Ada K. Damon

Castle Hill is a 56,881 sq ft (5,284.4 m2) mansion in Ipswich, Massachusetts, which was completed in 1928 as a summer home for Mr. and Mrs. Richard Teller Crane, Jr. It is also the name of the 165-acre (67 ha) drumlin surrounded by sea and salt marsh that the home was built atop. Both are part of the 2,100-acre (850 ha) Crane Estate, located on Argilla Road. The estate includes the historic mansion, 21 outbuildings, and landscapes overlooking Ipswich Bay on the seacoast off Route 1, north of Boston. Its name derives from a promontory in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, from which many early Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers immigrated. The estate is a relatively intact work from the Country Place Era of the turn of the 20th century, when wealthy families built extensive country estates. The Crane Estate includes architectural and landscape designs from at least seven firms or individuals of national reputation, including the Olmsted Brothers and Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, and it is extensively documented. In recognition of its state of preservation and design, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998. The property is now owned by The Trustees of Reservations and is open to the public.

Ipswich River is a small river in northeastern Massachusetts, United States. It held significant importance in early colonial migrations inland from the ocean port of Ipswich. The river provided safe harborage at offshore Plum Island Sound to early Massachusetts subsistence farmers, who were also fishermen. A part of the river forms town boundaries and divides Essex County, Massachusetts on the coast from the more inland Middlesex County. It is 35 miles (56 km) long, and its watershed is approximately 155 square miles (401 km2), with an estimated population in the area of 160,000 people.Historically, the settlement of Essex County began at the oldest community there, the tiny seaport of Agawam (later renamed Ipswich, and not to be confused with present-day Agawam in Hampden County), and typically proceeded westward and northward along the Ipswich or its tributary creeks. When Middlesex County was formed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, only Salem and Charlestown across the Charles River mouth and Boston harbor's inner estuary from Boston's much smaller hill dominated peninsula were older settlements. The upper river runs through and drains at least parts of Burlington, the lower river forms part of the borders between the towns of: North Reading and Lynnfield Middleton and the city of Peabody Middleton and Danvers, and Boxford and Topsfield.The wide swamps along the river made it impossible to ford the stream anywhere east of Wilmington in colonial times. The only route north out of Boston to the northeast (today called the North Shore) was via the Andover Road, an often muddy track, later made a wagon road which forded the stream just below the confluence of Lubbers and Maple Meadow brooks.

Sandy Point State Reservation is a coastal Massachusetts state park located in the town of Ipswich at the southern tip of Plum Island. The reservation is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and is an important nesting area for the piping plover and the least tern. Access to the reservation is through the adjoining Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

Crane Beach is a 1,234-acre (4.99 km2) conservation and recreation property located in Ipswich, Massachusetts, immediately north of Cape Ann. It consists of a four-mile-long (6 km) sandy beachfront, dunes, and a maritime pitch pine forest. Five and a half miles of hiking trails through the dunes and forest are accessible from the beachfront. Crane Beach is open year-round, and is free to Ipswich residents with the purchase of a yearly beach parking sticker. Non-residents must pay a fee to enter ($40 on weekends during peak season for a car, as of August 2021). In the summer months there is a refreshment bar, and the restrooms, showers and changing facilities are open year-round. During low tide, it is often possible to wade out to sand bars, and during the warm months small boats often dock on these sand bars. Across the water, Plum Island and its sandy beaches are visible. Crane Beach was established in 1945 as a gift from Richard T. Crane Jr., son of Richard T. Crane, and his family. Along with Castle Hill and the Crane Wildlife Refuge, it is owned and maintained by The Trustees of Reservations. There is an annual celebration that takes place at the beach on June 16 (if the weather is sufficient) called Crane Beach Day. On this day, students from the Doyon and Winthrop Elementary Schools, as well as the Ipswich Middle School students, gather at the beach during the school day. The middle school students have the option to take part in a run that goes from the Ipswich Town Hall, to the beach. Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Crane, Jr. (previous owners of the Crane Estate) began a tradition of inviting all the Ipswich school children to the beach for a day in 1911 to celebrate their son, Cornelius’, 6th birthday. Ever since, the tradition of Crane Beach Day has been repeated. In 2011, the schools celebrated the 100th anniversary of the event. Several students, with birthdays closest to the day of the event, arrived at the beach by boat like they would when the tradition was started. There were people hired to impersonate the Crane family and greet people as they got to the beach, a replica of the old Ipswich Lighthouse, and even a special ice cream flavor dedicated to Cornelius (called “Cornelius Crunch”). In addition, every student received a celebratory t-shirt to wear to the beach, featuring a picture of Cornelius on his 6th birthday.Crane Beach is an important nesting site for the threatened piping plover. The 2006 International Piping Plover Breeding Census estimated that only 3,884 plovers remained. According to the same 2006 census, Crane Beach was home to 19 breeding pairs and 40 total adults.The Greenhead fly is active in this area for a few weeks in July and early August.The Cape Ann Transportation Authority (CATA) provides summer weekend bus service between the Ipswich MBTA train station and Crane Beach.

The Ipswich Range Lights are a pair of range lights on Crane Beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts. They have a long and varied story. They were first built as two brick towers, 542 feet (165 m) apart on a more or less east–west line in 1838. The movement of the sands led to shifting of the towers and by 1881 the rear tower, Ipswich Rear Range Light, was badly cracked. It was replaced by a cast-iron tower, while by 1867 the front light, Ipswich Front Range Light, had been replaced by a movable wood structure that could be shifted as the channel shifted. The front light was discontinued in 1932 and the rear light was replaced in 1938 with a skeleton tower. It, or its replacement, is still in service today. The 1881 cast-iron rear tower was loaded on a barge and shipped to Edgartown, Massachusetts, where it replaced the Edgartown Harbor Light that had been destroyed in the Hurricane of 1938.The modern light tower, located on the site of the Ipswich Range Rear Light as described above, is shown on Coast Guard lists and NOAA charts as Ipswich Light. It displays a white light which occults once every 4 seconds.

The Smith House, also known locally as the Tilton-Smith House, is a historic house in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Built in the first quarter of the 18th century, it is a good example of late First Period architecture. It suffered serious fire damage in 1998, but underwent a meticulous restoration. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

The House on Labor-in-Vain Road is a historic house in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Built about 1720 and enlarged c. 1810, it has a well-preserved assortment of architectural stylistic details predating 1850. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

The Crane Wildlife Refuge, located in Ipswich and Essex, Massachusetts, is a 674-acre (2.73 km2) property managed by The Trustees of Reservations. Located nearby are the Trustees of Reservations managed Castle Hill and Crane Beach. The refuge was established in 1974.

Grape Island, sometimes known as Grape Island, Ipswich, is a part of Plum Island, in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in the United States. For nearly two centuries, Grape Island was a small, but thriving community of fishermen, farmers, and clam diggers, until the land was purchased by the US Government and turned into a wildlife refuge in the middle of the 20th century. Its last resident was Lewis Kilborn, who lived his entire life on the island until his death in 1984.

Greenwood Farm is a historic property and nature reserve located in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and owned by The Trustees of Reservations. The farm is 216 acres of gardens, pastures, meadows, woodlands and salt marsh and it features the Paine (or Paine-Dodge) House, a First Period farmhouse constructed in 1694.

Hamlin Reservation is a nature reserve located in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The reserve was established by The Trustees of Reservations in 1993.

The Isaac Goodale House is a historic house in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Built about 1700, the house has many original First Period elements, despite its relocation to its present location in 1928. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, and is the subject of a preservation easement held by the Ipswich Historic Commission.