Across from the Town Wharf is an odd-looking house where the Claxton family operated a take-out business in the early 20th Century. When clammers arrived at the wharf after a hard day’s work, Joseph Claxton purchased their catch for $1.50 a barrel and sold fried clams to tourists.
Across the street was the busy wharf where Bostonians parked their early automobiles and waited for boats to take them to the hotels at Ipswich Bluffs and Grape Island. In the evenings, partiers would board the steamship Carlotta for the dance hall on Plum Island.
In 1947 David and Pauline Claxton converted the building into a residence, adding a second floor and an addition on the rear. The bay window on the front is where there was once a serving window.
Read more about this house on the Historic Ipswich site.
Historic Ipswich 