Topsfield

By Elizabeth Dinan and John Dinan

This unique collection of photographs and postcards presents the first pictorial history of Topsfield, Massachusetts. Topsfield is a collection of beautiful old photographs and postcards documentingthe history of the town from its earliest days to the late 1950s. Quickly approaching its 350th anniversary, the town is known for its beautiful summer estates and the acclaimed Parson Capen House, one of the world's-finest preserved examples of Elizabethan architecture. About 35 years after the purchase of the land by John Winthrop in 1616 from Masconomet, chief of the Agawam tribe, there was enough of a thriving agricultural community to establish a village. The Parson Capen House was built in 1683 by Reverend Joseph Capen and is now beautifully restored and maintained by the Topsfield Historical Society, drawing visitors from around the world. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Topsfield transformed from a primarily agricultural community into a rural suburban town with many lovelyestates such as the Bradley Palmer Estate. Early images, including those from the Otto Lake glass-plate photograph collection, show early town events such as the Topsfield Fair, which is the country'soldest town fair. These fascinating images give us a wonderful view of life in early Topsfield and document the rich history of local landmarks and beautiful countryside.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781439627297

Elizabeth Dinan

Elizabeth Dinan and her father, John Dinan, are longtime residents of Topsfield and are both published authors. Some of John Dinan�s works include Sports in the Pulp Magazines and The Pulp Western. Elizabeth Dinan is a reporter for North Shore Sunday, and the winner of 17 New England Press Association Awards. Many of the images seen in Topsfield are from the authors� private collection.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

From whatever direction we approach the village of Topsfield, it has a faculty of opening upon the view in a very picturesque sort of way and leaving a pleasant impression upon the memory; but from no point does it look more beautiful than from the river hill—its meadows, hills, trees, winding river, and very neat and well-cared for houses, combining natural and artificial attractions to a degree not often attained.

—Salem Gazette, Nov. 10, 1876

Topsfield is an area of some 8,320 acres bisected by the Ipswich River. A town of rolling hills and valleys, it is located about 25 miles north of Boston. The region was settled earliest by Native Americans of the Agawam tribe, who were no doubt lured here by the beautiful hills and rich river valleys. It was called New Meadows by the first European settlers because of its abundance of meadowland. It was also known as Shenewemedy, which was how the Agawam pronounced New Meadows rather than a word of their own language, as has been popularly believed.

The miles of river that bisect the land have favored Topsfield with recreation, farming, wildlife, drinking water, and natural beauty. Over the years the Ipswich River has also presented residents with many challenges, including major spring freshets and the need for numerous bridges.

Early settlers constructed homes of hand-hewn timber, and for a livelihood they farmed, forged ironwork, or mined for iron. They built mills to cut timber and to grind corn. They also made shoes, and shoemaking became an important business here until the depression that followed the Civil War.

Religion was important, and Congregational, Methodist, and Roman Catholic churches were constructed for worship. Fearing God, however, did not prevent Topsfield from becoming embroiled in the witchcraft delusion of Salem. What started as a simple land dispute with property owners in neighboring Salem Village led to the hanging of three Topsfield women in 1692.

Topsfield has evolved into a suburban, bedroom community with a rural quality of home life and easy access to major highways for business. The residents for the most part are educated, well spoken, politically active, and successful. Over the generations, they have managed to retain Topsfield’s small-town qualities.

The postcard views in Chapter One of Topsfield may come as a surprise to many residents who probably have never before seen them. They are from the personal collection of author John Dinan and his daughter Elizabeth. Topsfield was once a tourist destination, but the most recent postcard of the town was printed c. the 1960s and featured the library or the Civil War monument.

Chapter Two celebrates the Topsfield Fair, America’s oldest continuously operating agricultural fair, which continues to draw record crowds year after year. The views in this chapter were provided by fair administrators and offer rare images dating back to the early days of the annual attraction.

Chapter Three looks back to the time when Wood Engineering of Topsfield was known for its state-of-the-art construction of top-of-the-line firefighting equipment. The company sparked a keen interest in firefighting, and many of Topsfield’s firefighting buffs are pictured in the photographs provided by current fire department members.

Chapter Four considers the town’s history in the areas of sports and leisure. Chapter Five offers views of Topsfield places through the camera lens of Otto Lake, an early-1900s photographer whose images have captured the flavor of the time forever. Lake can also be credited for the photos of Topsfield residents in Chapter Six, who represent a period when life was not necessarily simpler.

Topsfield people are proud of their history, as it provides a foundation for the present and a hope for the future. This book is dedicated to them, as well as to Matt and Emily Dinan and Ryan and Colin Meehan, our family’s future.

—John A. Dinan

—Elizabeth A. Dinan

One

TOPSFIELD IN POSTCARDS

Considering its rural nature, Topsfield has been the subject of a surprising number of postcards. In the early 1900s, Topsfield’s character changed from a farming and shoe-manufacturing community to a town of many large estates and popular hunting, fishing, and camping locales, as shown in this classic Wish you were here postcard dated 1904.

Evidence that Topsfield was a tourist destination in the early 1920s is this color-printed postcard, a reminder that the scenery here is fine. This early-20th-century view shows an unpaved Newburyport Turnpike, now interstate Route 1. The county of Essex purchased the road for the sum of $1,000 in 1850, when it was laid out as a country road.

Work on the Newburyport Turnpike,