Ipswich’s distinctive inland and coastal landscape features, particularly the expansive marshland, were instrumental in shaping the history of the community from the earliest Native American use of the land to the present day.

Ipswich is one of the few Essex County towns where there are confirmed Native American sites of the Pawtucket group (locally known as Agawams) along the coast. European settlement began in 1633 at Jeffrey’s Neck and the town of Ipswich was incorporated in 1634. The first meetinghouse was constructed in 1635. Meetinghouses in several other locations were established soon thereafter, most of which became parts of other municipalities in later years. The first meetinghouse green has remained the focus of the town’s civic center throughout the community’s history.

Agriculture, fishing and shipping were all important contributors to the early economic base. Agriculture continued throughout three centuries, evidenced by Appleton Farm where the same family farmed from 1638 until the late 1990s. In the 19th century, maritime industries in Ipswich were eclipsed by Newburyport, Gloucester and Salem mostly due to the lack of a deep water port at Ipswich. In the first quarter of the 19th century there was a shift in industrial development to textiles, lace production and shoe making, the latter two as cottage industries. However the lace industry collapsed in the 1830s and some of the small shops turned to stocking manufacturing under the name of Ipswich Mills which became the Ipswich Hosiery Mills in the late 19th century until its closing in 1928. Some shoe and other hosiery manufacturers continued into the 1950s.

Major transportation routes were established in the 17th century along Native American trails. The north-south route was along High Street and County Road from the late 1600s. Topsfield Road was an east-west route laid out by 1717. The Ipswich Turnpike (1A) opened in 1803 and the Newburyport Turnpike (Rt. 1) came soon after in 1806. Stage travel connected Ipswich with Boston until the advent of the Eastern Railroad in 1839 connecting Ipswich with Salem, Boston and Portsmouth, New Hampshire with a depot at Market and Winter Streets. Bridges were important links connecting the various parts of town split by the rivers. From 1900 to 1919 the Boston & Northern Electric Street Railway brought workers to the mills. Ipswich was bypassed by the Rt. 128 construction and later by Rt. 95, but the Boston to Portsmouth line of the Boston & Maine Railroad remained active until 1968.

The population of Ipswich in the 1700s was high with just over 4,500 persons in 1775. The town ranked second in wealth in Essex County at that time. However, this changed significantly by 1830 with a decline in population to 2,949 residents. It is likely that this was in part due to four annexations of parts of the early Ipswich to other towns between the American Revolution and the 1820s. There was a substantial rise in the population between 1870 and 1915 when the number of residents nearly doubled to 6,272 persons. Immigrants were Irish, English and French Canadians followed by Poles and Greeks all who came to work in the textile mills. During the late 20th century the population doubled to 13,085. Ipswich Reconnaisance Report, Essex County Landscape Inventory, Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program (pdf document)

Essex’s distinctive coastal landscape features were instrumental in shaping the history of the community from the earliest Native American use of the land to the 19th century boat making, fishing and farming.

Native American sites date back to the Woodland period of development (1,000 B.C.E.-1,500 C.E.). The first European settlement in 1634 in Essex was known as Ipswich’s Chebacco Parish. By 1673 the Essex River hosted grist and saw mills as well as boat building. The first meetinghouse was not established here until 1679 and was the center of Ipswich’s eighth parish. The town remained a parish of Ipswich until 1819 when the area was incorporated as the town of Essex; however the final boundaries with Gloucester and Hamilton fluctuated until the 20th century.

The early agricultural settlement during the Plantation Period (1620-1675) in outlying areas of Essex was sustained by growing fruit and vegetable crops as well as hemp, flax and the harvesting of salt marsh hay. By the Colonial Period (1675-1775) fishing became an important part of the local economy. The saw mills on the Essex River were the sustenance of the substantial ship building industry here. Chebacco boats, characteristic of the area, were built on the Essex River and used for fishing. In fact at the turn of the 19th century there were more than 2,000 Chebaccos in Essex and nearby seafaring towns. In the early 1800s there was a shift to large ship building and ancillary businesses such as the manufacturing of ropes and lines, sails, masts, pumps and blocks. Fishing, including clamming, remained important to the economic base. For a brief time up to the 1870s, small shoe manufacturing establishments were successful, until the industry yielded to Lynn, the center of shoe making.

In the early 1800s several bridges were built over the Essex River including Great Bridge in 1824 which was a draw bridge carrying the Causeway over the River. The Essex Canal Company was established in 1820 and a canal was dredged from the Chebacco River to Fox Creek to bring lumber from the Merrimac Valley. Essex had three centers of industrial activity: at the Falls in the west, the Causeway at the central village near the mouth of the Essex River, and South Essex. These three districts were not well linked until the mid-19th century after the construction of Martin Street between the Falls and the Causeway, which already linked the central village with South Essex. The introduction of the railroad occurred in 1872 when the Essex Branch of the B&M Railroad was extended from Wenham to Essex Center. This railroad line was further extended in 1887 to South Essex and in the 1890s it connected with the Gloucester Street Railway and the Salem and Lynn Street Railway. In the early 1900s the Essex River was dredged to accommodate larger ships.

Essex’s population fluctuated only slightly throughout the traditional periods of development. In the early 20th century there were 1,677 residents which dropped to 1,384 in 1940. In the second half of the 20th century the population rose substantially to 3,260 in 1990. However, this number is low compared to surrounding communities. This is accounted for in part by the lack of areas suitable for development due to the high water table, clay deposits (poor drainage) and rock ledges. Essex Reconnaisance Report, Essex County Landscape Inventory, Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program (pdf document)