Miscellaneous
LABOR-IN-VAIN, WHY?
If you were sailing down the river and you rounded Nabby’s Point you would find high banks on each side and a channel too crooked for eels until you got to Gould’s Creek with varying winds and you would tack and tack so the old people called it Labor-in-Vain.
WHY THE NINTH WARD?
In the early years below Willcomb’s was not considered quite civilized, though many good people lived there, but the clammers and fishermen were a rough bunch and it was named after the Ninth Ward in New York which was the toughest place anybody knew of. So while it is still Ninth Ward the atmosphere has changed and it is now quite a respectable part of the town.
The North Green before the opening of Central Street was the center of most of the activities of the town. Treadwell’s Tavern, later the Agawam and the stables of the Eastern Storage Company, were where 50 to 100 horses wee fed and groomed. Blacksmiths shod the horses and businessmakers repaired the harnesses.
The arrival of the stage coach was an event and crowds gathered to watch. The landlord, Mr. Treadwell, a well dressed man with ruffled shirt front and Chesterfield manners welcomed the guests and gallantly helped the ladies. The passengers were then dined and rested before going on.
Before the days of Railroads the Ipswich Courts were the most important in this section. Political Conventions were held here as the most central part of the County. Court weeks say many well known judges and lawyers, often provided many exciting incidents.
The Courthouse was moved many years ago to the site of the present Damon Block and burned in 1894.
The present Odd Fellows building was the Probate Court.
Near the site of the Girl Scout House was the gaol and the Patch house. In the old gaol many of those arrested as witches were confined.
The building on North Main Street with the overhanging second story was the first Post Office.
The picture in the center spread gives a good view of Town Hill looking towards the Green. The first building on the right is the Ipswich Female Seminary the first founded exclusively for girls to give degrees. The Founders were Miss Zilpha Grant and Miss Mary Lyons who later founded Mt. Holyoke.
Next is the parsonage and in the center is the Church. The building with the cupola is the Courthouse.
In the center is the old North Church. This was the fourth church on this site. It was torn down to make room for the present plank Gothic church.
The clock and the rooster are among the oldest in the country.
For the first hundred years the town was governed by the Commoners, these men were what might be called the stockholders under the charter. They were the voters and elected the town officers; every officer had to be in good standing in the church.
The Commoners controlled and allotted the lands and decided who could or could not live in Ipswich. They also were the church, the church at this time and the town was in reality one.
After about a hundred years they turned everything over to the town with certain conditions, deeding to the town the clam flats and beaches forever.
From 1636 to 1653 the minister was the REV. JOHN NORTON a very able and famous man. The Church in Boston wanted him to come there but the Ipswich people refused to release him. The controversy went until the legislature passed a special act requesting Ipswich release him but they still refused and next a special Committee from the Legislature came down and Ipswich finally gave in. The Nortons must have a spot in their hearts for Ipswich as his widow gave the land for the South Church.
The First Born
A daughter was born to THOMAS BROWN, weaver, the first white child born in Ipswich. No date! No name!
The First House
The house of Thomas Hardy was the first frame building erected in Ipswich. This house is beyond Agawam Avenue.
The First Tavern
September 3, 1633 Robert Andrews was licensed "to keep an ordinayre in the plantacon whre he lives, at the pleasure of the Court."
In these days of zoning and planning boards its interesting to look back to those early days and see town planning at its best. The early Boards if Selectmen exercised a strict control over all the doings of the townspeople. Note!
November 1, 1680. John Newmarch, Tythingman, reports that Richard Smith has a servant John Yell, many years and has never learned him to read.
October 1681. John Vatter a stranger, been here a week, reported by Daniel Hovey, tythingman. Ordered to depart.
Alexander Tomsoa entertained Philip Welshe’s family contrary to town order.
May 18, 1661. Henry Batchelder and his wife for absenting themselves from publick worship ordered to dispose of their estate and move nearer to town so that they could more easily attend publick worship.
December 29, 1634. That the neck of land whereupon the great hill standeth which is known as Castle Hill lying on the other sied of the river towards the sea shall remain for the common use of the town.
1651. John Stone was admonished by the Selectmen to make bigger bread and to take heed of offending by making too little bread thereafter.
1639. There were three taverns in Ipswich run by Goodmans Lumkins, Firmin and Treadwell.
In 1669 Ipswich had 400 houses.
Pomp was a slave and his master told him that when he died he would set Pomp free and leave him money to live on. Pomp got impatient of waiting so he killed the master and was hanged on the Gallows Lot.
(Corner of Mile Lane and Rowley Road)
There used to be a house between that of Capt. Lakeman (Peters) and the Boardman (Hodgkins) house and Mrs. Fisher decided to take a large flat stone for a door step. As she lifted the stone, underneath was an Indian grave. The skeleton was sitting upright and was surrounded by arrowheads and spearheads, a tomahawk and a kettle. She replaced the stone and left the brave to his long sleep. Is he still there?
In the Historical House is a panel board taken from an old house on East Street. On this panel is a painting, dim with age, rather crude, but a good example of an early American primitive. It shows Stage Hill with the fish houses and fishing boats, an English flag on one boat dates it as before the Revolution. It is the only picture of Ipswich at this time.