TownTapestry
Sign inJoin
TopsfieldGood morning
History · Topsfield

Topsfield’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Topsfield. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Topsfield is a town in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 179 at the 2020 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 237 to 179 (-24%). Half of its homes were built before 1969.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Topsfield yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Topsfield’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Topsfield’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Topsfield

See all 19 →
EAElenore AbbottLincoln · 33 miGary GordonGary GordonLincoln · 33 miAndrea GibsonAndrea GibsonCalais · 34 miEHErnest HolmesLincoln · 33 miHarriet Elizabeth Prescott SpoffordHarriet Elizabeth Prescott SpoffordCalais · 34 miRLRoger LyndonCalais · 34 mi
By decade

Topsfield, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Topsfield is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Topsfield has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Union Hall in Danforth, 15.5 miles away.

Topsfield and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Topsfield. Tap a dot.
Union HallSpringfield Congregational Church

Closest to Topsfield

Union HallDanforth · Building15.5miSpringfield Congregational ChurchSpringfield · Building18mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Union Hall’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Topsfield?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Topsfield’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Talmadge📜 Waite📜 Carroll plantation📜 Danforth
The coffee’s on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Topsfield, MEWashington CountyView boundary

Nearby

All towns & citiesExplore the map

Local begins with a boundary.

See what belongs to your selected town.

Loading boundary…

Topsfield is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
Open detailed map