About us

The Ipswich Museum was originally founded in 1890 as the Ipswich Historical Society. Today, our collection reflects over 100 years of acquisition and preservation by these early visionaries. We continue to honor the original mission of the society to preserve Ipswich’s social, cultural, and architectural history and to make these treasures more accessible, relevant, and connected to our day-to-day lives.

Our museum is anchored by two significant properties: the 1677 Whipple House and the 1800 Heard House, which serves as our headquarters. Both properties are filled with original architectural detail, furnishings, and artifacts that give visitors an intimate glimpse into the lives of early Ipswich residents. We also have the Alexander Knight House on-site, directly next to the Whipple House. The house is a model of an original structure built in 1657 and an example of a more typical first-period home.

Beyond the physical structures and important objects that comprise our collection you will find our most valuable asset: the narrative of our town, its origin, why we grew, and what made Ipswich such an extraordinary place for immigrants, artists, and tycoons alike.

There are hundreds of stories to discover through the Ipswich Museum. We invite you to dig a little deeper, explore, question, and come away with a better understanding of your own history.

Genealogy Resources:

1. New England Historical Genealogical Society: Use the free, searchable index to the NEHGS Register linked below, which the Ipswich Public Library has available in print form in our special collections, and are often available virtually through other institutions. Search Database Here.

2. Historicipswich.net: The Town Historian, Gordon Harris’, website covers a wealth of topics and resources about all things Ipswich history. Historicipswich.net

3. Ipswich Ancient Town Records: The Town’s website has made available PDFs of microfilm containing Town Records dating back to the 1600s. A valuable tool that encompasses many dimensions of Town history, do be aware that the PDFs are large and take a long time to load. Be patient with them! Find Town Records Here.

4. The Internet Archive: Offers scanned full-length PDFs of Ipswich Town Reports, yearbooks, and other items. Available through the Library website under the Archives and Local History Section. 

5. Historic Newspapers Database: Offers scans of Ipswich newspapers through 1999. Available through the Library website under the “Archives and Local History Section”. Access to newer scans is available on a different website but only to users with an IPL card.  ipswich.advantage-preservation.com

6. Chronicling America: Free historical newspaper database available through the Library of Congress. chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

7. The Massachusetts Commonwealth Archives: The State Archives, located in Dorchester, MA provide access to their finding aids, contact information, Massachusetts Vital Records, and more, through this link.

8. MACRIS:  The Massachusetts Cultural Resources Information System offers information on historic homes and structures, and more, through an easy-to-use search function. Ideal for house research projects. Before accessing the maps and the database, you must agree to the Terms and Conditions of use! Access Here. 

9. Digital Commonwealth: This site, managed by the Boston Public Library, provides access to thousands of images, documents, and sound recordings that have been digitized by member institutions so that they may be available to researchers, students, and the general public. Search locally for Ipswich-related items here.