Ipswich, Massachusetts was founded in 1634 in an area the Native Americans called “Agawam.” The historic neighborhoods of Meeting House Green, High Street, the East End, and the South Green are well-preserved streetscapes of 17th to 19th-century residences, with more “First Period” houses than any other town in the country.
Over 50% of land in Ipswich is protected by Willowdale State Forest, Essex County Greenbelt, the Parker River Wildlife Refuge, the Trustees of Reservations, the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act and the town’s Open Space program.
Recent Posts
The Cricket - "They are the housewife's barometer, foretelling her when it will rain and are prognostic. Sometimes she thinks of ill or good luck of the death of a near relation or the approach of an absent lover. By being the constant companions of her solitary hours they naturally become the objects of her superstition."
The Witchcraft Trial of Elizabeth Howe - Elizabeth Howe and her husband James resided on outer Linebrook. After James lost his sight at about the age of 50, Elizabeth assumed the dual responsibility of managing the family and the farm. She was charged with bewitching her neighbor’s child and was arrested on May 28, 1692. Elizabeth Howe was one of the five women hung in Salem on July 19, 1692.
Colonial New England Funerals - In 17th Century Ipswich, funeral services were without eulogies, but extravagant outlays were often made for mourning garments, gloves, rings, wine, refreshments and the coffin. In the 18th Century, public opinion turned against such excesses.Featured Posts
17th Century houses in Ipswich, Massachusetts - Ipswich has 59 houses built in the "First Period" of English construction, more than any other town in the country. View also 18th and 19th Century Ipswich houses.
Ipswich and the Salem witchcraft trials - During the Salem witch trials the Ipswich jail was filled with the accused. Elizabeth Howe of Linebrook Road was tried and hung. The ministers of the town opposed the trials as a delusion. 
Haunted houses of Ipswich - These ghost stories were shared on Facebook. A friend of mine mentioned that a few years ago a realtor was getting ready to go out the front door at the Jonathan Pulcifer house on Summer Street, when he noticed a stack of old publications sitting on the bottom […]
Castle Neck and the Dunes - Crane Beach and all of Castle Neck are protected by the Trustees of Reservations. Pitch pine and scrub oak rise from the masses of marsh grass, sage green hudsonia and dune lichen lining the trails that wind through the dunes.
“Kiss of Death” at New England textile mills - The weaver, after loading a new pirn wrapped with thread into a shuttle, drew the loose end through the hole with her breath. No one connected this habit with the observation that weavers were dying of what was then called consumption at a higher rate than the general public.
