Great Neck
Ipswich, Massachusetts
A History
compiled by Doris H. Wilson

Great Neck is a tract of three hundred and fifty acres of bluff, hill, upland, and beach with presently more than four hundred and forty homes, located three miles from the center of Ipswich and thirty miles from Boston. It is skirted on three sides by water - Plum Island Sound, Ipswich River, and Eagle Hill River. Its hills command a view of the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Ann to Mount Agamenticus in Maine. From the very beginning of the Town's history, this great, isolated tract has been the most noteworthy portion of the old common lands. Its forests were an important asset, its value as a safe and extensive pasture was very great, and the fishing station on its beach and hillside was a large factor in the industrial development of the Town. After the first decade of the eighteenth century, it held a unique position as the only valuable portion of the old common lands which was retained by all the Commoners in a body.

But its history goes back over 10,000 years. "Prior to the 1950's, it was generally assumed that man in the Northeast was a fairly recent ar­ rival, perhaps within the last four or five thousand years,'' explains John Grimes of the Peabody Museum. Ipswich is rich in history - 350 years of colonization and growth as a nation. But few historians realize the Town is also rich in prehistory - that infinitely longer period preceding written records. In early 1950 stone artifacts and a fluted projectile point, similar to points found near the bones, which dated around 8,500 B.C., of extinct mammals in the western United States were found at Bull Brook in Town and on Great Neck. By piecing together evidence from numerous scientific fields, archeologists can theorize about the environment and the culture of the early Americans, who existed at a time of great geographical transition following the retreat of the Ice Age. Ten thousand years ago, sea levels were still rising in southern New England, and the tundra landscape was slowly transforming to forestland.

During the Ice Age, the ice covering Great Neck was thousands of feet thick. The hills (drumlins) of Great Neck were formed by glacial drift. Around 8,000 B.C., the climate moderated, conifers appeared, huge animals disappeared. Family groups gathered into bands of fifty or so for survival. They hunted small game and deer. Middens on Great Neck, Little Neck, Treadwell Island, and Eagle Hill indicate that these areas may have been summer camping grounds of Paleo-Indians. Deciduous trees appeared between 2,500 and 1,000 B.C. Controversial megalith sites on Great Neck (dolmens) plus patterns in stone indicate visits of Vikings or Celts.

The care of the forest which covered a considerable portion of Great Neck was a constant problem and there were many rules and regulations for the cutting of trees, which were well enforced. Thus with utmost care the Town was anticipating the modern move for the conservation of the forests in the most minute and exacting fashion. After 1759 no mention was made of these regulations; presumably, the forest growth had completely disappeared. Prior to that there were regulations mentioned for old wood and dead wood.

Beginning around 1641, the Neck area was dedicated to fishing - catch unloaded, dried, salted, and stowed on sailing vessels to go to Europe. By 1696, a thriving fishing station was in operation on the Neck. Wharves and fish houses had been built along the waterfront, and stages for the drying of fish stood on the hill still known as Stage Hill. Ships from many countries anchored in the sheltered cove, to take on cargo from this fishing station, which flourished for a century. Salt water fishermen did not need to serve in the militia.

In 1710 the common lands of Ipswich were divided and over four hundred persons drew rights in the area of Great Neck. Two-fifths of the lands were divided among the descendants of the original settlers and three-fifths among the more recent Commoners. The numbering of lots began on the western side of the "North Ridge" as it is named in the Anderson map of 1832, or the "Great Hill" or "Manning's Hill" as the ancient deeds recite. The lots that bear the highest numbers were located on the slope of the hill, where the fishing stages were located. The land occupied by the fish flakes or stages was not granted to the fishermen in the divisions of 1710, and their tenure was only "during the pleasure of the proprietors." This caused frequent disagreements regarding the ground rent for the fishing privilege as well as ownership. According to later legal research, certain rights were not issued so that if the committee issuing the rights had overlooked any descendants of the original Commoners, then there would be rights available to satisfy any claims by such descendants. The holders of the rights treated the land as common undivided land and no holder of a right attempted to assert a title in fee to any specific or defined locus.

A bridge at the creek across the causeway was provided for at the annual meeting in March, 1775; and in the following year, it was voted that every person bringing a load of hay or gravel from the Neck should be obliged to bring a load of gravel to the causeway to make it passable.

Although the Clarks lived in Peabody, a two-and-one-half hour carriage ride away, Mr. Clark decided that the women should share in the activities and he built a summer home on Great Neck, now the Ipswich Bay Yacht Clubhouse. He chose a site at the top of the bluff, a spot with easy access to the water and a commanding view of the sound. The house was made of long timbers, and a porch surrounded it entirely to catch the cool breezes. A road was constructed, branching off the road from Ipswich to Little Neck where North Ridge Road now does but it went through the valley between the hills, along the north side of the pond and up over the hill to the new house. There was a path or road from the new house down to the pond which later became Bowdoin Road. There were also barns for the horses and carriages and several out buildings, as well as houses for the men who worked on the property. Years after, several of these houses from the Quay Road area were moved to the beginning of North Ridge Road on the waterside. One was moved farther out on Jeffrey's Neck Road and became a store called "The Ho Hum", which was later moved across the road and made into a residence. The barn for the horses had been moved down from the top of the hill. It had belonged to the house which Judge Sayward rented from a man named Strought and which burned in 1914. It was moved again, ever so slightly by friends of Elizabeth and Harold Balch, who made it into a residence in 1939 and who live there now at 7 Clark Road. The timbers from the coach barn were used to build the Mulholland­ Balch house at 111 North Ridge Road in 1946 where Elizabeth Balch, Mr. Clark's only living grandchild, still resides.

In May 1898, the year the new summer home was finished, the Clark's son, Samuel, died from Bright's Disease at age twenty-nine, leaving a young widow. He had been the center of much of the family's activity and there was no heart for the house. It was rented to the Myopia Hunt Club of Hamilton, and for two seasons members enjoyed their water activities there. The two Clark daughters, Mary Alice Clark Boyle and Eliza Clark Mulholland, were married; and there was a grandchild, Mary (May) Mulholland Bartlett, followed by four more, one boy and three girls. With them, the big house was enjoyed by the family. The "May M" rode at anchor in the sound or steamed up the Parker River to overtake Captain Burnham's "Carlotta". There was a large building for Mr. Clark's boats, and railroad tracks were used in launching if necessary. Many friends came to enjoy the summer and the fall gunning. It is interesting to note that a black woman worked for the Clark family then and she was the only one in Essex County.

Mr. Clark's daughter, Mary Alice, who had no children, summered with her husband at what is now 6 Bowdoin Road; and several of his grandchildren later lived in houses at 2, 3 and 12 Bowdoin Road.

Although the widow of Alexander B. Clark Mulholland, Sr. still owns No. 3, the others have different owners today and have been rebuilt. Mr. Clark died in October 1912 at Mary Alice's cottage, his wife having died almost three years earlier. They and other members of the family are buried in Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Salem.

At Mr. Clark's death, Great Neck became a part of the trust set up under his will for the benefit of his grandchildren. His trustees con­tinued the leasing of lots and opened new sections of Great Neck to tenants. In 1909, Mr. Clark had built a road to Little Neck, along which he laid out lots for lease as sites for summer cottages, from which the later real estate development stems.

As quoted from the publication, "Jeffrey's Neck and the Way Leading Thereto," dated 1912 of the Ipswich Historical Society:

"Some trees have been planted, and a few have attained con­siderable size and vigor but with these slight exceptions, the great uplands and the water worn, boulder strewn slopes and gulleys re­main as they have been since the ancient forest disappeared, still furnishing pasturage to the great herd of cattle and a few sheep and horses."

"But these bare moorlands, with their grand outlook over leagues of land and sea, their fertile soil, easily accessible over a substan­tial and attractive road, some day, it is to be hoped, will be utilized for the summer homes of many who love Nature, and need the joy and refreshment Nature is waiting to bestow."

And today, 1984, it appears that the hope of 1912 has been more than realized.

History compiled by Doris H. Wilson, 8 Bowdoin Road, Ipswich, Massachusetts

May 1, 1984

Reference Resources:

I.      Lecture on October 15, 1983 (Ipswich River Watershed Association) by Sarah Fraser Robbins, Naturalist

2.     "Essex Life," Summer 1983

3.     "Beverly Times," January 2, 1979

4.     Lecture on April 22, 1981 (Ipswich Historical Society) by George H. W. Hayes, Attorney

5.     "Jeffrey's Neck and the Way Leading Thereto" by Thomas Franklin Waters, 1912

6.     Ipswich Assessors Office

7.     Essex County Registry of Deeds

8.     Title Search Report, Great Neck - The Proprietors of Great Neck, Inc.

9.     "The Ipswich Bay Clipper," August 2, 1955 (Ipswich Bay Yacht Club Newspaper)

10.    "Ipswich Speaks", Great Neck Tapes No. 52 and No. 53 11.     "Ipswich Chronicle," September 20 and October 11, 1912

12.     Talks with:

a.  Alice Cora Mulholland Devaney (1903-1976)

b.  Elizabeth Mulholland Balch

c.  Mona Mulholland Snyder (Widow of Alexander B. Clark Mulholland, Sr.)

sold (beginning in 1951), for the present community. The 1940s and 50s were the beginnings of significant development of the area. More and more house lots were leased for summer camps. Land was sold and leased with rights to beach access, one of which was the beach road off Clark Road (then Belleau Woods Road). To accommodate beach goers, and as an incentive to purchase more house lots, in 1956 a parking lot was enlarged at the southern end of the pond and the boat ramp to the ocean was paved. To accommodate further desire for beach access, around 1964, the former beach road along the eastern side of Clark Pond was reconstructed to a second parking area in the vicinity of the Mosely duck blind.

After its construction in 1964, the beach road was frequently overtopped and washed out with winter and spring storms. Practically every year to the present, the road was washed out and rebuilt, sometimes two or three times a year. Various repairs to the roadway included re-building the road with sand from the beach. This aggravated future washouts as waves from the ocean would not break until they hit the road. More recent improvements included hauling in gravel for the road and extending a stone rip rap sea wall eventually beyond the reach of most large ocean waves.

The wave action has reduced significantly due to the southerly extension of Plum Island since the early 1990s and its shoals blocking direct ocean access. Sand has built up significantly in the area in front of the beach road and creates a more gradual transition from ocean waves. Also, the increasing formations of salt marsh on the tidal flats in front of the road have diminished wave action and increased the collection of sand. The road still overtops, although less frequently in recent years. The post-Christmas storm of 2010 is the most recent significant example. This nor’easter which combined with an astronomical high tide, deposited large logs and other debris over the beach road into the pond from where they had been on the southern end of Plum Island. This flow into the pond was exacerbated due to the recent eradication of the phragmite vegetative barrier.

This flow of logs and debris demonstrates how the ocean waves, which during that storm crossed the Plum Island bar, have a direct bearing on the beach road. This storm also brought the salt water and debris well up the northern creek and over the dam and into the pond at the northeast end.