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 sermon “A Model of Christian Charity,” the best part of…
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…
2026 Downtown Tuesdays
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.
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
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…
Wild Dance May 8-29, 2026
Distinct destinations. Paired playlists. Friday evenings this spring, join Ipswich ReCreation & Culture as we venture out into the wild — board the bus at Town Hall for a mystery ride… Come prepared for a guided stretch that we might settle into ourselves, a walking meditation to arrive in right relationship with place, and then…
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 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.
“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.
Evacuation Day, March 17, 1776
The above painting by Louis S. Glanzman is courtesy of the National Park Service. The siege of Boston by Patriot forces began on April 19, 1775, in the aftermath of the battles at Lexington and Concord. In June the British technically won the Battle of Bunker Hill, but suffered heavier casualties, with no effect on the Continental…
2026 Winter Wellness Sampler, January 23 – March 20, 2026
Winter Wellness Sampler is back for its 4th year! Join us for a seasonal series designed to help you move through the darkest, coldest months with care, curiosity, and connection. From sound healing and meditation to movement and self-compassion practices, Winter Wellness Sampler invites you to explore a variety of wellness modalities that support rest,…
The Witchcraft Accusations Against Sarah Buckley and Mary Witheridge
On May 23, 1692, a complaint for witchcraft was filed against Sarah Buckley and her widowed daughter Mary Witheridge. The “bewitched” girls of Salem Village claimed that the women’s specters had attacked them. Held in shackles in the cold crowded jail, both were acquitted in January,1692
Four-Year-Old Dorothy Good is Jailed for witchcraft, March 24, 1692
On March 24, 1682. a child, Dorothy Good of Salem was taken custody, and interrogated by the local magistrates for two weeks. Hungry, cold and missing her mother, Dorcas broke down and told the inquisitors what they wanted to hear, that her mother was a witch, and consorted with the devil.
Salem City Council Passes Resolution Ensuring the Safety of its Immigrant Population.
In February 2026, the Salem, Massachusetts City Council adopted a resolution reaffirming the city’s responsibility to protect all Salem residents regardless of their immigration status. RESOLUTION: TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY WHEREAS, the City of Salem is a welcoming city with a longstanding commitment to being a culturally inclusive and safe community…
Ipswich at War
Links to two dozen wars that Ipswich men fought in from the town’s settlement in 1633, through the Vietnam War.
Abraham Lincoln’s Brush with Essex County
By David J. Kent Abraham Lincoln toured New England twice. He never made it to Ipswich, but he did have some brushes with Essex County that influenced his development as a politician and his rise to the presidency. The first trip was as a sitting congressman in 1848, during which he gave ten speeches in…
The Hanging of Ezra Ross and Bathsheba Spooner, July 2, 1778
In 1778, sixteen-year-old Ezra Ross of Ipswich was condemned to death for the murder of Joshua Spooner of Brookfield. Spooner’s wife Bathsheba became the first woman executed in the newly-created United States of America. Ezra Ross is buried in an unmarked grave at the Leslie Road Cemetery.
The Streets of Minneapolis
By Gordon Harris The above photo is from the New York Times Through the winter’s ice and coldDown Nicollet AvenueA city aflame fought fire and ice‘Neath an occupier’s bootsKing Trump’s private army from the DHSGuns belted to their coatsCame to Minneapolis to enforce the lawOr so their story goesAgainst smoke and rubber bulletsBy the dawn’s…
To the Inhabitants of Ipswich from Thomas Jefferson
The Embargo Act of 1807 put New England ports at a standstill and its towns into a depression. The Ipswich Town Meeting petitioned the President to relieve “the people of this once prosperous country from their present embarrassed and distressed condition.” The town found Jefferson’s answer “Not Satisfactory.”
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Historic Ipswich 