The small yellow house at 35 East Street was built about 1810, and is said to have been the originalEssex County jailor’s house. It is better known as the home of Luther Wait (1841-1924), who served two terms as postmaster. In 1872, Luther Wait removed the house to East St., to a lot that Dexter Mclntire had cleared by moving an older house to Pine Swamp Rd.
Luther Wait’s formal education ended at age 12. As a young man, he fished off Georges Bank in the summer and repaired shoes in the winter. He and a large number of young Ipswich men enlisted to fight in the Civil War. Wait served on several town boards, including the school committee and as town assessor.
Wait was appointed postmaster in 1890 but relinquished the position in 1894 and joined tens of thousands in northwestern Canada looking to strike it rich during the Klondike Gold Rush. He returned to town, probably empty-handed, and resumed his appointment as postmaster from 1902 – 1914.
Luther Wait and his wife, Elizabeth Heard Lord, are buried at Locust Grove Cemetery. Photos of Luther Wait standing in two previous locations of the Ipswich Post Office are shown below.
Historic Ipswich 