
Jeffreys Neck Road
Return to index
Kimball Avenue
Return to index
Labor in Vain Road
Return to index
Lafayette Road
Return to index
Lakeman’s Lane
Return to index
Liberty Street
Return to index
Linebrook Road
Return to index
Loney’s Lane
Return to index
Lords Square
Return to index
Manning Street
21 Manning Street - The date of construction for this house is uncertain. The Ipswich assessors database shows the date of construction as 1990. The 1893 Ipswich birdseye map and 1910 map shows show a utilitarian structure at this location, which may have been converted or a new house placed on an older foundation.… Continue reading 21 Manning Street →
Return to index
Maple Avenue
Return to index
Market Street
Return to index
Meeting House Green
Return to index
Mill Road
Return to index
Mineral Street
Return to index
Mitchell Road
Return to index
Mount Pleasant Ave.
Mount Pleasant Neighborhood - Featured image: Mount Pleasant neighborhood on the 1910 Ipswich map. Information is from the MACRIS site These houses were built at a time when the foreign-born population of Ipswich was on the rise, Increasing 446% between 1875 and 1915. At the time these houses were built, manufacturing had become the basis of Ipswich’s economy. Many… Continue reading Mount Pleasant Neighborhood →
Return to index
Newbury Road
Return to index
Newmarch Street