The Puritan settlers of Ipswich established the town in 1634 in an area the Native American inhabitants called “Agawam.” Stories and pages on this site:
The Legend of Heartbreak Hill - "In Ipswich town, not far from the sea, rises a hill which the people call Heartbreak Hill, and its history is an old, old legend known to all."… Continue reading The Legend of Heartbreak Hill 
Joseph English: Loyalty and Survival in the Life of a Colonial Native Scout - Joseph English, a descendant of Sagamore Masconomet, served as a scout for the Colonial forces and participated in land transactions with Essex County communities. Benjamin Webster used archival documents to construct this narrative of his life.… Continue reading Joseph English: Loyalty and Survival in the Life of a Colonial Native Scout 
The Great Dying 1616-1619, “By God’s visitation, a wonderful plague” - An estimated 18,000,000 Native Americans lived in North America before the 17th Century. The arrival of 102 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620 and the settlements by the Puritans a decade later were accompanied by the demise of the native population of North America.… Continue reading The Great Dying 1616-1619, “By God’s visitation, a wonderful plague” 
The Bull Brook Paleo-Indian Discovery - in the early 1950s, a group of young amateur archeologists men discovered one of the largest Paleo-Indian sites in North America along the banks of Bull Brook and the Egypt River in Ipswich, with over 6,000 artifacts uncovered.… Continue reading The Bull Brook Paleo-Indian Discovery 
Emma Jane Mitchell Safford - Emma Jane Mitchell Safford was a descendant of Massasoit, Sachem of the Wampanoag. Her daughter, also Emma, tried to help her relatives regain land taken from them on the reservation.… Continue reading Emma Jane Mitchell Safford 
Ipswich, the Brookfield Massacre and King Philip’s War - In 1660, a group of Ipswich families settled in Quaboag which they renamed Brookfield. Indian attacks in 1675 resulted in its destruction.… Continue reading Ipswich, the Brookfield Massacre and King Philip’s War 
Discovery of native American shell heap on Treadwell’s Island, 1882 - In1882, a shell heap on the shore of Treadwell's Island was observed to contain nearly two quarts of human bones, broken into short pieces.… Continue reading Discovery of native American shell heap on Treadwell’s Island, 1882 
PTSD in the Massachusetts Bay Colony - The Great Migration brought nearly 14,000 Puritan settlers, unprepared for the hardships and trauma that awaited them. Building a new society in the wilderness induced transgenerational post-traumatic stress and mass conversion disorder, culminating in the Salem Witch Trials.… Continue reading PTSD in the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
The Bones of Masconomet - On March 6, 1659 a young man named Robert Cross dug up the remains of the Agawam chief Masconomet, and carried his skull on a pole through Ipswich streets, an act for which Cross was imprisoned, sent to the stocks, then returned to prison until a fine was paid.… Continue reading The Bones of Masconomet Articles by Mary Ellen Lepionka
Indigenous Peoples of the North shore - The Puritan settlers of Ipswich established the town in 1634 in an area the Native American inhabitants called "Agawam."… Continue reading Indigenous Peoples of the North shore 
Who Were the Agawam Indians, Really? - It’s hard for people to change their stories—so embedded in deep time and official canon, even when there is a better explanation or a closer truth. I hope it will be possible to change public knowledge about the Native Americans who lived here and get closer to the truth.… Continue reading Who Were the Agawam Indians, Really? 
The Tragedy of the Wilderness: The Colonists and Indian Land, Part 4 - Featured image: North Conway, 1907. The White Mountain National Forest was established in 1918. In New England townships, common lands became increasingly smaller with each subdivision through distribution, sale, or inheritance. As commons shrank, conflicts over herding grew. The number and sizes of herds had to be regulated, as some settlers paid herdsmen to tend… Continue reading The Tragedy of the Wilderness: The Colonists and Indian Land, Part 4 
The Story Behind the Story of Wigwam Hill - As a researcher on Indigenous history here, I was captivated by this account, both for its romance and its tragedy. Who were these people? Where did they come from and where did they go? Why was all that happening and what did it mean? … Continue reading The Story Behind the Story of Wigwam Hill 
The Cape Ann Vikings - I find no evidence that Lief Ericson’s brother Thorvald was buried on Cape Ann in 1004 AD or even that Vikings actually set foot here. … Continue reading The Cape Ann Vikings Resources for local Native American history and dialects - Read: Who Were the Agawam Indians Really? Mary Ellen Lepionka’s Sources Sources for Algonquian place names include Other sources of information about place names: Henry Rowe Schoolcraft set forth his linguistic theories in his 1839 Algic Researches.The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs published his summary with Seth Eastman of Algonquian languages in Volume 5 (pp.… Continue reading Resources for local Native American history and dialects 
Politics of the Archives Redux: Indigenous History of Indigenous Peoples of Essex County, Massachusetts - This essay is about attributions of ethnic identity in the Indigenous history of Essex County, Massachusetts. Will Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars be able to retell Indigenous history as it was real?… Continue reading Politics of the Archives Redux: Indigenous History of Indigenous Peoples of Essex County, Massachusetts 
Native American Influence on English Fashions - In contact situations in the early 17th century, Europeans were quick to grasp the essential humanity of Native Americans and admired their appearance and physical fitness. Soon, upper-class English wore American feathers and furs, Native Americans prized English woven fabrics and garments, especially tailored shirts. … Continue reading Native American Influence on English Fashions 
Manitou in Context - The creator power was regarded as the equal of other powers in the skyworld and the underworld, but it is Kitanitowit’s Gitchi Manitou that ascended to prominence under the influence of Christianity. Of all the great spirits, it most resembled the Christian God and was transformed accordingly during the Contact Period.… Continue reading Manitou in Context 
Living descendants of the Native Americans of Agawam - Descendants of the Pawtucket are living in Abenaki, Pequaket, Penobscot, and Micmac communities today in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Nova Scotia.… Continue reading Living descendants of the Native Americans of Agawam 
Disorder in the Corn Fields: The Colonists and Indian Land, Part 3 - Today, vestiges of the Commons survive here as city parks or conservation lands, such as the South Green in Ipswich, and public gardens, such as Boston Common.… Continue reading Disorder in the Corn Fields: The Colonists and Indian Land, Part 3 
“That we may avoid the least scrupulo of intrusion” – The Colonists and Indian Land, Part I - More than the concepts of sovereignty and private property, the commodification of nature in the service of mercantile capitalism was the crux of the problem.… Continue reading “That we may avoid the least scrupulo of intrusion” – The Colonists and Indian Land, Part I 
“Brought to Civility” — The Colonists and Indian Land, Part 2 - The idea of private property was alien to Native Americans, but the practice of private ownership apparently was not a feature of colonial life either.… Continue reading “Brought to Civility” — The Colonists and Indian Land, Part 2 
Ancient Prejudice against “the Indians” Persists in Essex County Today - Beneath broad acceptance of Indian rights and benign admiration for aspects of Native culture lies inherited hostility toward Native people. Unrecognized, it has gone unchallenged, but locally I have found it evident in these six ways.… Continue reading Ancient Prejudice against “the Indians” Persists in Essex County Today 
Historic Ipswich 