Historic Homes and Gardens of Ipswich

The Ipswich Historical Socieity and Museums owns and maintains two homes and gardens from the very early days of Ipswich.  As with many historic houses, these have come to be called by the names of their first or most famous owners or families - hence, the Heard and Whipple Houses and Gardens.

Both homes are filled with preserved period furnishings and artifacts to give visitors a sense of how the residents of these houses lived and worked. Presented here are just a few views of the houses and their furnishings. Both homes are open for visits at posted hours.

Heard House

The 1800 Heard House Museum once was the mansion of one of Ipswich’s wealthiest and most civically active men, John Heard. It features a gracious staircase, original pocket shutters, dentil moldings, and an elegant Palladian window. While Heard traded primarily in the West Indies, his son Augustine established one of the most successful American mercantile houses in China in the 19th century. Augustine’s four nephews continued the family business, sending goods from China and other ports to decorate the family home in Ipswich.

Today, the museum contains furnishings, decorative arts, fine art, textiles and personal objects from the China Trade period and the Heard family, as well as special galleries devoted to more stories of Ipswich history: Arthur Wesley Dow Gallery (the most prominent of the 19th and early 20th century “Ipswich Painters”, who was also a renowned art educator); Ipswich Painters’ Gallery; Children’s Gallery; Ipswich Female Seminary Room; Military Room; and Appleton Room, which features changing exhibits. The Heard House also serves as headquarters for the Ipswich Historical Society, which purchased the house from Alice Leeds Heard in 1936.

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Whipple House

The 1677 Whipple House Museum is one of the finest examples of “first period” American architecture (1625-1725).  The oldest part of the house dates to 1677 when the military officer and entrepreneur Captain John Whipple constructed an impressive townhouse near the center of Ipswich to showcase his wealth.  Before 1683, he expanded his half-house to become a full house.  His son, Major John Whipple, constructed a lean-to that more than doubled its size.  Eighteenth century Whipples added Georgian “improvements” that are still visible.  Nineteenth and 20th century Colonial Revivalists (who founded the Ipswich Historical Society) saved the house from destruction, restored it, and moved the Whipple House to its present location in 1927.

Today, the house’s frame of oak, chestnut, and tamarack is largely intact.  Wall sheathing and clamshell ceiling plaster retain their first period charm.  Seventeenth and 18th century furnishings and decorative arts by local and regional craftsmen fill the home.  A colonial-style “housewife’s garden” greets visitors at the entrance. 

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