Meetinghouse Green

Meetinghouse Green. . , The Original Center of the Ipswich Community , Welcome to the Meetinghouse Green (now generally referred to as the North Green), the center of colonial Ipswich, and one of the most significant sites of 17th century Massachusetts. The area was initially a Native American village known as Agawam. In 1633, John Winthrop the Younger, son of the Puritan founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, led the creation of the first permanent English settlement inland along the river near the present Town Wharf. Soon after, settlers erected a meetinghouse slightly north of the existing First Church building. It was likely erected quickly and was soon replaced. The second meetinghouse was probably a two-story square oak timber frame structure with turret, bell, and diamond-paned windows. (See timeline for sketches of known Puritan meetinghouses similar to those built in Ipswich.) The meetinghouse served both as a place of worship and as the locus for municipal government and defense. As was common throughout Massachusetts, it was a fortified structure supplied with weapons and gunpowder. The meetinghouse, together with a watch house, was strategically placed on top of the hill to protect against possible attack, a constant fear. , In 1634 the town was formally incorporated as Ipswich. An edict of the Massachusetts General Court in 1635 required all dwelling house to be built within a half mile of the meetinghouse, so Ipswich's rapidly growing and prosperous population quickly filled the surrounding streets we see today. In addition to the meetinghouse and watch house, structures on and around the Green included timber-framed houses, a jail, a pound for roaming animals, a courthouse, and, for punishing misbehavior, stocks and a whipping post. It was not by chance that the stocks and whipping post were placed in the center of the community and close to its place of worship. Those punished here were meant to face public ridicule and contemplate their sins. In the years leading up to the 1692 Salem witch trials, accused witches were jailed on the Green. While the earliest use of the Meetinghouse Green centered on religious and government functions, social uses also quickly sprang up. In 1671, John Sparks, a "biskette baker," received a license to sell "beere at a penny a quart" at 6-8 North Main Street. Later, the Sparks Inn housed court officers and quartered soldiers during the 17th century. , The Green's "Revolutionary" History , Meetinghouse Green is perhaps most famous for hosting protests against English taxation during the regime of English Governor Sir Edmund Andros. The arrest of six community members in 1687, which stoked the anger of the of the colonists and contributed to the overthrow of the Andros government in 1689, occurred after the Reverend John Wise led the Ipswich Town Meeting to state that "no taxes shall be levied on ye Subjects without consent of an assembly chose by ye Freeholders..." Thus was borne a rallying cry of the American Revolution nearly a century later: "No taxation without representation." In 1774, as the American Revolution was brewing, the Town approved construction of a Minuteman training facility on the Green near the rock ledge in front of the present Methodist Church. Ipswich Minutemen subsequently fought at Bunker Hill and played an important role in the war for American independence. , The Green Today , Although the North Green is no longer the government center of Ipswich, it remains a vital place, frequented by residents and visitors young and old alike. Where the 1634 meetinghouse once stood, the First Church in Ipswich stands today - the sixth "meetinghouse" on the site. In recognition of its historical significance, the Green and the surrounding neighborhood were placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Meetinghouse Green Historic District. Although none of the colonial civic structures exist today, many of the original houses in the neighborhood do, and the original street layout around the Green remains intact nearly four centuries later. Improvements to the North Green, including the installation of curbs to protect the land from erosion, were completed in 2013, ensuring the preservation of this historic landmark well into the future.