Forty years of research by Topsfield's pre-eminent historian, George Francis Dow, went into this extensive history, The work was completed after his death by Alice G. Dow and a dedicated set of WPA researchers. It covers Topsfield's history from the early European settlement to the end of World War I. Among the topics included are the Witchcraft Hysteria, the Revolutionary War, the coming of the railroad, the Civil War and World War I.