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
Arthur Wesley Dow (1857 – December 13, 1922) was an American painter, printmaker, photographer and an arts educator.
Early life
Arthur Wesley Dow was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1857. Dow received his first art training in 1880 from An ...
. 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
The John Whipple House is a historic colonial house at 1 South Green in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Built in the seventeenth century, the house has been open to the public as a museum since 1899 and was the subject of some of the earliest attempts ...
, and make part of it their headquarters.
The Heard house
The Heard house (1795-1800) was sold to the IHS in 1936 by Alice Leeds Heard, also known as Elsie. It was the family residence of American entrepreneur,
Augustine Heard. She sold the house under the agreement that she could live in it for the rest of her life. Upon her death in 1953 a
plaque
Plaque may refer to:
Commemorations or awards
* Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc.
* Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I
* Pl ...
was installed in the house to commemorate her. The Heard house now features many collections, such as the China Trade Collection, the Arthur Wesley Dow Collection, and the Ipswich Painters Collection.
Sources
*http://www.ipswichmuseum.org/
*The Docent Training Manual (Created by the Ipswich Historic Society)
*Ipswich in the Mass. Bay Colony by Rev. Thomas Franklin Waters
{{Authority control
Historical societies in Massachusetts
Ipswich, Massachusetts