6 Liberty St. (c. 1890)
A house at 6 Liberty St. is shown in the 1893 Birdseye map and the 1910 Ipswich map, the owner is shown as “C. Caldwell.” The modestly Italianate “Gable and Ell” form confirm the architectural period.
A complete list of Ipswich enlistments in the Civil War
This list of enlistments of men who served in the military from Ipswich during the Civil War was produced by Scott Jewell in his book, Ipswich in the Civil War. The list was compiled and cross checked from Grand Army of the Republic records, regimental histories, and Civil War records.
9 Poplar St., the Seward – Mavroides house (1873)
William Seward built the house at 9 Poplar St. in 1873, but for 7 decades its been owned by the Mavroides family. The “gable with ell” plan with vernacular Italianate features was popular in the second half of the 19th Century.
The Hovey clan and Knowlton’s Close, a 19th Century neighborhood
In 1844, John Sawyer sold to Josiah Caldwell an undeveloped tract known as “Knowlton’s Close.” Caldwell sold the land in house lots, where houses constructed in the popular vernacular Greek Revival style still stand today.
51 East St., 1845 (demolished)
The Brocklebank-Ross house and barn at 51 East St. were demolished in 2006 and replaced with the present structure. The mid-19th Century house was similar to one still standing at 48 East St.
Ipswich listings in the National Register of Historic Places
Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register of Historic Places supports public and private efforts to identify, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
Market Street
Photos of Market St. from the present day back to the early days of photography.
Inscriptions at the Old North Burying Ground (from Memento Mori)
The Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich was established in 1634 and is one of the oldest cemeteries in North America.
Ipswich Pillow lace
In the late eighteenth century, Ipswich had 600 women and girls producing more than 40,000 yards of lace annually. Ipswich industrialists imported machines from England to mechanize and speed up the operation, which destroyed the hand-made lace industry.
Manning’s Neck
The first settlers of Ipswich were given rights to use of the Common land. Unfenced tillage lots beyond the residential area were assigned in areas set apart for this use, including the area of Newmarch Street which was known as Manning’s Neck.
Ipswich Genealogy Resources
Many people trace their roots back through several generations to Ipswich, one of the earliest towns in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. No community in this country is a more fulfilling destination for the genealogy tourist.
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.
Dr. Manning’s windmill
In 1792, Dr. John Manning erected a factory at the corner of South Main and Market Street beside the Choate Bridge and began manufacturing cloth and blankets. On the roof squatted a great octagonal tower, inside of which was a horizontal windmill.
Ipswich photos by Stoney Stone
Thanks to David “Stoney” Stone for sharing his photographs of Ipswich. Fox Creek, photo by David “Stoney” Stone A dune at Castle Neck. Photo, photo by David “Stoney” Stone
27 Market Street, the Ipswich Post Office (1939)
The Ipswich Post Office was built on Market St. in 1939 with U.S. Treasury funds.
92 Central St., the Abbie G. Lord house, 1871
The house at 90 Central St., was constructed after Andrew Geyer purchased the lot from Amos Smith in 1869. He sold the finished house to Abbie G. Lord in 1873, who sold to Maria J. Brown in 1897.
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.
Chronological history of the Old North Burying Ground
This document was prepared by Martha Lyon for the Ipswich Historical Commission as part of the Old North Burying Ground Preservation Plan. Download as PDF Beginnings – 1634–1798 The Old North Burying Ground dates to the early 1600s, and the founding of the Town of Ipswich. Puritans had come […]
Preservation Agreements
Since 1969 the Ipswich Historical Commission has been responsible for a voluntary program of binding Preservation Agreements between the Commission and over 40 homeowners to preserve the structure’s architecturally significant features.
12 North Main Street, Treadwell’s Inn (1737)
In 1737, Captain Nathaniel Treadwell opened an inn in this building. John Adams visited Ipswich frequently during the 1770s in his capacity as a lawyer and always stayed at Captain Nathaniel Treadwell’s inn. It was once erroneously named the Christian Wainwright house, which no longer stands.
A Chronology of Ipswich history
Featured Articles Legends The 17th Century The 18th Century The 19th Century The 20th Century The 21st Century The following list of dates and events in Ipswich history is from the Genealogy of the Willcomb family of New England (1655-1902); “Over Three Hundred & Fifty Years of Ipswich History,” […]
Governing Ipswich
Ipswich was established in 1634, and was one of the most influential towns in Colonial America. The early town records, the actions of Town Meeting, and the deliberations of the courts are preserved.
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.
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 […]
68 Jeffreys Neck Road, the Captain John Smith house (c 1740)
Richard Smith came from Shropham, Co Norfolk by 1641. His farm came into possession of Richard Smith. To his son, John, for £170, he conveyed an 18 acre pasture, bounded in part by the river, “with the new house and half the barn, standing at the south-east end of ye great field.”
19 Summer Street, the Solomon Lakeman house (before 1745)
This lot was owned or occupied by Solomon Lakeman in 1745, but could have been constructed earlier. The 1832 map shows the owner as “The widow Lakeman.”
Ipswich Old North Burying Ground Section A
The Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Massachusetts was established in 1634 upon the founding of the town of the town, and is one of the oldest cemeteries in North America. The Old North Burying Ground is located at the intersection of High Street and Rt 133/1A. View at Google maps. […]
Ipswich Old North Burying Ground Section D
The Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Massachusetts was established in 1634 upon the founding of the town of the town, and is one of the oldest cemeteries in North America. The Old North Burying Ground is located at the intersection of High Street and Rt 133/1A. View at Google maps. […]
Ipswich Old North Burying Ground Section E
The Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Massachusetts was established in 1634 upon the founding of the town of the town, and is one of the oldest cemeteries in North America. The Old North Burying Ground is located at the intersection of High Street and Rt 133/1A. View at Google maps. […]
Ipswich Old North Burying Ground Section F
The Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Massachusetts was established in 1634 upon the founding of the town of the town, and is one of the oldest cemeteries in North America. The Old North Burying Ground is located at the intersection of High Street and Rt 133/1A. View at Google maps. […]
Ipswich Old North Burying Ground Section G
The Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Massachusetts was established in 1634 upon the founding of the town of the town, and is one of the oldest cemeteries in North America. The Old North Burying Ground is located at the intersection of High Street and Rt 133/1A. View at Google maps. […]
Old North Burying Ground (index by map location)
The Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Massachusetts was established in 1634 upon the founding of the town of the town, and is one of the oldest cemeteries in North America. The Old North Burying Ground is located at the intersection of High Street and Rt 133/1A. View at Google maps. […]
Old North Burying Ground
Established in 1634, the Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Massachusetts is one of the oldest cemeteries in North America.
Chebacco Parish Old Graveyard
The inhabitants of Chebacco established their own parish in 1679, after encountering considerable resistance from the mother church in Ipswich. The Old Chebacco Burying Ground in was established in 1680. The community incorporated as the town of Essex in 1819.
Old Linebrook Cemetery
The Old Linebrook Cemetery was first used in 1725, but most burials date from 1768 to about 1900. Family names include Chapman, Conant, Ellsworth, Foster, Howe, Morse, Perley and Potter.
Highland Cemetery
Highland Cemetery in Ipswich is accessed from Town Farm Rd. The following listings and images are from the interments listed are actually at the Old North Burying Ground below on High St.
Ipswich Old South Cemetery
The Old South Cemetery has approximately 1000 interments, and was used from 1756 till 1939. It sits between the South Green and the Ipswich River and is an easy walk from downtown. This comprehensive list of interments was created by the WPA.
The great and famous not so gentle Ipswich putdown
Republished from Ipswich Yesterday by Alice Keenan, 1982. Photos by George Dexter and Edward L. Darling. Ipswich has the habit, long ingrained, of turning on those who love her most, and who, innocently and willingly, donate their time, talents, energies, and in some cases — money — for her welfare […]
Remembering Taffy Hill
Howard R.”Taffy Hill “was a familiar sight at his iconic store on Market Street, in operation since 1929 when it was opened by his father as Hill’s Men’s Store.
25 Market Street, the Nathaniel R. Farley Shoe Factory (1830-56)
One of the oldest commercial buildings still standing on Market Street, it was originally the Nathaniel R. Farley shoe factory. The building was altered in 1856 to its current appearance. In the second half of the 20th Century the building housed Goodhue’s Hardware Store,
Historic Ipswich 
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