Quick History Stops: Ipswich, MA, Part 4

This post comes a day earlier than usual, as Friday is American Independence Day, colloquially known as “the Fourth of July”. This is the fourth and final post in my miniseries of quick history stops in Ipswich. For a quick history review, I shared a pair of banks, a post office, murals on a factory building, and a story from the Industrial Revolution in Part 1. I shared the Riverwalk, a war memorial, the town visitor center, a commercial block, and other historic buildings in Part 2. I shared the history of three churches, a school building, the library, and informational signage in Part 3. Now I will finish up with several war memorials, an art installation, a very old bridge, public buildings, and a church with interesting tangents in its backstory.

In the middle of the green was a tall obelisk erected in 1871 in honor of soldiers who died in the American Civil War. The names of each man were listed on plaques embedded in the base. Other monuments in the area included a plaque to the Ipswich soldiers and sailors of the American Revolution, which was placed by the now-defunct Agawam Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1923, and a plaque to deceased members of the also-defunct American Legion Auxiliary Unit No. 80, which was placed in 1977. I did not know much about the American Legion Auxiliary and discovered it is a club for those whose family member are in the American Legion, an organization for United States Veterans. While originally for women only, the American Legion Auxiliary now accepts husbands of veterans but no other male relatives. The final monument was erected by the General James Appleton Woman’s Relief Corps of Ipswich in 1897 as a tribute to unknown Union soldiers. Once again, the Woman’s Relief Corps still exists if barely, but the Ipswich chapter does not.

Near the memorials was “High Spirits” installed by local sculptor Chris Williams in 2017. The bronze, tree-like statue has gnarled, leafless branches topped by folded metal that looks like paper cranes. Names of other local artists are carved into the artwork, but the nearby plaque did not give detailed explanation on how to learn more. Williams explained on his website that the piece is dedicated to Robin Silverman, who had founded an Ipswich Arts Cooperative, and her husband Rick had donated the statue to the town several years after her death in 2009. Unfortunately, he had not properly alerted the town about his pending donation, sparking a debate at a town meeting in 2015 and causing the delay in installation.

Ipswich Savings Bank was incorporated in 1869, although its little neoclassical style headquarters on 23 Market Street were not constructed until after 1909. Between 2002 and 2017, the bank was subjected to 17 mergers and acquisitions during which it became part of TD Bank, the current name on the building.

At last, after plenty of hype, I am providing information on Choate Bridge! Constructed in 1764, this stone arch bridge extends South Main Street over the Ipswich River. The bridge is believed to be one of the oldest in North America and likely the very oldest in Massachusetts, earning it a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 along with the honor of a Historic Landmark as determined by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). According to a convenient list created by Oldest.org, other old bridges constructed in a similar style include Kingston Bridge in Kingston, NJ (1798), Skippack Bridge in Lower Providence Township, PA (1792), Stony Brook Bridge in Princeton, NJ (1792), a mostly buried and unusable bridge in Bound Brook, NJ (1730), and Frankford Avenue Bridge in Philadelphia, PA (1697). It is important to note that Choate Bridge was widened for two-way traffic in 1838 and later paved to accommodate modern vehicles, while Frankford Avenue Bridge, the only older usable bridge on the list and also an ASCE historic landmark, was widened twice with more substantial impact to the original design.

Memorial Hall on 33 Central Street was constructed in 1921 in memory of veterans from Ipswich and for a time served as one of the many schools in Ipswich. The architectural firm was Andrews, Rantoul, & Jones, which had formed in 1909. If the name sounds familiar but slightly off, that is because Andrews, Jaques, & Rantoul oversaw the 1900 renovation of the Worcester County Courthouse, now housing apartments and the Major Taylor Museum. Jaques had retired to be replaced by Jones. The updated firm would build the white marble wings of the Massachusetts State House between 1914 and 1917.

Immanuel Baptist Church on 45 Central Street is a fairly nondescript mid-20^th century red brick church building, but the history of Baptists in Ipswich is much more interesting. According to minister Thomas Franklin Waters, author of Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founder of the Ipswich Historical Society (now Ipswich Museum), the first Baptists were led by “Elder Pottle” beginning in 1806. I was so intrigued by the name of the religious upstart that I needed to find out more. The only other reference was a broadside “Hints to Elder Pottle” written by Jonathan Plummer and apparently misattributed to 1700 by the Library of Congress.

As for Plummer, he turned out to be more interesting than Elder Pottle. The blog Historical Nerdery by Alexander R. Cain reported that Plummer lived in the Newbury area and found a fan in famous abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier (I have visited his home in Amesbury, MA!) for his talent with memorized and impromptu song and poetry, if sometimes serenading at inappropriate moments and unable to hold a regular job. J.L. Bell of Boston 1775 suspected that Plummer may have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder today, and I concur that Plummer was likely neurodivergent.

Back to our Ipswich Baptists, many had “withdrawn” from the Congregational church in the 1810s, which encouraged others to later form the Methodist and Unitarian churches. Since separation of church and state would not occur in Massachusetts until 1833, this caused an issue regarding taxes. Baptists were required to present certificates that they were members of the Baptist Society to avoid paying taxes to the Congregational church. The Baptist Society went “extinct” for a time but was later revived and recognized as First Baptist Church of Ipswich in 1892. The original wooden church building was not dedicated until 1898, and the congregation changed its name to Immanuel Baptist Church. The current building is on a lot next to the original building site.

Finally, Central Fire Station on 55 Central Street was built in 1907, back when the fire engines were pulled by horses. A request for a extension in the 1950s was shut down, and the building looks essentially how it did when first constructed. With that, my quick history stops of Ipswich are over! If you complete all the stops on foot, you will end up walking several miles, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes and athletic socks. I also recommend a hat, sunglasses, and water, especially if you visit in summer. Be sure to take a camera to snap your own photos of the unique and historical infrastructure.