[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20060]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


     COMMEMORATING THE 375TH ANNIVERSARY OF IPSWICH, MASSACHUSETTS

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                          HON. JOHN F. TIERNEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 29, 2009

  Mr. TIERNEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 375th 
Anniversary of the founding of Ipswich, Massachusetts and to 
congratulate the residents of Ipswich, Massachusetts as they plan to 
gather to celebrate this momentous occasion in their historical town.
  In 1633, English colonists from the Massachusetts Bay Colony decided 
to forge an outpost to the north at ``Agawam.'' These early settlers 
were led by John Winthrop, Jr., the son of Governor John Winthrop, and 
were charged with the responsibility of protecting the colony from 
threats to its destruction and opening up trade opportunities. Their 
success, in so doing, ensured the future of the nation. The new 
settlement was so successful as a military outpost and future center of 
law and culture that, on August 4, 1634, the General Court of the 
Massachusetts Bay Colony voted to name it ``Ipswich'' after Ipswich, 
England.
  In 1638, the Reverend Nathaniel Ward of Ipswich was commissioned by 
colonial leaders to draft the Body of Liberties, which was adopted by 
the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and published in 1641 
as the first code of laws drafted in New England, and which was the 
colony's and--some would claim--the nation's first Bill of Rights.
  In 1687, Ipswich citizens refused to pay new taxes instituted by 
Governor Edmund Andros and, in so doing, committed acts resisting 
taxation without representation now known as the ``Andros Rebellion'' 
that predated by roughly eighty years the episodes of the next century 
that led to the American Revolution.
  Ipswich is home to America's oldest continuously working farm, 
Appleton Farms (1635); the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich (now Essex, 
Massachusetts) was one of the shipbuilding capitals of New England, 
thus securing the lucrative fishing industry of Massachusetts, its 
economic future and early maritime contributions to the nation and 
Ipswich's literary heritage includes the seventeenth-century resident 
Anne Bradstreet, America's first published poet.
  Ipswich's eighteenth-century lace industry, acknowledged with 
appreciation by President George Washington during his 1789 visit to 
Ipswich, is considered the first women's industry in America, and 
Ipswich's nineteenth-century mills produced more stockings than any 
other place in America and transformed the town culturally by 
attracting new residents from all over Europe.
  To honor Ipswich's proud heritage, Town officials and Ipswich 
residents have registered historic structures on the National Register, 
mounted plaques to mark historic sites and preserved thousands of acres 
of open space and the centrally-important Ipswich River. They have a 
deep appreciation for the town's architectural and historical 
significance in our nation's history and are committed to historical 
preservation so others can share the traditions of our nation's past. 
As a result, Ipswich currently contains more houses (fifty-nine at last 
count) built during the ``first period'' of American architecture 
(1625-1725) than any other town in America. Some town folks suggest 
that this makes Ipswich, ``America's Colonial home town.''
  Today, Ipswich Clams are known throughout America with good reason, 
and Ipswich thrives as a diverse community of cultures and professions 
that lives comfortably with its history and welcomes visitors from 
around the world.
  As they have been throughout 2009, the residents of Ipswich will 
continue celebrating the Town's 375th Anniversary while simultaneously 
honoring its 11,000-year Native American heritage (as documented by the 
Paleo-Indian site called Bull Brook).
  As their representative in the United States House of 
Representatives, I salute the residents of Ipswich and Town leaders for 
their welcoming nature, their sense of community and their warm 
hospitality in opening their arms and doors to visitors from around 
this country and around the world.
  As Ipswich celebrates its 375th Anniversary, I encourage my 
colleagues and their constituents to travel to the 6th Congressional 
District of Massachusetts to discover and celebrate the storied history 
of Ipswich, Massachusetts one of the founding cornerstones of the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States of America. I 
assure you that you will enjoy Ipswich and its people and its natural, 
cultural and historic treasures.

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