Skip to content

Historic Ipswich

On the Massachusetts North Shore

  • Home
  • Visit
  • Events
  • Walking Tours
  • Posts
  • History
  • Historic Houses
  • Essex County
  • Ancestry
  • Burying Grounds
  • Literature
  • Book Shop
  • Images
  • Maps
  • Recreation
  • Bicycle Rides
  • Blog
  • Comments
  • About
  • Search

Tag: Commission on Lunacy

The Essex County Receptacle for Idiots and the Insane at Ipswich

December 3, 2025 Gordon HarrisLeave a comment

After Dorothy demanded that the State conduct an investigation, the "Report on Insanity and Idiocy in Massachusetts" found that 68 insane or demented persons were being housed in the Ipswich jail.

Posted in PlacesTagged Commission on Lunacy, insane receptacle, poor
Ipswich MA historic photos by William Varrel
Your order through Bookshop.org helps support this site.
View/Purchase at Amazon

Early Inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts by Abraham Hammatt
Your order through Bookshop.org helps support this site.
View/Buy at Bookshop.org
Ipswich Massachusetts Revisited by William Varrel
Your order through Bookshop.org helps support this site.
Purchase at Amazon

© Gordon Harris 2026

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Historic Ipswich
    • Join 263 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Historic Ipswich
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...