This site brings together the folklore, the documented history, and the community events connected to the granite ledge outside First Church in Ipswich, UCC. People have been telling stories about this mark since at least the mid nineteenth century. The legend shifts across time, but the footprint stays the same.
In 2025 we held the inaugural event at Meeting House Green with walking tours, storytellers, and a printed collection of the oldest known versions. Planning is underway for the 2026 annual event with a stronger focus on local writers, youth submissions, and broader community partnerships.
If you are here for the legend, the research, or the festival, you are in the right place.
Mary Kelley
Legend says that on Tuesday, September 30, 1740, the Devil was hiding inside the North Congregational Church. Young George Whitefield preached with such fire that the Devil burst out. They battled up the steeple. Whitefield cast him down. The Devil fled, leaving a single scorched hoofprint in the stone.