On the Massachusetts North Shore
Ipswich boasts a long line of legal luminaries – lawyers and judges – going back to the dawn of the Town’s existence. Not only is this the “Birthplace of American Independence” but the home to many notable statesmen, and the caliber of the bench and bar of a people is in part a measure of the quality of the culture.
Join Paul Valcour and Gordon Harris on a walk along the river from the Green St. Bridge to the town wharf as we compare today's view with dozens of photos taken in the 19th and early 20th Centuries.
Mary Baker, producer of the Newburyport Blog, created an interactive map telling the stories of historic places in Newburyport.
Ipswich has several Cape-style houses constructed with second floor kneewalls, found especially in the Ipswich Village and Linebrook neighborhoods. "High post Capes" in the 19th Century incorporated popular decorative elements of the Greek Revival, Italianate, Victorian and Colonial Revival eras.
by Tom Murphy
In 1962, a storm shipwrecked Jack Helfant’s houseboat on Sandy Point. The Revere native decided to stay on the island, creating a shack using driftwood, canvas and parts of his houseboat covered with salt hay, including an underground quarters. Over the years Jack and his pet collie Prince became permanent fixtures on the island.
I call for all of us to embrace a cause that may serve to unite our fractured democracy before it’s all too late. This of course is the plight of Plastic Pink Flamingos. What, you ask?
Gavin Keenan is drawn to reminisce of certain events which occurred during his lengthy enlistment in the local constabulary, including this Clamtown mystery of pandemic proportions.
In my day, summer work had one purpose – money. I'm sure many of you can relate to these memories, and have your own version to share.
Retired Ipswich Police Officer Edward Walsh, who died recently, worked for the Town nearly fifty years, beginning in 1969 as a rookie patrolman.
Sea levels rose about 8 inches globally and about 1 foot on the Eastern Seaboard in the past century. What will happen to Ipswich if catastrophic predictions for the 21st Century are realized?
by Gavin Keenan. This article was first posted in 2017, and is timely as ever.
What is an unreconstructed Townie to do when pummeled by these endless and unwanted shifts in the familiar that masquerade as progress?
by Gavin Keenan Don't you just love the American political process? Especially in the times through which we now pass, so fraught with fear and uncertainty. If you were to take it all too seriously, you would certainly be justified in believing that we live in the time of the great circling - around the… Continue reading Primary Colors
No matter where you turn today, talk of the Powerball lottery seems to dominate the news
Never one to seek the company of others, he preferred the isolation of working midnights patrolling the lonely landscape of failed farms and shuttered mills below the Quebec border. But Peter knew he was in trouble.
Historic Ipswich 