Perhaps the best-known early Ipswich Photographer was George Dexter (1862-1927). His photographs along with those of Edward Lee Darling (1874-1962) provide a wonderful visual history of the town. Thanks to Ipswich native Robert Cronin for sharing with me his collection of George Dexter glass plate negatives that have been in storage for almost 100 years, and who contacted me about sharing them with you. Some of these photos you may have seen before, even on this site, but these are new digital images created from the glass plates in high resolution by town historian Gordon Harris.

The former Ipswich Central St. Post Office, with postmaster Luther Wait standing in the middle. Photo by George Dexter.
Robert Cronin tells how he came to have the glass plate negatives and why he shared them with me:
I’ve been looking at a folder of old photos I had printed from some glass negatives I acquired a long time ago. It brought to mind my father saying many years ago, that if I did not “get on the ball and print the rest of the negatives, no one would be around to tell what they are” (or even care). Originally those negatives, made on glass, numbered into the hundreds. The photographer’s name was George Dexter. It seems that anything in Ipswich was subject to his lens.
My uncle George Matherson worked for Mr. Dexter and somehow ended up with boxes of these glass negatives. My introduction to them was not good. As young kids, the value of these pieces of glass were not a priority. It was only later, when I was out of the service, and took up photography as a vocation that I found out what went into making these glass plates. The photographer in those days had to go through many pieces of glass to get glass without bubbles. He had to mix his own chemicals and coat his glass plates.Exposures could be loner than 60 seconds. Developing time was quite long as well. So those who use instant cameras can’t possibly appreciate what went into producing the finished product.
The sad part is that I loaned the prints to a prominent party in town, who became ill and eventually succumbed. I felt I should ask for my prints, and after a period of time approached the offsprings and was told that they had no knowledge of the alleged prints. (This episode is one of the reasons that I am not enamored with lawyers.)
I eventually realized that the prints were lost to me, but still owning the negatives, history was still within my grasp. This is where Murphy’s law enters the picture again. I decided to spend on evening in the dark room and replace my missing prints, but could not continue without something I had left with a friend. I had no sooner arrived at Charlies house and his phone rang. He hollered that it was Jen, and we better scramble. My dark room was on fire, and she had called the fire department.Among the debris lay most of the glass negatives. Only a few that were in the house survived.“
Click on any image below to begin the slideshow. Click on the ESC button or the X in the upper left corner to exit the slideshow.
- The excursion boat Carlotta was built in 1878 at Rogers Point Boar Yard at the end of Agawam Avenue, and sailed from the Town Wharf to points on the Neck and Plum Island for 35 years. From Brown’s Wharf, the steamer Carlotta, a local steamboat owned by Nathaniel Burnham and Charles W. Brown sailed daily and carried passengers on the Ipswich River and Parker River. The Carlotta also was used as a tug boat for towing vessels up and down the river. The Carlotta carried 200 passengers with Captain Burnham as captain, plus an engineer and deck hand. Her stops on the daily trip were at Little Neck for 10 cents. The Ipswich Bluffs, 15 cents, Grape Island 20 cents, and the complete round trip to the Parker River at Newbury for 40 cents.It was very pleasant, about 12 miles.
- Camp Storrow. Photo by George Dexter
- John Baker house, South Green. Photo by George Dexter
- Caleb Lord house, Manning St.. Photo by George Dexter
- Choate Bridge parade. Photo by George Dexter
- Civil War memorial. Photo by George Dexter
- Crane’s Landing. Photo by George Dexter
- Cows coming home from the Neck. Photo by George Dexter
- Essex Bay from the Bluffs. Photo by George Dexter
- Giles Firmin Park. Photo by George Dexter
- Goulds Bridge, Photo by George Dexter
- Grape Island. Photo by George Dexter
- Crane Landing. Photo by George Dexter
- Grape Island. Photo by George Dexter
- Grape Island. Photo by George Dexter
- Memorial Hall. Photo by George Dexter
- View from Town Hill. Photo by George Dexter
- Unknown trolley tracks. Photo by George Dexter
- Town Wharf from Agawam Ave. Photo by George Dexter
- Unknown. Photo by George Dexter
- Ipswich Bluffs. Photo by George Dexter
- Scouts and Indians. Photo by George Dexter
- salt marsh hay. Photo by George Dexter
- Rogers house, High St.. Photo by George Dexter
- Steeples from the river. Photo by George Dexter
- Steeples from Town Hill. Photo by George Dexter
- Little Neck. Photo by George Dexter
- Victorian living room. Photo by George Dexter
- Post Office on Central St.. Photo by George Dexter
- House on Agawam Ave. seen from the location of today’s Town Wharf. Photo by George Dexter
- River and jail from Turkey Shore. Photo by George Dexter
- Possibly the Aaron or Moses Jewett house on High St.. Photo by George Dexter
- Harry Mayne drawing by Arthur Wesley Dow
- Unknown Victorian room by George Dexter
- Unknown by George Dexter
- House at Gould’s Creek by George Dexter
- Salt Marsh Hay by George Dexter
- unknown street by George Dexter
- Central Street by George Dexter
- Market Square, photo by George Dexter
- Little Neck by George Dexter
- Payne School buildings at Lords Square
- Camp in the dunes by George Dexter
- Asa Lord’s store
- The Agawam Hotel. Photo by George Dexter
- Ipswich power plant by George Dexter
- Summer St. from Hovey’s Wharf by George Dexter
- Shipwreck by George Dexter
- Water Street looking upstream toward the Green st. Bridge. Photo by George Dexter
- The Dustbane factory by George Dexter
- Emmanuel Baptist Church was on Loney’s Lane. Photo by George Dexter
- Water St. sketch by Arthur Wesley Dow by George Dexter
- Wharf view by George Dexter
- View from Little Neck,by George Dexter
- East St (before the landing was paved) by George Dexter
- Water st.clam shacks. Photo by George Dexter
- Green St. Bridge and the old Jail by George Dexter
- Shipwreck at Steep Hill by George Dexter
- unnamed woman by George Dexter
- “Little Venice” (Ipswich River). Photo by George Dexter
- Unknown Victorian living room. Photo by George Dexter
- two boys by George Dexter
- boatyard by George Dexter
- Ipswich Bluffs sundial
- unknown house by George Dexter
- Pier at The Bluffs by George Dexter
- Town Hill view, snowstorm by George Dexter
- Town Hill view of two steeples. Photo by George Dexter
- Market St. house and store. Photo by George Dexter
- Mill Rd. bridge. Photo by George Dexter
- Ye Rogers Manse (House of Peace) by George Dexter
- The Choate Bridge, with the Caldwell Building on the left and the Ipswich Female Seminary beyond it.
- Rogers Manse. Photo by George Dexter
- Rogers Manse. Photo by George Dexter
- Rogers Manse by George Dexter
- Unknown Victorian house by George Dexter
- Unknown, “The Standish” by George Dexter
- “The Howes” photo by George Dexter
- Samuel Appleton plaque at Appleton Farms. Photo by George Dexter, early 1900’s.. Photo by George Dexter
- Essex River by George Dexter
- Ipswich River by George Dexter
- Ipswich River by George Dexter
- Green St. Bridge view from Water St.
- Bay at Agawam Ave. by George Dexter
- Water St. by George Dexter
- Old Lord house and trolley tracks by George Dexter
- Olympia Fruit Store by George Dexter
- The Knobbs life saving station on Plum Island around 1900. Photo by George Dexter
- Unknown house by George Dexter
- Ipswich River and boats by George Dexter
- Mineral Street, by George Dexter
- Stone mill. Photo by George Dexter
- Methodist Church by George Dexter
- Memorial Building on Central St. under construction. Photo by George Dexter
- Denison School at Meeting House Green by George Dexter
- Little Venice by George Dexter
- Little Neck by George Dexter
- Market Square. Photo by George Dexter
- Lydia Dennis tombstone by George Dextere, Old North Burying Ground
- Mineral St., Caleb Lord house by George Dexter
- High Street before it was leveled, by George Dexter
- Little Venice, by the Mill by George Dexter
- Little Neck Sea Serpent by George Dexter
- Little Neck by George Dexter
- Little Neck by George Dexter
- Lighthouse and keepers house by George Dexter
- boat launch by George Dexter
- Unknown house by George Dexter
- Town Hill view of the steeples by George Dexter
- Salt marsh hay by George Dexter
- High St. house still standing
- High St. houses that once stood where the High St. bridge is now by George Dexter
- Joseph Fowler house, High St. by George Dexter
- High St. house (maybe) by George Dexter
- High St. mansion, no longer standing
- Hart House by George Dexter
- Hart House by George Dexter
- Hart House by George Dexter
- Green St. bridge and Howard house
- Green St. bridge and jail by George Dexter
- Grape Island
- Grape Island
- Grape Island houses by George Dexter
- Grape Island by George Dexter
- Grape Island
- Several generations of Mill Workers
- First period living room by George Dexter
- Whipple house fireplace by George Dexter
- Farmers and chickens by George Dexter
- Essex Town hall
- County Street bridge
- Denison School, Meeting House Green
- Clam photo hoax by George Dexter
- East and Hovey Street intersection by George Dexter
- Unknown staircase by George Dexter
- County Rd., Norton house on County Rd. (demolished) by George Dexter
- Clam certificate, photo by George Dexter
- Whipple House First Period bedroom by George Dexter
- Benjamin Ellsworth was lighthouse keeper for 50 years
- The Moses Jewett house, 1800’s by George Dexter
- “Bayview” by George Dexter
- Unknown girl by George Dexter
- Unknown house by George Dexter
- A band crossing South Main St.. Photo by George Dexter
- Fowler house, High St. by George Dexter
- Bella Vista, Little Neck by George Dexter
- Rowley Town hall by George Dexter. Photo by George Dexter
- The Greek Hotel at the corner of Market and Saltonstall Streets, 1913 during the Ipswich Mills Strike
- Tapleyville station, Danvers. Photo by George Dexter
- One of two photos taken by George Dexter at Tucker’s Wharf in Marblehead Harbor on 30 August, 1909. The event was a huge gathering of yachts, including President Taft’s dispatch boat “The Dolphin.” (information courtesy of Stephen P Hall, former Exec. Dir. of the Beverly Historical Society and Museum)
- One of two photos taken by George Dexter at Tucker’s Wharf in Marblehead Harbor on 30 August, 1909. The event was a huge gathering of yachts, including President Taft’s dispatch boat “The Dolphin.” (information courtesy of Stephen P Hall, former Exec. Dir. of the Beverly Historical Society and Museum)
Categories: Photos
My husbands family is from MA.
We have a picture of the marsh by Dexter.
So curious about it!
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My husbands family were from MA.
We have a photo of the marsh taken by Dexter. So curious about it!!
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What a special treat. I am George Dexter’s great granddaughter and have never seen these photographs before. My brother found this article and shared it with me. I have visited Ipswich and visited some of these venues, along with seeing George’s gazebo studio which was still standing and in beautiful condition maybe 15 years ago.
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Hi Kathleen thanks for your comment. The house at 15 Argilla Rd. belonged to George Dexter, built in 1893. Is the gazebo on that property? http://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=IPS.5
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These photos are priceless as are your identifications.
Lets find elderly Ipswichites to identify even more–including people.
What a beautiful town we had–and still have thanks to its caring citizens!
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Amazing pictures, thank you.
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A pleasure to view, thank you,
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