The Battle of Middle Ground, July 3, 2005
Gather all ye noble men and listen to my song. I know you have more pressing things But this shouldn’t take too long. Our tale occurs on slippery sand at a place called Middle Ground.
Sarah Goodhue’s Advance Directive, July 14, 1681
On July 14, 1681, Sarah Whipple Goodhue left a note to her husband that read: “Dear husband, if by sudden death I am taken away from thee, there is infolded among thy papers something that I have to say to thee and others.” She died three days after bearing twins. This is the letter to…
The Witchcraft Trial of Elizabeth Howe, Hanged July 19, 1692
Elizabeth Howe and her husband James resided on outer Linebrook. She was charged with bewitching her neighbor’s child and was arrested on May 28, 1692. She was one of the five women hanged in Salem on July 19, 1692.
Walking Tour From the Ipswich Visitor Center, Sunday, July 19, 2026
Walking tours of historic Ipswich are led by local historian Gordon Harris, who tells the stories of the town’s historic houses and the people who lived in them. The historic neighborhoods of Meeting House Green, High Street, the East End, and the South Green offer well-preserved streetscapes of early Ipswich homes. This walking tour starts…
Walking Tour of Historic Ipswich from Meeting House Green, Sunday, July 26, 2026
Walking tours of historic Ipswich are led by local historian Gordon Harris, who tells the stories of the town’s historic houses and the people who lived in them. 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. Date & Time:…
“The Hobby Horse of Popularity”
Alexander Hamilton wrote these words in a letter to George Washington on August 18, 1792. Political divisions between the Federalist Party (led by Hamilton) and the Democratic-Republican Party led by Thomas Jefferson were deepening. Jefferson’s adoring supporters organized large, well-attended events where they praised him in speeches and songs, while his political opponents portrayed him as a radical…
Dow & Bull Brook Conservation Area Water Resources & Historic Walk, Friday, July 24, 2026
The Ipswich Open Space 2026 summer hiking series features a walk on the Dow and Bull Brook Conservation Area trails. We start at the Mile Lane Athletic field and follow trails along Bull Brook to the Dow Brook Reservoir. Along the way, Erren Bonney Casey from IRWA and Anne Carrol with the Ipswich Open Space…
Downtown Tuesdays, July – August, 2026
The 2026 Ipswich Downtown Tuesdays will again be hosted at the Take-out Terrace Truss & Stage on the Riverwalk Extension next to the Ipswich Mural. Admission is free!
Hundreds Turn Out For Ipswich Independence Day Parade and Festivities
Despite the hot weather, a crowd estimated by some at over 1,000 people turned out on July 4, 2026, for the Independence Day Community Walk, Bike and Town Hall Field Day. The event marked the town’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The one-mile parade route began at…
Ipswich and the American Revolution: The Breach with Britain
In John Adams’ 1765 opposition to the Stamp Act, he referenced the citizens of Ipswich who resisted a tax imposed by the Crown in 1687. An Ipswich town meeting on August 11, 1768 approved of “the Conduct of those Gentlemen of the late House of Representatives…when it was required of them at the Peril of…
January 10, 1776: Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” is Published
In 1776, Thomas Paine’s 47-page pamphlet “Common Sense” inspired the American Revolution. The following excerpts still speak true today: “The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all lovers of mankind…
The Birthplace of American Independence, 1687
The important events I shall describe were a mere tradition in the town where I was born. It was almost a revelation, when, in later years, I found unquestioned historical records deserving of national attention.
The Labor in Vain Farm of Thomas & Elisabeth Emerson of Bishop’s Stortford, England, and Ipswich, Massachusetts
During the first two centuries of the Ipswich settlement, the tidal stream known as Gould’s Creek was known as “Labor-in-Vain Crick.” Having rowed against the incoming and outgoing tides passing under Gould’s Bridge, it’s quite obvious how the creek got its name. For about a mile flowing inward, it saturates the salt marsh between Labor…
John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” and William Penn’s “Holy Experiment”
A tale of two visions for development and their outcomes By: Stephen Miles, Member, Ipswich Historic Commission, Former Board Member Ipswich Historical Society (now Ipswich Museum). June 15, 2026. Contact: smiles@sloan.mit.edu In 1629, John Winthrop was appointed head of a corporate venture under the jurisdiction of King Charles I (reigned 1625–1649). In John Winthrop’s 1630…
June 10, 1776: Ipswich Pledges to Support Independence
Shortly after the battle of Bunker Hill (actually Breeds Hill) on June 17, 1775, the Provincial Congress ordered that 10 companies of 50 men each should be raised in Essex County. Ipswich soldiers spent a long cold winter in Cambridge with insufficient supplies. The British finally evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776 after Washington’s surprise…
June 19, 1774: John Adams Takes a Long Walk in Ipswich
“I feel unutterable anxiety. God grant us wisdom and fortitude! Should the opposition be suppressed, should this country submit, what infamy and ruin! God forbid. Death in any form is less terrible!”
Police Open Fire at the Ipswich Mills Strike, June 10, 1913
On June 10, 1913, police fired into a crowd of protesting immigrant workers at the Ipswich hosiery mill. A young Greek woman named Nicholetta Paudelopoulou was shot in the head and killed by police.
The Burke Heel Factory and Canney Lumber Fire, June 19, 1933
The factory at Brown Square burned after volatile glues burst into flames. In the adjoining lot was the Canney Lumber Co. where the building lumber were destroyed. The smaller brick building on the right survived and is now the Ipswich Ale Brewery.
First Church Burns, June 13, 1965
It was a sad day for Ipswich when on June 13, 1965, lightning hit the steeple on the sanctuary of the First Church on Meeting House Green and the building was destroyed by fire. The building was over a century old and considered to be one of the best examples of Gothic church construction in…
The Rev. John Wise of Ipswich
The concepts of freedom about which Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence originated from the pen of the Rev. John Wise of Ipswich: “The origin of civil power is the people…and when they are free, they may set up what species of government they please.”
Ipswich Independence Day Walking and Bicycling Parade And Town Hall Field Day
The Town of Ipswich July 4 Independence Day Parade on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will be a historic walking and bicycle event. We muster at 9:30 am at Winthrop School, to decorate bikes, trikes and wagons, and the one-mile parade begins promptly at 10:00 am. This year’s parade will pass by,…
Dow Brook and Bull Brook
Bull Brook originates in Willowdale, crosses Linebrook Rd. and merges with Dow Brook at the Ipswich Utilities site on Rt. 1A. From that point the combined stream becomes the Egypt River.
Area Town Meetings Call on Congress
Featured image: Ipswich Post Office Mural signifying the Ipswich Revolt of 1687. On Tuesday, May 12, Ipswich Town Meeting voted 326 – 162 for Article 14, calling on Congress to “fully exercise its constitutional duty of oversight and authority, including, but not limited to, the power to impeach and remove the sitting President of the…
Unjust Town Meeting is a Problem Older than Ipswich
Opinion article by Michael Corbelle “Are we kinda being pricks?” Those words, spoken recently by Marblehead citizen David Modica as he questioned why his town’s leadership was voting to shirk its state-mandated responsibility to alleviate the housing crisis, have become a rallying cry against the “Not In My Backyard” attitude of so many property owners…
Public Safety snubbed at Town Meeting but passes at election.
At the May 12, 2026 Ipswich Town Meeting, by an 8 vote margin, voters failed to secure a 2/3 majority to approve funding for construction of a new Public Safety building. For 73 years, the town has tried to replace the Central St. Fire Department, constructed in 1907 for horse-drawn fire trucks. Town Meeting’s failure…
John Wise Would Be Proud; May 12, 2026 Town Meeting passed Article 14, asking their duly elected representatives in Congress to perform their oversight duties over the executive branch in our government.
Featured image: Ipswich Post Office mural representing a meeting in 1687 for which Ipswich is known as the “Birthplace of American Independence.” By Stephen Miles In a resounding vote at the May 12, 2026 Town Meeting, citizens of Ipswich, in the spirit of their forebearers, passed Article 14, asking their duly elected representatives in Congress…
Ipswich Town Meeting Calls Upon Congress to Oversee the President: May 12, 2026
RESOLVED: That this duly assembled Town Meeting, as the legislative body of the Town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, respectfully calls upon the Congress of the United States to fully exercise its constitutional duty of oversight and authority, including, but not limited to, the power to impeach and remove the sitting President of the United States.
Installing Linux Mint or Kubuntu on your Windows computer.
by Gordon Harris On October 14, 2025, Microsoft ended support for Windows 10, which will no longer receive hardware and security updates. An estimated 200 million computers built before 2017 (Intel 8th Generation) don’t have TPM 2.0, and can’t be updated to Windows 11. Windows 10 will still be safe for any purpose that doesn’t…
Ipswich Minutemen March to Lexington and Concord, April 18, 1775
Exerpt from: Letters from an American, by Heather Cox Richardson, April 19, 2026. On the evening of April 18, 1775, the people who lived in the British colony of Massachusetts had gone to bed with the sun, as usual. By the evening of April 19, everything had changed. In the past twenty-four hours, soldiers from…
The Ipswich Minutemen at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775
Capt Nathaniel Wade’s company and Capt. Abraham Dodge’s company fought from the trenches in Col. Moses Little’s regiment. 18-year-old Jessie Story of Chebacco Parish was killed, the first Ipswich man to lay down his life in the struggle for Independence.
The History of the Ipswich Mill Dam, and a Natural History of the Ipswich River
We measure history by time, but for the Ipswich River and its alewives, time could be running out. We can help preserve the human and natural history of the Ipswich River by freeing it from its man-made encumbrances.
The Mandamus Councilors
One of the most hated Intolerable Acts, the Massachusetts Government Act of May, 20, 1774, ordered that on August 1 of that year, the upper house of the legislature would be replaced by thirty-six new members appointed by Governor Thomas Gage, on a “royal writ of mandamus.” The new councilors became marked men when their…
The Bull Brook Paleo-Indian Site
In the early 1950s, a group of young amateur archaeologists 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.
“Lincoln in New England” with author David J. Kent, Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at the Ipswich Public Library
On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at 6:00 PM, the Ipswich Public Library will host author David J. Kent on his new book, Lincoln in New England: In Search of His Forgotten Tours. David J. Kent, an Ipswich native, is an award-winning Abraham Lincoln scholar, past President of the Lincoln Group of DC, and is a board…
Photos from the Ipswich “No Kings” Rally, Saturday, March 28, 2026
NO KINGS is a national day of action and mass mobilization in response to increasing authoritarian excesses by the Trump administration. On Saturday, March 26, people throughout the country took to the streets as a unified act of resistance. A core principle behind all No Kings events is a commitment to nonviolent action. In Ipswich,…
Restoring the Old Post Office with Bill Barton
What Should You Do With Your Old Home? by Tamsin Venn, North Shore Magazine, February/March, 1989 Elliott Krause spent two years restoring what may be the oldest standing building ever used as a post office in the United States. The crumbling structure, built in the 1720s, stood next to the Federal-period home he and his…
Ipswich Photos by David “Stoney” Stone
It was with great sorrow that we heard about the passing of David Stone recently. “Stoney,” as everyone knew him, spent a lifetime photographing this beautiful place we call home. He saw color even on the grayest of wintry days. Use the arrows in the slideshow below to view over 200 of Stoney’s photos. These…
The Story of Agnes Surriage, the Marblehead Tavern Maid
In 1742, the 26-year-old king’s collector visited Marblehead, and fell in love with the young tavern maid, a poor fisherman’s daughter ten years younger than himself.
The Revolutionary War Letters of Joseph Hodgkins and Sarah Perkins
Throughout the Revolutionary War, Joseph Hodgkins sent letters home from the battlefronts to his wife, Sarah Perkins Hodgkins.
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Historic Ipswich 