Slavery in Ipswich: A historical walking tour

Welcome to "Slavery in Ipswich: A Historical Walking Tour" produced by the Ipswich Museum.  On this tour, we will visit 6 spots around Ipswich and connect those places with the people and events that give us a little insight into the lives... Read more

This piece of land, which is now a parking lot for the municipal buildings behind it, was once the site of a home that is now preserved at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. Among the many residents of th... Read more

Standing at Sawmill Point across County Rd., we can look out into the wide, shallow bend in the Ipswich River known as Great Cove. At one time, this was a busy part of the river as large ships were able to navigate upstream from Town Wharf.... Read more

Over 400 Ipswich men served in the military during the Civil War in the 1860s. Of those soldiers, 60 of them died in battle or of disease, and another 75 were wounded and 18 held prisoner. To our knowledge, all of these soldiers were white,... Read more

On August 6th, 1795, an enslaved man named Pomp, who had been arrested for the murder of his master, Charles Furbush, arrived in chains to the meeting house at the First Church of Ipswich to hear a final sermon from Reverend Frisbie. Pomp w... Read more

Jenny Slew was born about 1719 to one white parent and one black parent. She lived as a free woman for most of her life until 1762 when she was kidnapped and enslaved for 3 years by John Whipple Jr. of Ipswich. Slew took Whipple to court ... Read more