This location across from the church was historically known as “the old tavern lot” and was for many years confused with the earlier Spark’s Tavern. Captain Nathaniel Treadwell (1700 – 1777) and his wife Hannah opened the inn soon after its construction in 1737 and ran it for four decades, bequeathing it in his will to their son Jacob, who continued the business.
Before the Revolution, John Adams was in Ipswich frequently in his capacity as a lawyer and always stayed at Treadwell’s inn. He wrote frequently to his wife Abigail, and in June, 1774 expressed concerns about the colony’s preparedness for independence. But of Ipswich, he wrote, “This hill, on which stands the meeting-house and court-house, is a fine elevation, and we have here a fine air, and the pleasant prospect of the winding river at the foot of the hill.”
Read more about Treadwell’s Inn at the Historic Ipswich site.
Ipswich Visitor Center 