The Town Wharf
The Ipswich Town Landing is one of several locations along the River where wharves were located over the centuries.
South Main Street
In March 1692 the Selectmen laid out twenty-three small lots and granted them “to as many individuals with the conditions that they not encumber the highway, make provision for drainage under the buildings, that each person provide paving four-foot wide all along before ye said buildings for the convenience of foot travelers, and erect posts to keep horses from spoiling the same.”
Arthur Wesley Dow
Ipswich artist Arthur Wesley Dow (1857 – 1922) was one of the town’s most famous residents. During summer, Dow and his wife ran the Summer School of Art from the historic “Howard house” on Turkey Shore Road. The Ipswich Museum owns the largest collection of works by Arthur Wesley Dow.
Along the Ipswich River
Historic photos of the Ipswich River from original glass negatives taken by early Ipswich photographers Arthur Wesley Dow, George Dexter and Edward L. Darling.
Portraits from Ipswich, a century ago
Many of the glass plate negatives taken by George Dexter (1862-1927) and Edward Darling (1874 – 1962), were stored away for almost a century.
Market Square
Featured image: Engraving of Market Square in Ipswich from John Warner Barber’s Historical collections: being a general collection of interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc. relating to the history and antiquities of every town in Massachusetts,” published in 1839
Market Street
Photos of Market St. from the present day back to the early days of photography. A few of the buildings are still standing.
Cape Ann photographs by Andrew Borsari
Photographer Andrew Borsari shows us why Cape Ann is cherished by its residents and envied by the rest of the world, and his books make wonderful presents. Ipswich: A Celebration of Light, Land, and Sea Rockport, Massachusetts: A Village by the Sea Cape Ann: Photographs by Andrew Borsari
Block prints from the 1950 IHS calendar: Old Time Ipswich
Thanks to Bill Barton for sharing the Ipswich High School “Old Time Ipswich.” featuring block prints created and printed by the students for each month of the calendar.
George Dexter’s Ipswich
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 […]
Photos from Ipswich
Many of these photos were digitally developed from original glass negatives taken by three early Ipswich photographers Arthur Wesley Dow, George Dexter, and Edward L. Darling.
The 1934 parade celebrating the 300th Anniversary of the founding of Ipswich
The Indian village of Agawam became a Puritan settlement in 1633 as an outpost of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The community was named Ipswich in 1634 upon the official founding of the town. Click on any photo to begin the slideshow. Click on the X in the upper […]
Lords Square
Lords Square was known as Brewer’s Corner in early Ipswich. John Brewer was a town clerk and being on what was then the outskirts of town owned a large lot, which he divided into sections and sold. Brewer’s First Period home at 82 High Street was built in […]
Great Neck
Before the settlement of Ipswich was begun in 1633 by John Winthrop, William Jeffrey, who had come over in 1623, had purchased from the Indians a title to the glacial drumlin which bears his name. By 1639 the whole tract was set apart as a common pasture by the new town, and in 1666 the General Court gave Jeffrey five hundred acres of land elsewhere. After the early eighteenth century, the Necks remained as the only common lands retained by the Commoners.
Little Neck
Featured image: “Wolf Moon” over Little Neck, January 1, 2018. Photo by Susan Turner Po In 1639, two wealthy brothers William and Robert Paine (aka Payne) procured a grant of land in the town of Ipswich from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In about 1649 Robert offered to “erect […]
Bill George’s nostalgic look at old Ipswich
Paul Valcour interviewed Bill George twice for his show on Ipswich ICAM, and Bill shared his collection of old Ipswich photographs.
A photographic history of the Ipswich Mills Dam
Until 350 years ago, the Ipswich River ran unencumbered from its origin 35 miles upstream, carving its way through a 148-square-mile watershed. Herring, shad, salmon and alewife swam upstream to spawn. Thomas Franklin Waters noted that, “Great shoals of alewives came up the river in the Spring and were seined […]
A photographic and chronological history of the Ipswich Schools
In 1652, the Town of Ipswich voted “For the better aiding of the school and the affairs thereof,” money toward the building a Grammar school and paying the school master, By the 19th Century there were at 10 grammar schools spread throughout the town in addition to the high school.
Photos from the Great Snow of 2015
Images from the blizzard, January 27, 2015 and the series of snowstorms that followed. Many photos are from the I Love Ipswich Facebook group. Featured image: The road into Crane Beach, by Diane Young. Click on any photo to start the slideshow. Click on the small X in the upper […]
Along the Old Bay Road
In November 1639, the General Court in Boston ordered that the first official road be laid out from Boston to Portsmouth. Bay Road was to be constructed by each town along the way and milestones carved in stone were installed to indicate distances. Some (but not all) of […]
