Date: October 21 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm Location: Ipswich Museum, South Main Street Charge: Free for members. $10 for non-members. Adam Smith David Scudder, chair of the Ipswich Museum finance committee, will talk about the lasting impact of the "Twin Revolutions of 1776." The American Revolution of 1776, with its well-known battles at… Continue reading The Twin Revolutions of 1776
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GemJam 6 to 8 pm, Friday, October 23
GemJam is a free public outdoor drum, dance & DJ event held on the 4th Friday of each month at the Ipswich Riverwalk Mural behind 4 Union Street. Time and place: 6 to 8 pm at the Take Out Terrace Truss & Stage, 4 Union Street
CRANE ESTATE ART SHOW, NOV. 7 & 8, 2026
The theme for the annual free Crane Estate Art Show & Sale this year is "SEIZE THE MOMENT," and will feature more than 200 works of original artwork on the first and second floors of the Great House, student works in the Casino Complex, and, on Saturday afternoon, a student reception. Art proceeds will benefit… Continue reading CRANE ESTATE ART SHOW, NOV. 7 & 8, 2026
The October Gale of 1841
In the latter part of September, 1841, was a long, unbroken spell of uncomfortable weather, which culminated in a violent and cold storm of wind, snow and rain on the night of October 2, continuing four days.
The Temptations of John Dane, a Declaration of Remarkable Providences
This handwritten narrative from 1682 is the personal memoir of John Dane, who immigrated to Ipswich by 1638.
The Karma of Modern Problems
by Gavin Keenan. This article was first posted in 2017, and is timely as ever.
Abolition and the Underground Railroad in Essex County
A network of the Underground Railroad ran north along the coast from Boston to Salem, where it split into three trails; one continued through Beverly, Ipswich, Newburyport and West Newbury to Amesbury where escaped slaves were escorted into New Hampshire.
What Our Ancestors Ate
"Most of them had pea and bean porridge, sometimes hasty pudding, both morning and evening. A lady of eighty, after having partaken of Thanksgiving dainties, was heartily glad to return home and set a meal of her favorite broth."
Names of the Ipswich slaves
In 1641 the Massachusetts Bay Colony adopted a code of laws that made slavery legal. In 1755, the slaves in this town above the age of sixteen numbered sixty-two, but within ten years, public opinion began turn against slavery. In 1780, the present Constitution of Massachusetts was adopted, its first article asserting that all men are born free and equal.
Samuel Symonds, Gentleman: Complaint to Salem Court Against His Two Servants, 1661
Philip Welch and William Downing, both children, were kidnapped from Ireland in 1654, and sold to Samuel Symonds in Ipswich. After 7 years they refused to continue working on his farm and demanded their freedom. They were arrested and brought to trial.
Indigenous Peoples of the North Shore
A Brief History of Native Americans in Ipswich Before English Colonization Native Americans began moving into New England after the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet. In the early 1950s, a group of young amateur archaeologists, men now known as the “Bull Brook Boys,” discovered one of the largest Paleo-Indian sites in North America along… Continue reading Indigenous Peoples of the North Shore
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 their Political Existence." The Town meeting on Dec. 28, 1772 supported the rights of the Colonists as British subjects, and established a Committee of Correspondence to communicate resistance with the Committees of other towns. Delegates from throughout Essex County arrived in Ipswich on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 1774, and by unanimous vote, bound themselves together in establishment of the Provincial Congress for the common safety.
