Topsfield Real Estate
Topsfield is a small town located approximately 20 miles north of Boston on Massachusetts’ North Shore. With its pastoral setting and active town center, the town provides small-town ambiance at its best. Topsfield occupies 12.8 square miles of rolling hills, waterways, and a number of parks and preserves. Topsfield’s outdoor activities and highly regarded school system are big draws for its 6,000 residents. Boston Magazine named Masconomet School District as one of the top 20 schools in Massachusetts. Topsfield is also the home of America’s Oldest Agricultural Fair, held every fall. Read more about Topsfield.
Topsfield Homes & Condos For Sale
More About Topsfield
Topsfield Location
Topsfield spans several bodies of water, including Hood’s Pond, the largest body of water in Topsfield and parts of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. Bradley Palmer State Park, Willowdale State Forest and the bulk of Topsfield Town Forest are all part of Topsfield. The community is bounded by other North Shore towns, including Ipswich, Hamilton, Wenham, Danvers, Middleton, and Boxford. I-95 passes through the southwestern corner of town and the nearest stop on the MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line into Boston’s North Station is in Newbury.
Topsfield Recreation
Outdoor activities abound in Topsfield with hiking, swimming and sunning at Hood’s Pond, a 68-acre pond with private beach nestled within lush woodlands. Non-motorized boating, biking, and cross-country skiing are also popular pursuits. A rare species of butterfly can sometimes be spotted nesting in the foliage. Klock Park is another favorite sports venue while Bradley Palmer State Park is a former 721-acre estate offering rolling meadows and former carriage roads now used for hiking, biking and horseback riding.
The annual Topsfield Fair is an institution on the North Shore, drawing between 450,000 – 500,000 people over its 10-day period. The fair features a large midway well as many agricultural exhibitions and events, including a giant pumpkin contest.
Topsfield History
Topsfield was incorporated as a village in 1650. Masconomet, a Native American Indian Chief who had a good relationship with the early settlers, sold much of what is now Essex County to John Winthrop, a central figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, for 20 pounds. Just a decades later, the Salem witch trials of 1692 touched Topsfield directly in that several of its citizens were executed as part of the hysteria. While the causes of the witchcraft episode continue to be debated, some believe that economic rivalry among factions in Salem and Topsfield fueled animosity between the two towns.
In the 1800s Topsfield evolved into a shoe manufacturing and farming economy and by the 20th century became home to many large estates. The automobile and development of America’s highways helped position Topsfield as a suburban bedroom community, home for many professionals who worked along the Route 128 high-tech corridor.
