On the Massachusetts North Shore
In 1984, the Town of Ipswich laid a sewer along an old footpath beside the Ipswich River between The County St. and Green Street stone arch bridges. In 1998 the Mass. Highway Dept. completed construction of the Sidney Shurcliff Riverwalk, due in part to efforts by Sidney Shurcliff's sister Alice.
Ipswich High School "Old Time Ipswich." featuring block prints created and printed by the students for each month of the calendar.
After Guy Hawkes, a Catholic, attempted to blow up the king and members of Parliament, effigies of Guy Fawkes were burned every year on Nov. 5, accompanied by a day of odd activities. The tradition was continued by English settlers in America.
Saved from a bulldozer in the 1960s, this 18th-century Georgian-style Ipswich house has a new home as a permanent exhibit at the National Museum of American History.
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.
After the first stocking machine was smuggled from England to Ipswich in 1822, immigrants arrived in Ipswich to work in the cotton and hosiery mills, contributing to the town's diverse cultural heritage.
Central Street was laid out in 1870, Manning High School opened 4 years later, and stores began to be constructed. By 1884, the Victorian neighborhood that lines Central, Hammatt, Manning, Mineral, Liberty, Brown and Maple Streets had been created.
At the Essex National Heritage Commission’s annual gathering, Executive Director Annie Harris surprised our own Wayne Castonguay by presenting him with the 2022 Pioneer in Partnership Award.
This exciting collaboration between the Living Faith Methodist Church and Ipswich Citizens for the Arts will bring live music, theater and more to the historic heart of Ipswich, while helping save one of most venerable landmarks.
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.
The SWITCH Rideable ArtScape is a permanent installation made of poured concrete, sculpted metal, and organic materials, located at Bialek Park in Ipswich. The SWITCH serves primarily as a rideable concrete skatepark for riders of all skill levels, as well as an outdoor art gallery, a public performance space, and a gathering area for our… Continue reading The Switch Rideable Artscape
Horse shows were held at Maplecroft Farm on Essex Rd. from 1952 through 1955, sponsored by Ipswich Rotary. Known as "harnecues," the two-day events combined harness racing with barbecues to augment the Rotary student loan fund and benefit Cable Memorial Hospital's building fund, and featured class A equestrian events for children and adults.
In partnership with the Parker River Clean Water Association, the Ipswich River Watershed Association produced a new video on the plight of the Egypt River. The video begins by asking Ipswich residents the question “Where is the Egypt River’?”
Of the men from Chebacco parish who were in the battle at Bunker Hill, the names of six are known: James Andrews, Benjamin Burnham, Nehemiah Choate, Aaron Perkins, Jesse Story Jr., a minor who was killed, and Francis Burnham who was wounded. Two Chebacco boys, Aaron Low and Samuel Proctor, belonged to a Gloucester company which reached Cambridge on the afternoon of the 16th.
In October 1922, the sand schooner Edward S. Eveleth rolled over when a wave rushed over her deck and pushed her onto the edge of Steep Hill Beach. Filled with sand, each tide buried her deeper. Her remains were visible for several years. The skeleton of the hull is just off-shore a short distance from the wreck of the Ada K. Damon.
"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."
Historic Ipswich 