Topsfield Town Hall was built in 1873 by John H. Potter at a cost of $13,000 and dedicated December 1874. The clock, purchased in 1879 from the George M. Stevens Company, is maintained by the Keepers of the Clock and wound by an automatic winding system.  

Town Hall was built in the Second Empire Style which was highly popular at the time. Key features of this style which can be identified in the Town Hall include columned porches, cast-iron decorative cresting on the roof, a central tower, dormer windows, and stacked windows vertically proportioned. In addition to serving as the center of government in the town, it has been used as a school, office and other municipal space, and even as police headquarters in the 1960s. It was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

In 2016, residents voted to appropriate monies to design, remodel, repair, and expand the Town Hall. The project was completed in 2018 with an official ribbon cutting ceremony held on October 20, 2018. The speakers at the ribbon cutting ceremony included Ben Nutter, a member of the Town Hall Building Committee; State Senator Joan Lovely; State Representative Brad Hill; and Mark Lyons, Chairperson of the Board of Selectmen. 

In January 2020, Topsfield resident Bruce Bolnick wrote an article for the Topsfield Historical Society titled Financing the Original Town Hall Project, 1873-1874. The article brings to light parallels between the decision to build the Town Hall in 1873 and the decision to renovate and expand the existing Town Hall in 2016. Bruce’s article can be read here.

References

Abroad, Joel, Topsfield Town Hall [image] retrieved May 2, 2017 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/40295335@N00/15641501689

Bond, Charles Lawrence, and John H. Towne. 1989. Houses and buildings of Topsfield, Massachusetts: an up-date of "The houses and buildings of Topsfield, Massachusetts 1902" by J.H. Towne. [Topsfield, Mass.]: C. Lawrence Bond.  View in the Library Catalog

Dinan, Elizabeth, and John A. Dinan. 1999. Topsfield. Charleston, SC: Arcadia.

Dow, George Francis. 2009. The historical collections of the Topsfield Historical Society. Topsfield, Mass: Published by the Society. Vol. 34.

Topsfield (Mass. : Town). 2012. Annual report of the receipts and expenditures of the town of Topsfield, Mass.

Topsfield (Mass. : Town). 2015. Annual report of the receipts and expenditures of the town of Topsfield, Mass.

Further Reading

Bolnick, Bruce. 2020. Financing the Original Town Hall Project, 1873-1874.

Dow, George Francis. 1940. History of Topsfield, Massachusetts. Topsfield, Mass. : The Topsfield Historical Society.

Dow, George Francis. 1919. The historical collections of the Topsfield Historical Society. Topsfield, Mass: Published by the Society. Vol. 24.

Dow, George Francis. 1922. The historical collections of the Topsfield Historical Society. Topsfield, Mass: Published by the Society. Vol. 27.

Lyons, Mark. 2018. Topsfield Town Hall Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Saturday, October 20, 2018.

Nutter, Ben. 2018. Topsfield Town Hall Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Welcome.

External Links

Town of Topsfield (http://www.topsfield-ma.gov/)

Town Hall Committee Documents  (http://www.topsfield-ma.gov/townhallcommittee/documents.shtml)

Contents

Topsfield Times: A Community and Local History Resource

5/2017