The story of Ipswich, Massachusetts, one of America's earliest towns, follows the larger path of American history - from Native American village, to a plantation in the English colonies, to a town of patriots hell-bent on independence. As the country grew, Ipswich grew with it. The abolition movement, the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and both world wars gripped the town as they did the nation. By following one town's journey from its founding to the modern era, we can learn about the nation as a whole.