IPSWICH, a town of Essex county, Massachusetts, U.S.A., 28m. N.N.E. of Boston, on both sides of the Ipswich river and fronting on Ipswich bay; served by the Boston and Maine railroad. The population was 5,599 in 1930 and is increased in the summer by some 2,000 seasonal residents. The town was settled under the name of Aggawam in 1633 and was incorporated in 1634 as Ipswich. During the early days of the colony it was little inferior to Boston in wealth and influence, and frequently took an opposing position on public questions. Ipswich was the home of several
of the leading writers of the colonial period, including the Rev. Nathaniel Ward (1578-1652). A number of houses date from the 17th and i8th centuries. In the oldest, the John Whipple House, is the interesting collection of the Historical society. The Choate bridge, built in 1764, is the oldest arched bridge in America.