East End Historic District (Ipswich, Massachusetts)

Meetinghouse Green Historic District encompasses the historic 17th century heart of Ipswich, Massachusetts. The district runs along North Main Street, south from its junction with High Street to the southern end of the Meetinghouse Green. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.The Meetinghouse Green was laid out in 1634, not long after Ipswich was established, and was for many years the heart of its civic life. In addition to private residences, it was flanked by public facilities, including a meeting house, jail fort, and animal pound, as well as the stocks. Although it has since become predominantly residential, it is still the site of churches and the public library.Most of the thirty properties in the district are residential, with their construction divided between the 18th and 19th centuries. The 18th century houses are mainly Georgian in character, although there are a few houses that have some evidence of First Period origins, despite exterior decorations from a later period. The 19th century buildings are mostly Greek Revival or Italianate in character; there is one Queen Anne house (47 North Main), and one with Second Empire styling (21 North Main).

The Merrifield House, also known as Rosebank, is a historic house at 11 Woods Lane in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It was built c. 1792 by Francis Merrifield, Jr., a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. The main block of the house is a 2.5 story, nearly square, wood-frame structure with an off-center chimney. The house has a number of rambling additions, some of which may have been built by Merrifield to accommodate his large family. It is also somewhat unusual in having a second cooking fireplace in its second level.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The Wade House is a historic house in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The 1+1⁄2-story gambrel-roofed central chimney house was built in 1792 by Francis Merrifield, Jr. It was acquired in 1827 by Mary Wade, daughter of local Revolutionary War soldier Nathaniel Wade. It has been in the Wade family since then. The house originally had two rooms downstairs and two upstairs; the rear of the house was added in two stages. A number of period details survive, including the central staircase and paneled doors. Fragments of period wallpaper have also been preserved, and reproduction wallpaper has been used in one of the downstairs rooms.The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Ipswich Female Seminary was an American female seminary in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The institution was an early school for the secondary and tertiary-level education of young women. Enrollment averaged 116 students. According to Academy records, 88 of the school's graduates went on to teach as educational missionaries in the western and southern United States.

The Benjamin Grant House is a historic house at 47 County Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It is a well-preserved early Georgian house, built c. 1735 by Benjamin Grant. He was killed in the French and Indian War, and the house subsequently came into the hands of the Ross family, who owned it well into the 20th century. The house is a 2+1⁄2-story colonial with a central chimney. The front portion of the house consists of two rooms, one on either side of the chimney, behind which is a single-story leanto addition. The interior of the house has remained well preserved, showing numerous Georgian details.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and is subject to a local preservation restriction.

Choate Bridge (1764) is a historic stone arch bridge carrying Route 1A/Route 133 (South Main Street) over the Ipswich River in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest surviving bridges in North America, and is probably the oldest in Massachusetts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and also has been designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

The Burnham-Patch House is a historic house at 1 Turkey Shore Road in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The 2+1⁄2-story Colonial stands on a plot of land purchased by Thomas Burnham in 1667, occupying a prominent position on Turkey Shore Road, a historically important path to the coast. The house itself appears to have been built around 1730, with evidence that some of its beams were reused from an older, 17th century, structure. Its irregular interior floorplan suggests that it may have been built following the old house's floorplan. The property remained in the Burnham family until 1795, when it was sold to Colonel John Patch, a leading local figure in the American Revolutionary War. In 1814 the house was purchased by Abner Day, who operated a tavern on the premises for many years.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is under a local preservation restriction.

The Heard-Lakeman House is a historic house at 2 Turkey Shore Road in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Nathaniel and John Heard built this 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house in 1776 for Nathaniel to live in. He sold it in 1795 to Richard Lakeman III, member of a seafaring family. The house is notable for an extremely large chimney with an arched foundation over 11 feet (3.4 m) long, which supports two large fireplaces. The building was a notable object of restoration during the Colonial Revival in the 1920s.The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and is subject to local preservation restrictions.

The Shoreborne Wilson House is a historic colonial house at 4 South Main Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house was built between 1685 and 1692 by Shoreborne Wilson, a cooper. It has a basic four-room center chimney plan, of which Wilson built the northwest section. The house was acquired by Captain Samuel Appleton in 1702, who likely built the southeast section. In the following years the house went through a variety of uses. It underwent a restoration of sorts in the 1920s, in which fireplaces and trim details were replaced.The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Ipswich is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Ipswich in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,222 at the 2010 census.

The Ipswich Historical Society (IHS) in Ipswich, Massachusetts was founded by Reverend Thomas Franklin Waters in 1890. The Society initially had no headquarters, and met in the studio of artist Arthur Wesley Dow. They eventually found a better place to meet in the Odd Fellows Hall. The Society's first major project would be to restore the John Whipple House, and make part of it their headquarters.

The Caldwell Block is a historic block on S. Main Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts. It is the oldest surviving building in Ipswich that was designed as a commercial and retail space, and is still used for that purpose. It is located prominently in the center of Ipswich, at the junction of North and South Main Streets, and Central and Market Streets. It was built in 1870 by Luther Caldwell, on the site of an old woolen mill that was destroyed by fire a few years earlier, and features Italianate styling. The building has always housed retail stores on the ground floor and office space above. It is notable as the location of the offices of writer John Updike between 1961 and 1974, when he wrote many of his works there.The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.