This was the north end of town in the early days of the Ipswich settlement. The lot was first owned by Daniel Bosworth, a cowherd. His widow, Abigail, sold the lot with a dwelling in 1702 to William Baker (1655-1743). In William Baker’s 1731 will, “being advanced in years“, his wife was given the bed chamber and a room in the cellar, if she chose to remain living there. His son William (1688-1766) inherited “the whole of the remaining part of my dwelling house and homestead and buildings that remained to me after I sold to my son John part of my homestead, buildings, etc.” The house and land came into the possession of Richard Sutton Jr., who was born in 1736, (and thus was unlikely to have purchased the property before 1760). Sutton and his wife Elizabeth sold the house to Jeremiah Day in 1794.
The house was completely restored in the 20th Century, including the construction of the massive pilastered chimney. The front door has a scrolled pediment normally found in the Connecticut River Valley. Posts and beams display fine beading, and there is handsome woodwork throughout the interior, indicating construction in the 2nd quarter of the 18th Century. The fireplaces are 18th Century but predate the Rumford style. The chimney stack is supported by beams rather than stone, confirming that the house was moved slightly back from the roadway when the bridge over the railroad was constructed in 1906. Read more about this private dwelling at the Historic Ipswich site.
Historic Ipswich 