City and State: Ipswich, Massachusetts
Listed: 1980
Type of district: National Register historic district, Massachusetts State historic district, local historic district
Main Intersection: Scottons Lane and East Street
East End National Register Historic District Report
East End National Register Historic District Map
East End encompasses the seafaring portion of the original village of Ipswich and offers an architectural history of the town’s development from the time of settlement on the banks of the Ipswich River in the 1600s through the 19th century. According to historians, wigwams, huts and hovels were built against the Town Hill near what is now Town Wharf. It was here that the first houses were built in this town where fishing and lumbering were prominent industries. Later construction filled in gaps, principally during the 1740s, 1830s, 1860s and 1870s.
The 1830s was one of the most prosperous periods in Ipswich’s history. The Industrial Revolution and new buildings followed on the heels of successful textile mills. Thriving merchants built fine Victorian homes during this era, attesting to the prosperity of the town and the rising middle class. Five Second-Empire homes were built between 1860 and 1870. This marked the final stage of development for East End. Today the East End is predominantly residential and includes over 60 examples of period architecture contributing to the character of the historic district.