Ipswich in the 19th Century

There was great excitement in Ipswich upon the visits of President George Washington and General Lafayette. Chebacco Parish withdrew from the town and became the Town of Essex. In 1828 the Ipswich Female Seminary was opened by Zilpah Grant and Mary Lyon. The Ipswich Manufacturing Company was established in that same year, later to become Ipswich Mills and now the site of EBSCO. The Eastern Railway sends its first passenger train through town in 1840. The Industrial age brought a resurgence of wealth to the town. Fires at Central Street and Depot Square in 1894 convinced the town to develop a public water and electrification system.

19th Century: Religion divided the town – Revivalist Rev. John N. Maffit held a “protracted meeting” which was undoubtedly the most extraordinary episode in the history of the churches of Ipswich since the days of George Whitefield and Gilbert Tennent, preaching sixty nights to congregations which occupied every inch of the meeting-house. … Continue reading 19th Century: Religion divided the town→

The boy who fell beneath the ice – The Rev. Joseph Dana served the Second Congregational Church at the South Green from 1765 until his death in 1827 at age 85. Rev, Dana’s tombstone in the Old South Cemetery reads: “In memory of the Rev Joseph Dana D.D., for sixty-two years, Minister of the South Church. His protracted life was eminently devoted to… Continue reading The boy who fell beneath the ice→

Newburyport Turnpike opens, February 11, 1805: “Over every hill and missing every town” – In 1803, a group of Newburyport investors incorporated as the Newburyport Turnpike Corporation in a commercial venture to build a straight toll road from Boston to Newburyport (the highway we call Rt. 1). … Continue reading Newburyport Turnpike opens, February 11, 1805: “Over every hill and missing every town”→

Roads to Paradise – “The ancient way, now called not inaptly Paradise Road, winds through long stretches of woodland, where ferns and brakes grow luxuriantly, and every kind of wild flower finds congenial haunt in open glades or shaded nooks.”… Continue reading Roads to Paradise→

“To the Inhabitants of the Town of Ipswich,” from Thomas Jefferson – The Embargo Act of 1807 put New England ports at a standstill and its towns into a depression. The Ipswich Town Meeting petitioned the President to relieve “the people of this once prosperous country from their present embarrassed and distressed condition.” The town found Jefferson’s answer “Not Satisfactory.”… Continue reading “To the Inhabitants of the Town of Ipswich,” from Thomas Jefferson→

The Merchant Princes, Cyrus Wakefield and George Peabody – by Helen Breen Question: What Do Wakefield and Peabody Have In Common? Answer: Both renamed their Essex County towns in the mid 19th century to honor their “favorite sons” and benefactors – Cyrus Wakefield (1811-1873) and George Peabody (1795-1869). The 19th century “merchant princes” of Boston were ambitious, clever men who made their fortunes in… Continue reading The Merchant Princes, Cyrus Wakefield and George Peabody→

The Cold Friday of January 19, 1810 – The Cold Friday on Jan. 19, 1810 brought terrible winds and frigid temperature. Many people froze to death while traveling along the highways. Houses, barns and vast numbers of timber trees were blown down or broken to pieces. … Continue reading The Cold Friday of January 19, 1810→

The “Dungeons of Ipswich” during the War of 1812 – On October 7, 1813, the keeper of the Ipswich jail was given orders by the President “to “receive into his custody and safely keep in dungeons, in the gaol aforesaid, 16 British prisoners of war” as hostages.… Continue reading The “Dungeons of Ipswich” during the War of 1812→

The Gerrymander is born in Essex County, February 11, 1812 – Marblehead’s Elbridge Gerry served as governor of Massachusetts and vice-president of the United States, but his historic legacy will forever be tied to a political monster dubbed the “Gerrymander.”… Continue reading The Gerrymander is born in Essex County, February 11, 1812→

The British attack on Sandy Bay – Rockport experienced one of the oddest invasions in U.S. history during the War of 1812 when the town’s fearless residents stopped the British with rocks and anything they could get their hands on.… Continue reading The British attack on Sandy Bay→

Jane Hooper, the fortune-teller – Jane Hooper was in 1760 a Newburyport “school dame” but after she lost that job she found fame as a fortune-teller. When the Madame made her yearly visit to Ipswich, the young and the old called on her to learn of their fates.… Continue reading Jane Hooper, the fortune-teller→

1816, the year without summer – On June 5, 1816 a heat wave raised the temperature in Ipswich to 92° but that afternoon a cold front swept across New England and the temperature fell to 43° by the next morning. For the next four days there were severe frosts along the Eastern seaboard, and snow was recorded in some locations. By the 9th of June ice began to form on water left standing outside overnight. Rapid, dramatic temperature swings continued throughout the summer.… Continue reading 1816, the year without summer→

The Ipswich Town Farm, 1817-1928 – Ipswich established its first poorhouse in 1717, and until then the poor and incapacitated were simply let out to the lowest bidder. In 1817 the town voted to build a town poor farm on what is now Town Farm Road.… Continue reading The Ipswich Town Farm, 1817-1928→

The Fox Creek Canal – The Fox Creek Canal provided the missing link between the forests of New Hampshire and the shipyards of Essex. Lumber boats would sail down the Merrimack to Newburyport, cruise south along the landward-side of Plum Island and reach the Ipswich River without ever having to go on the ocean, then take the canal to the Castle Neck River to Essex Bay.… Continue reading The Fox Creek Canal→

The Plum Island Salt Company – In the 1820’s a Frenchman named Gilshenan organized an unsuccessful salt harvesting company on Plum Island with a 10′ deep canal and a bull turning an overshot wheel like a hamster. A large sundial survived for a few decades, but no trace remains today.… Continue reading The Plum Island Salt Company→

The Fox Creek Canal – The Fox Creek Canal is the oldest man-made tidewater canal in the United States, dug in 1820. In 1938 it was dredged to accommodate ship-building at Robinson’s Boatyard, where small minesweepers were constructed for World War II.… Continue reading The Fox Creek Canal→

Battles of the bridges – Excerpts from Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, by Thomas Franklin Waters The stone bridges which span the Ipswich river with their graceful arches are picturesque and interesting, but the readiness with which the Town proceeded to build the latter two stone bridges is in singular contrast with the belligerent opposition to the earliest ones. Continue reading Battles of the bridges→

A tragic story from old Gloucester – In 1821, the Annisquam woods was the scene of a murder. A youth, Gorham Parsons, while chopping wood, struck and instantly killed a boy of 10 years, named Eben Davis with a hatchet.… Continue reading A tragic story from old Gloucester→

An Amazing Coincidence on July 4, 1826 – John Adams died quietly at six o’clock on the evening of July 4, 1826 at the age of 91. His last words were: “Jefferson survives.” He did not know that on the same day in Monticello, Virginia, his long-time rival Thomas Jefferson had breathed his last at the age of 82. … Continue reading An Amazing Coincidence on July 4, 1826→

The Ipswich Female Seminary – The Ipswich Female Seminary was established in April 1828 by Zilpah Grant and 24-year-old Mary Lyon for the secondary and college-level education of young women. It was the first endowed seminary for women and the first to give diplomas to its graduates.… Continue reading The Ipswich Female Seminary→

A town of immigrants – Puritans founded Ipswich during the “Great Migration” of the early 17th Century. Many residents of the town descend from immigrants who arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to work in the mills.… Continue reading A town of immigrants→

The Ipswich lighthouse – In 1881, a 45-foot cast iron lighthouse was erected at Crane Beach, replacing an earlier structure. By 1913, the sand had shifted so much that the lighthouse was 1,090 feet from the high water mark. Use of the light was discontinued in 1932 and in 1939 the Coast Guard floated the entire lighthouse to Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard.… Continue reading The Ipswich lighthouse→

Awful Calamities: the Shipwrecks of December, 1839 – Three gales of unequaled fury and destructiveness swept along our coast carrying desolation and death in their stormy pathway, and overwhelming many families in the deepest mourning.… Continue reading Awful Calamities: the Shipwrecks of December, 1839→

The Railroad comes to Ipswich, December 20, 1839 – The stagecoach era ended abruptly when the Salem tunnel opened, and two days later on December 20, 1839, a train from Boston made its first passage through Ipswich. The opening of the railroad and the end of stagecoach travel led to the decline of Ipswich as one of the most important towns of Massachusetts.… Continue reading The Railroad comes to Ipswich, December 20, 1839→

Wreck of the Deposit, December 23, 1839 – Dec. 23, 1839 two days before Christmas a storm caught the schooner “Deposit” on her passage out of Belfast, Maine. Capt. Cotterall was lost, and several of the crew were buried at the Old South Cemetery.… Continue reading Wreck of the Deposit, December 23, 1839→

Wreck of the Hesperus, January 6, 1839 – It was the schooner Hesperus, That sailed the wintry sea; And the skipper had taken his little daughtèr, To bear him company.… Continue reading Wreck of the Hesperus, January 6, 1839→

Glover’s Wharf and the Ipswich coal industry – John S. Glover opened a wharf on Water St. in 1847, receiving shipments of coal and cement, along with maritime salvage. His wharf was a short distance from the home be built on East St. around 1872 across from the present-day Town Wharf.… Continue reading Glover’s Wharf and the Ipswich coal industry→

Patronage and Scandal at the Ipswich Customs House – In 1829, the position of Ipswich Customs Collector was granted to Timothy Souther, a man of prominence and one of the old line Democrats who held office there under President Andrew Jackson. Souther resigned in August, 1840 after being charged with graft.… Continue reading Patronage and Scandal at the Ipswich Customs House→

Wreck of the Falconer, December 17, 1847 – On December 17, 1847 the brig Falconer, loaded with bituminous coal, wrecked at Crane Beach during a fierce winter storm. A dozen of the crew and passengers are buried in a common grave at the Old North Burying Ground. … Continue reading Wreck of the Falconer, December 17, 1847→

Joseph Ross, 19th Century Ipswich bridge builder – Joseph Ross (1822-1903) is best known for designing the first movable span bridge in the country, which he patented in 1849 at the age of 26, and became the most common railroad bridge type in the Boston area. His corporation Joseph Ross & Sons was highly successful.… Continue reading Joseph Ross, 19th Century Ipswich bridge builder→

Arthur Wesley Dow – Ipswich artist Arthur Wesley Dow (1857 – 1922) was one of the town’s most famous residents. View his ink prints and a slideshow of over 200 cyanographs… Continue reading Arthur Wesley Dow→

The Mill Road Bridge and the Isinglass Factory – The triple stone arch Warner Bridge that connects Mill Rd. in Ipswich to Highland St. in Hamilton was constructed in 1829, and rebuilt in 1856. The isinglass mill sat on the downstream Ipswich side of the bridge.… Continue reading The Mill Road Bridge and the Isinglass Factory→

Hannah Jumper leads raid on Rockport liquor establishments, July 8, 1856 – On the morning of July 8, 1856, two hundred women, three men and their supporters gathered in Rockport’s Dock Square and unfurled a banner with a black hatchet, determined to destroy all the alcohol in the town. The leaders of the mob was a 75-year-old seamstress named Hannah Jumper.… Continue reading Hannah Jumper leads raid on Rockport liquor establishments, July 8, 1856→

How Christmas came to Ipswich – Puritans shunned Christmas for its pagan roots, allowing only Thanksgiving as a time for feasting, and imposed a five-shilling fine on any persons found “observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way.” A Cambridge Unitarian minister’s family had the first Christmas tree in Massachusetts.… Continue reading How Christmas came to Ipswich→

Asbury Grove Methodist Camp Meeting, Hamilton MA – The Asbury Grove Methodist Camp Meeting on Asbury St. in Hamilton is listed in the National Register of Historic Districts, and has a collection of historic buildings that were built between 1870 and 1960. 12,000 people, most from Boston, attended the first camp meeting in 1859.… Continue reading Asbury Grove Methodist Camp Meeting, Hamilton MA→

County Street, Sawmill Point, and bare hills – The town voted in 1861 to build County Street and its stone arch bridge, connecting Cross and Mill Streets. A Woolen mill, saw mill, blacksmith shop and veneer mill operated near the bridge.… Continue reading County Street, Sawmill Point, and bare hills→

Washington and Liberty Streets – Gravel Street and the gravel pits are shown in the 1832 Philander map of Ipswich. One of the older established ways in town, Washington Street may have started as a footpath for Native Americans long before John Winthrop and the first settlers arrived. Today’s Washington Street was called once called Bridge Street, and for two centuries was… Continue reading Washington and Liberty Streets→

Joseph Stockwell Manning, a Civil War hero from Ipswich – Private Joseph Stockwell Manning grew up on High Street in Ipswich, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on December 1, 1864, a year and two days after an incredible act of bravery at Fort Sanders, Tennessee. in November, 1863.… Continue reading Joseph Stockwell Manning, a Civil War hero from Ipswich→

The North Shore and the Golden Age of Cycling – The invention of the Columbia Safety bicycle in 1886 enabled a cyclist from Newton to ride round-trip to Ipswich on the Newburyport Turnpike (Rt. 1) in 9 hours 50 minutes, setting a new record for a 100 mile ride. … Continue reading The North Shore and the Golden Age of Cycling→

The steamship “Carlotta” – The excursion boat Carlotta was built in 1878 at Rogers Point boat yard, and sailed from Town Wharf to the Neck and Plum Island for 35 years. The small hotels at Little Neck, Ipswich Bluff and Grape Island were favorite destinations for tourists and locals.… Continue reading The steamship “Carlotta”→

Lucretia Brown and the last witchcraft trial in America, May 14, 1878 – Lucretia Brown, an invalid living on the South Green in Ipswich was a disciple of Mary Baker Eddy,. When she suffered a “relapse” in 1875, Mrs. Eddy convinced her that Daniel Spofford was exercising mesmeric powers upon her.… Continue reading Lucretia Brown and the last witchcraft trial in America, May 14, 1878→

Play Ball! Bialek Park – Baseball’s popularity grew quickly after the Civil War, and Bialek Park was once the town’s semi-professional ballpark, In 1912 the town purchased the two private lots that had been the ballpark, constructed a public playground, and removed the fence. … Continue reading Play Ball! Bialek Park→

“Kiss of Death” at New England textile mills – The weaver, after loading 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 consumption, known now as tuberculosis.… Continue reading “Kiss of Death” at New England textile mills→

Discovery of native American shell heap on Treadwell’s Island, 1882 – In 1882, a shell heap on the shore of Treadwell’s Island was observed to contain nearly two quarts of human bones, broken into short pieces.… Continue reading Discovery of native American shell heap on Treadwell’s Island, 1882→

Hammatt Street, Brown Square and Farley Brook – Until the second half of the 19th Century, much of the area bounded by Central Street, Washington Street, Mineral Street and Market Street was a wetland with an open sewer known as Farley Brook running through it.… Continue reading Hammatt Street, Brown Square and Farley Brook→

Killed by a swordfish in Ipswich Bay, August 19, 1886 – Captain Franklin D. Langsford sailed from Cape Ann in pursuit of swordfish. After harpooning one in Ipswich Bay, the fish turned and thrust its sword through the boat and the Captain. Not yet realizing that he was wounded, he seized the sword and exclaimed, “We got him anyway!”… Continue reading Killed by a swordfish in Ipswich Bay, August 19, 1886→

A Chronology of Ipswich Public Works: Telegraph, Telephone, Gas, Water, Electricity, Trash, Sewer, Wind and Solar – The history of public utilities in Ipswich starting in 1847. Downtown fires in 1894 prompted construction of the water and electrical systems. Today the Ipswich Electric Department promotes and utilizes renewable energy sources.… Continue reading A Chronology of Ipswich Public Works: Telegraph, Telephone, Gas, Water, Electricity, Trash, Sewer, Wind and Solar→

Wrecks of the coal schooners – Walking near Steep Hill Beach, you might be surprised to see lumps of anthracite coal lying on the sand. This would be a mystery were it not for the tragic history of brigs and schooners transporting coal in the 19th century.… Continue reading Wrecks of the coal schooners→

Dow Brook and Bull Brook – Bull Brook originates in Willowdale, crosses Linebrook Rd. and merges with Dow Brook at the Ipswich Utilities site on Rt. 1A. From that point the combined stream becomes the Egypt River.… Continue reading Dow Brook and Bull Brook→

1894: the Year that Ipswich Burned – At about 1:30 am, Police gave the alarm that Central Street was on fire.The citizens of Ipswich tumbled out from their beds and faced as wicked a night as the town has ever seen. Four months later the other end of downtown burned.… Continue reading 1894: the Year that Ipswich Burned→

The Green Street Bridge – Twenty years after building the County Street Bridge, construction began for the Green Street Bridge. The original structure was made of wood but was later replaced by an arched bridge of stone on May 14, This was the fifth bridge built on the Ipswich River in the Town of Ipswich.… Continue reading The Green Street Bridge→

Central Street in ashes, January 13, 1894 – Early in the morning of Jan. 13, 1894, several businesses on Central Street went up in flames. Three months later the other end of Market St. burned, and the town finally voted to build a water system.… Continue reading Central Street in ashes, January 13, 1894→

The trolley comes to Ipswich, June 26, 1896 – In 1896, the first trolley from Beverly arrived in Ipswich, and a year later, the Georgetown, Rowley and Ipswich Street Railway opened. By 1919, Mr. Ford’s Model T ended the brief era of the street railway.… Continue reading The trolley comes to Ipswich, June 26, 1896→