Ipswich is on the North Shore of metropolitan Boston. Boston's South Shore leads to Cape Cod. Boston's North Shore is Cape Ann.

Go north from Boston to 128 (also known as "the inner beltway" and as Interstate 95), then keep going north about as far as you've already come. Welcome to Ipswich.

Ipswich now hosts a largish, high-tech employer: EBSCO Publishing. They are housed in old mill buildings originally constructed in the early part of the last century and most famously where Ipswich Hosiery was manufactured. Their part of downtown Ipswich includes the old (but very sturdy) dam across the river that once provided water power to the mill and is still popularly called the Sylvania Dam. Through a fortunate confluence of interests of EBSCO and Ipswich, several development projects focussing on the Ipswich river that borders EBSCO's buildings have been undertaken. The fish ladder constructed in 1910 has been replaced with a new one that actually works, and construction of a footbridge and connecting paths to form an easily accessible "riverwalk" is nearly completed. Several earlier footbridges crossed the river --usually on top of the dam-- and were used mainly by mill workers. (You can still see the support block of the last footbridge in the middle of the current dam.) The last footbridge was damaged beyond repair then removed in 1973 when a wall accidentally collapsed during the demolition of what was then the Sylvania paint shop building.

The Town of Ipswich is the last town on the Ipswich River before it flows into the ocean. The river flooded fairly badly in May 2006. One of Mass Audubon's wildlife sanctuaries is on the river. The health of the whole river from which many towns draw their water is the principal concern of the Ipswich River Watershed Association.

There are five vehicle bridges across the Ipswich River in the town of Ipswich, three entirely within the town and two crossing to a neighboring town. The town of Ipswich also contains one railroad bridge and one pedestrian bridge over the Ipswich River. And there are two other vehicle bridges in the town of Ipswich, one over the Fox Creek Canal and the other over Labor In Vain Creek.

The three vehicle bridges entirely in the town of Ipswich are: the recently rebuilt Green Street bridge used locally, the almost hidden County Street bridge, and the Choate bridge that carries traffic through downtown on Route 1A (and Route 133). The Choate Bridge is the oldest remaining stone bridge in America that carries routine traffic. It carries the two lanes of vehicular traffic (one each way) of State Route 1A, pedestrians on a sidewalk on the upstream side, and various utility pipes and wires tucked away on the downstream side. It was originally constructed in 1764, then widened in 1838. It was repaired and restored in 1989 supposedly for the next century, but some of its footings had to be repaired again in spring 2006 because of significant flood damage. The two vehicle bridges to other towns are the small Willowdale Road bridge (known in Hamilton as the Winthrop Street bridge) into a back part of Hamilton, and Warner's Bridge which carries Mill Road linking Ipswich and Hamilton. Warner's Bridge (known as the Highland Street bridge in Hamilton), originally constructed of dry-laid stones in 1827-1829, like the Choate Bridge is a historic treasure. Several of Ipswich's bridges were damaged by the flood of spring 2006.

There are two dams across the river in the town of Ipswich, both built to power former mills. The Willowdale Dam was built for the Willowdale Mill (perhaps better known as Manning's Mill), an early textile mill that ran from the 1830's clear through the Civil War and beyond. The buildings are all gone now (destroyed by a second fire in 1884); only some stone foundations and some water channels remain. The pond behind Willowdale Dam is now the terminus for Foote Brothers Canoes. The Sylvania Dam (or EBSCO Dam as it's now often called) was used by the Ipswich Hosiery Factory, which peaked nearly a century later in the 1920's. Some of the buildings remain and are now occupied by EBSCO.

Ipswich is a place of great natural beauty and has committed to retaining some of its vistas undeveloped through its Open Space program. There are many places to walk, including part of the Bay Circuit Trail. Some of the land is part of the Great Marsh which stretches all the way from the backside of Cape Ann to the New Hampshire border and is considered one of the significant natural wonders of the whole east coast. One of Ipswich's principal geographic features is Crane Beach which is built up from ancient sand formations in the White Mountains of New Hampshire carried to the sea by the Merrimack River. Crane Beach is mostly owned and maintained by The Trustees of Reservation, but is partly owned by Ipswich for its citizens who enjoy almost free access to the beach.

Just before the turn of the millenium the town constructed and occupied a combined middle and high school which is quite nice. About half the cost of the building was paid for by the state. The building includes not only both schools but also a very large very nice auditorium which is used for school events, civic events, and arts events.

For a while I became involved in the local politics around my children's schools, including remarks on funding advocacy the Ipswich public schools (and even involvement in some past override campaigns as recorded in this summary of funding of the Ipswich public schools), our state's requirement to pass the MCAS test to graduate from high school, the federal No Child Left Behind program inspired by Massachusetts, and the education of gifted and talented students. Most intimately related to our public schools are the local property tax rate in Ipswich, the demographic size of Ipswich, the demographic composition of Ipswich, and the purpose and composition of the local Finance Committee.

Ipswich is a very old town with roots that easily stretch back to the time of the pilgrims. Specifically, it's one of the oldest towns in America, having been settled in 1633 and incorporated in 1634. History as well as scenery is important in Ipswich. A good place to learn about the past lives of Ipswich is the Ipswich Historical Society. Another is two Arcadia books of old photographs with extensive explanatory captions curated by Bill Varrell with the Ipswich Historical Society: Ipswich and Ipswich Revisted. A third good way to learn more about Ipswich is to think like a tourist, perhaps with help from Olde Ipswich Tours.

Here's another description of Ipswich which although initially motivated by genealogical research is quite thorough. Yet another webpage motivated by genealogical research that makes it very easy to obtain a wide variety of data about Ipswich is on ePodunk. And here's our local newspaper's take on Ipswich.

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