Benjamin Grant was born in 1701 to Robert and Mary Grant, who had settled in Ipswich from England. He married Anne Perkins in 1722, and they built the house at 47 County St. in 1735. Ipswich Vital Records show the death of two sons at ages 4 & 5. The book Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony states that Corporal Benjamin Grant was killed in the French and Indian War in 1756. Undocumented sources indicate that Anne Perkins died in 1801. The house was purchased by Joseph Ross in 1784, and it remained in the Ross family until the mid-20th century.
The two-story house is one room deep, with a rear lean-to. The front of the house is slightly asymmetrical with a noticeable change in the roof, indicating that half of the house was built first, and the other half was added later, which was very common. Much of the original interior finish survives.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. A year later, Stephen and Catherine Green purchased the house, began a two-year project to restore the home to its original appearance, and reconstructed the chimney above the roofline. This house has a preservation agreement with the Ipswich Historical Commission. Read more about this private residence at the Historic Ipswich site.
Historic Ipswich 