Ipswich Museum

Bag Lunch Series- Find the Influence of Ancient Civilization in Ipswich
2023-10-02 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | Ipswich Museum, 54 South Main Street, Ipswich, MA, 01938, United States
Speaker: Sam Hamlin, retired third grade teacher from Shore Country Day school will take you on a tour in search of remnants of ancient civilization here in Ipswich. You will see Ipswich in a new light.
Ipswich Seniors and Members: free
Non-Members: $5

Bag Lunch Series- From Plant to Fiber
2023-11-06 12:00 - 13:00
Speakers: Katherine Chaison, curator, and Susan Landry, textile specialist, will conduct a museum experiment of growing and processing flax. This will be fascinating.
Ipswich Seniors and Members: free
Non-Members: $5

Bag Lunch Series: Letters Home from the Ipswich Female Seminary 1830-1837
2024-02-05 12:00 - 13:00
Ann Brown, historian, has found some very interesting letters in Mount Holyoke’s archives, written by three seminary students: Harriet Johnson, Maria Cowles and Austa Winchell. Together they provide some interesting insights into what it was like to be a student at the Ipswich Female Seminary, (boarding, rhythm of the day, curriculum, discipline and their success in teaching opportunities). Her talk will focus on the anecdotal stories provided by these young women in their letters to their families back home.
Members: Free | Non-members: $5

Bag Lunch Series: Saving the Rooster
2024-03-04 12:00 - 13:00
Gordon Harris, Ipswich Town Historian
The gilded weathercock at the First Church in Ipswich has graced the steeple of every church at that location since the middle of the 18th century and was likely created by Deacon Shem Drowne (1683-1744), America’s first documented weathervane maker. In 1915, when the steeple was set afire by lightning, the Fire Department’s new steamer was able to extinguish the blaze but the damaged rooster was removed. Photographer George Dexter created and sold “Save the Rooster” postcards to pay for the cost of returning the rooster to the church steeple.
Members: Free | Non-members: $5

Bag Lunch Series: Through All Her Wealth of Woods and Waters: The Ipswich Wednesday Walkers
2024-04-01 12:00 - 13:00
A panel of Wednesday Walkers, Kay Evans and friends, with many years together and separately of exploring the rich trail resources in the Ipswich landscape, will share some of their experiences and welcome stories and questions from the audience. Kay is an 18 yr. Ipswich resident and “A Historical Townie” through her mother’s Gilbert line.
Members: Free | Non-members: $5

Bag Lunch Series: Objects from the Museum Collection
2024-05-06 12:00 - 13:00
Join curator, Katherine Chaison, in this show and tell lecture where she shares with the audience special items from the museum’s collection that are not generally on view. This is a popular talk with members.
Members: Free | Non-members: $5

Bag Lunch Series: Into Each Life: A Musical Masterpiece
2024-06-03 12:00 - 13:00
David Grimes, composer, will talk about the creation of this important piece of work which chronicles the first 21 years of his life and the impact it had on his creative and personal development. David earned his Masters of Music at the University of Toronto and co-founded the Canadian Electronic Ensemble. His composition Increscents won the CBC National Radio Competition for young composers.
Members: Free | Non-members: $5

Bag Lunch Series: The Story of Bees
2024-09-09 12:00 - 13:00
Eve and Sam Hamlin share details and their experiences as beekeepers along the marsh in Ipswich. They will give quick history of beekeeping over the years and talk about some of the challenges that all beekeepers face in today’s changing climate.
Members: Free | Non-members: $5

Bag Lunch Series: Indigenous Heritage of the East Coast and the Migration of Indigenous People
2024-10-07 12:00 - 13:00
Etay, Denise Cooper, Brian Young and other tribal members discuss their rich and honored heritage. The American Antiquarian Society, built on Nipmuc homelands is a repository for early Algonquian-language monographs, manuscript collections and early town records containing vital and unique information about Nipmuc and Indigenous peoples of the New England region.
Members: Free | Non-members: $5

Bag Lunch Series: Historic and Ecological Significance of the Butterfly Meadow
2024-11-04 12:00 - 13:00
Mike DeRosa of DeRosa & Assoc. will discuss the Butterfly Meadow. 18th and 19th century maps for Ipswich reveal the property, located across from the Heard House, remained a rare surviving example of open space along the river as the village developed its densely settled contemporary appearance. Today, the property represents a small ecological habitat. Its proximity to the Great Marsh increases its potential to attract migrating birds and butterfly populations. Mike DeRosa will talk about the meadow’s significance and diversity of soils, plant cover and invasives. DeRosa Environmental Consulting are helping with management of the meadow.
Members: Free | Non-members: $5

Objects of Interest
2026-01-05 12:00 - 13:00
Join curator, Katherine Chaison as she selects items and objects from our vast collection to share with our members. It is always fun to see rare items that are not in public view.

Ipswich Lace
2026-02-02 12:00 - 13:00
Come hear Susan Landry, textile specialist as she talks about the history of Ipswich Lace and show objects from our collection used to make the lace. Included in this talk will be lace patterns, pricklings, and Ipswich lace samples made over the years. There will be some modern lace making tools on view as well as a short demonstration.

The Early Voyages of Augustine Heard
2026-03-02 12:00 - 13:00
Join Robert Gray, Heard descendant as he talks about his recent research on his family.
During the late 1830s Augustine Heard of Ipswich composed a list of his early voyages during 1805-1830, from ship “Eliza” to Leghorn from Eben Francis through barque “Lintin to Canton with Bennet Forbes. This talk provides an illustrated embellishment of Heard’s list and the ships, people, and places involved—including the most famous of the voyages popularized in books by Robert Bennet Forbes, Thomas Franklin Waters, and Samuel Eliot Morison. Several contradictions and inconsistencies among the stories are resolved and reconciled with historical documents.

Women in Ipswich History
2026-04-06 12:00 - 13:00
Gordon Harris, town historian will share stories of women in Ipswich from the first settlement to the present century. Learn about Ann Dudley Bradstreet, the first published poet, Emma Jane Mitchell Safford, a descendant of Massasoit; Jenny Slew, the first enslaved person to successfully sue for freedom, Eunice Caldwell, who returned to her hometown in 1844 to run the Ipswich Female Seminary and many others.

Eating Well, Living Well: Cook and Be Free
2026-05-04 12:00 - 13:00
Join Chef Sarah Naugler for ideas on how to eliminate kitchen nightmares and make cooking fun.
She is a graduate of the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts and spent ten years working with prestigious Chefs of Boston and the North Shore. She eventually left that lifestyle and ventured into private cooking. Here her love of culinary arts began. She has instructed students of all ages on how to master the art of cooking with the goal of her students being able to turn the knowledge they gained into daily living. She will be covering subjects such as affordability, menu planning and development around different lifestyles and about kids and how to get them curious, excited and thinking about their next meal.

Loom Demonstration
2026-06-01 12:00 - 13:00
Come listen to a talk and demonstration on weaving. Diane Howe, weaver will explain techniques and tools used in this process. There will be a small pop-up exhibit downstairs in the Whipple House to see items made in that time period. This talk and demonstration will be held on the second floor of the Whipple House.

Remembering September 11th
2026-09-14 12:00 - 13:00
Join Stephanie Gaskins, Dow Curator as she takes us down memory lane to encourage a conversation on where you were on that very sad day and what memories do you recall of that time period. This is an interactive discussion.

Gems from the Archives
2026-10-05 12:00 - 13:00
Heidi Horner, archivist at the Ipswich Public Library, will introduce us to special items from the Ipswich Public Library’s archival collections focused on local history. Heidi studied archives management and library science at Simmons University, and got her start in archives at the Cape Ann Museum and the Harvard University Archives. She has lived in Gloucester for 16 years and loves to research Virginia Lee Burton, the Folly Cove Designers, and other local creative people and collectives.
