Skip to content

Historic Ipswich

On the Massachusetts North Shore

  • Visit
  • Events
  • Tours
  • Recent Posts
  • Historic Houses
  • Interactive Map
  • Ancestry
  • Burying Grounds
  • History & Literature
  • Images & Maps
  • About This Site
  • Subscribe
  • Search

Tag: Jack Helfant

Jack Helfant, the Hermit of Sandy Point From 1962-67

September 14, 2020December 1, 2024 Gordon Harris1 Comment

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.

Posted in PeopleTagged Jack Helfant
Ipswich MA historic photos by William Varrel

Subscribe for free

Your orders through Bookshop.org and Amazon.com help support this site.

Share this site

Search this site

Ipswich Massachusetts Revisited by William Varrel

The Historic Ipswich site is maintained with open-source WordPress and Kubuntu. © Gordon Harris 2026

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Historic Ipswich
    • Join 295 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...