Walking tours of historic Ipswich

The National Trust for Historic Preservation defines heritage tourism as “traveling to experience the places that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.” The historic neighborhoods of Meeting House Green, High Street, the East End, and the South Green offer well-preserved streetscapes of 17th to 20th-century homes. Walking tours of historic Ipswich are led by local historian Gordon Harris, who tells the stories of the town’s historic houses and the people who lived in them. Powerpoint presentations to groups are also available.

Self-guided tours: Download a comprehensive 4-mile tour of historic Ipswich as a PDF document

Reserve a private tour

To request group or family tours, please email gordonharris2@gmail.com or call / text (978) 979-6598. Please indicate which tour you are requesting, the number in your group and provide your email address. The charge for private standard tours, up to two hours, is $100 for the group, regardless of size.

Custom ancestry and architectural tours by request

Ipswich is the country’s best-preserved Puritan town, and its residents have been the proud custodians of its history. Many persons trace their roots back through several generations to Ipswich, one of the earliest towns in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Local historian Gordon Harris leads customized tours for people wishing to “walk in the footsteps of their forefathers,” and we visit the neighborhoods, houses, and gravestones of early settlers and their descendants. Custom tours were recently provided for descendants of Samuel Appleton, John Baker, John and Sarah Caldwell, John Cogswell, Isaac Cummings, William Fellows, Reginald Foster, Philip Fowler, Henry Gould, Daniel Hovey, Richard Kimball, Robert Kinsman, Robert Lord, Thomas Lowe, John and Judith Perkins, Henry Pindar, Anthony Potter, William Prichard, Daniel Rindge, John Shatswell, William Story, William Warner, John Whipple, and Ezekiel Woodward.

To reserve: Email Gordon Harris at gordonharris2@gmail.com or call / text (978) 979-6598. Please indicate your ancestry or architectural interest and a way to contact you. The charge for private custom tours is $150 for the group, regardless of size. The charge for ancestry/genealogy tours that require extra research is $200 for the group.

The red route is about a mile and starts at Meeting House Green. The longer version includes the green route and starts at the Ipswich Visitor Center.

Scheduled tours

Regular tours of historic Ipswich are scheduled occasionally during the warmer months and can be joined through open signup. View the tour calendar below. The charge for scheduled tours is $10 per person.

TO RESERVE: Email Ipswich historian Gordon Harris at gordonharris2@gmail.com or text (978) 979-6598. Please indicate the date of the tour you are requesting and a way to contact you.

Walking tour from Meeting House Green

This is our most popular tour and begins at Meeting House Green. It visits North Main Street and the East End (East, Summer, Water, and County Streets), and includes views of First Period houses and the River.

Duration: The distance is about 1.2 miles. The first part of the tour focuses on the Meeting House Green area, accompanied by early photos. The second part is a moderately paced walk with stops at historic buildings and locations, for a total of up to 2 hours. There’s something for everyone regardless of mobility or time restraints.

Start location: The garden across from the Ipswich Public Library, 25 N Main St. View at Google Maps.

Tour of the Old North Burying Ground

The Old North Burying Ground has some of the oldest gravestones in New England dating back to the late 17th Century, which are considered to be early American folk art. This leisurely walk in the Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich includes up to a hundred tombstones carved between 1673 and the late 1700s. Ipswich historian Gordon Harris shares the stories of the interred and tells where their houses still stand. Carvings include the death heads of William Mumford, the Essex/Merrimac style of John Hartshorne and the Leighton family, and the elaborate gravestones carved by the Park family. We visit the tombstones of the town’s earliest and most influential families, as well as other individual or family tombstones by request.

This tour is conducted in the late afternoon in the spring and fall when the position of the sun casts shadows that make the inscriptions easier to read. The group size for each tour will be limited to about a dozen people.

Duration: 1 hr. +

Start Location: Front gate at the Ipswich Old North Burying Ground at 63 High St. Limited parking is available on High St., but additional parking is usually available at the Payne School at Lord Square.