Summer Street may be the oldest public way in Ipswich, and in the earliest days of the settlement was called Stony Street, or simply “The Way to the River. ” Thomas Franklin Waters wrote that for two centuries it was Annable’s Lane, named after settler John Annable. In the Colonial years, streets tended to be named for topographical features or for who lived on them. By the 19th Century, communities in New England were old and well-established, the origins of the early street names forgotten. Many towns, including Ipswich, renamed their thoroughfares with more universal names. The photo below is the west side of lower Summer Street, with the old road between the house and the current Summer Street. In the earliest years, the east side of lower Summer Street was mostly orchard.





























Gordon, I have some incomplete and unverified information on 30-32 Summer Street. I am told by a former owner that it was moved to Summer Street around 1890 from High street, (possibly 27 High Street) I have also been told that 27 High Street was owned by John Conley of the local drug store prior to the move. The same neighbor also told me that when he was a boy (he was in his 90’s at the time) that the house was occupied by Civil War Veteran John Barton. If anyone has old pictures or information about either location I am interested.
Thanks Isaac, that provided me with sufficient information to start a post about what I’ll call the “Smith-Barton” house. Take a look at https://storiesfromipswich.org/the-smith-barton-house-30-summer-street/