In April of 1614, Captain John Smith of Virginia sailed near Ipswich, about which he recorded, “Here are many rising hills, and on their tops and descents are many corne fields and delightful groves… There is also Okes, Pines, Walnuts and other wood to make this place an excellent habitation, being a good and safe harbor.”
News of the pleasantness of the Indian village, its good land and rich fisheries spread abroad. The Pilgrims, shivering in their rude huts at Plymouth, debated whether they should not migrate at once to this land of promise. Some of them “urged greatly the going to Agawam, which they heard to be an excellent harbor for ships, better ground and better fishing.”
The first settlers in Ipswich chose a spot with half-billion year old granite outcroppings as a worthy location for their meeting house. It is still known today as Meeting House Green or North Green. Yet most of the land forms in our town were formed less than 20,000 years ago.
Sources
Categories: History
