New Meeting Dates!
Beginning with the April 13 meeting, THS Meetings will be held on Thursday evenings.
Special Co-sponsored Presentation
The Beatles!
A Cultural and Historical Reflection
of the Sixties Through Their Music
Presented by Fran Hart, Founder of the Beatles tribute band 4EverFab
THURSDAY, March 23, 7:30pm
Gould Barn 1 Howlett St, Topsfield, Massachusetts
Featuring live acoustic music and audience sing-alongs, coupled with rare audio and video clips, this multi-media presentation highlights the Beatles' influence on world culture.
Free, family-friendly event co-sponsored by the Topsfield Historical Society, the Topsfield Town Library and the Topsfield Cultural Council.
The Halifax Explosion:
New Study Results
THURSDAY, April 13, 7:30pm
Gould Barn 1 Howlett St, Topsfield, Massachusetts
A few years ago, Topsfield's own, Dave Read, gave an informative presentation on the Halifax explosion and Boston's assistance to the survivors. Now Dave returns to update his presentation with new information that he's uncovered.
The Court-Martial of
Paul Revere
Presented by Michael Greenberg
THURSDAY, May 11, 7:30pm
Gould Barn 1 Howlett St, Topsfield, Massachusetts
The WHAT of Paul Revere?! Micheal Greenberg presents a new angle on the not-so-well-known Paul Revere.
ONLY THOSE WITH LIMITED MOBILITY may park in spaces marked ‘Gould Barn’ near the walkway, in the Congregational Church’s parking lot between the Church’s Emerson Center and the Gould Barn. All others MUST park along the east side of East Common Street (same side as Emerson Center) or on Main Street.
To maximize safety and enjoyment for all attendees, THS has adopted the following policies for its programs:
1. All those who attend are required to be vaccinated or wear a mask.
2. Seating will be spread out and the maximum number of attendees may be capped.
3. THS reserves the right to require the wearing of masks if the public health situation warrants it at the time of the event.
Annual Membership Meeting Video
If you want to check on what you heard at THS's annual meeting last month or if you just weren't able to come, here's the video:
[We apologize but for now you can only watch this video in a Google Chrome browser which is signed into a Google account. We'll have this fixed next week.]
Sharing the Love of History
The
Topsfield Historical Society is dedicated to the study and preservation
of the history of Topsfield Massachusetts. All volunteers, we are active
participants in the vitality and character of our small town. We invite
all Topsfield residents and those interested in the preservation of our
town’s history to join in on our many opportunities to be involved.
We are organized to enjoy, learn and preserve the history of Topsfield, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States of America. We offer monthly talks on a wide variety of historical topics such as colonial slavery, women's history, Boston history and historical actors such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Mark Twain. We run educational programs for Topsfield schools and local children. Every June, we sponsor the Strawberry Festival which features Topsfield's local nonprofit organizations, local history exhibits and local craftspeople.
Since the early 1900s, we have owned and cared for the 1683 Parson Capen Historical House.
Interested in seeing the Parson Capen House? Private tours are available upon request by emailing: capenhouse@topsfieldhistory.org. Please give us two weeks notice before you would like to come. Volunteers are not usually available on short notice.
In the 1990s, we moved and restored the 300 year old Gould Barn which we now offer to the community as a meeting and event space.Study
We also actively promote research and promotion of Topsfield’s history through scholarships, lectures and Topsfield school programs. We collaborate with the Topsfield Town Library, the Topsfield Town Clerk's office, the Essex National Heritage Commission, Gordon College (Wenham) and other historical and cultural organizations within Essex County and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.Our new project for the new millenium is the Digital History Online Project. We are creating a new website that will act as a central clearinghouse for all original and secondary source resources on Topsfield's history. Since our beginnings in the late 1800s, the Topsfield Historical Society has published over 30 volumes of information and historical research results regarding Topsfield's history. Digital History Online Project is the beginning of a new effort to make this information easily accessible to researchers of all types into the future.
Strawberry Festival
Our major fundraiser is the annual June Strawberry Festival which attracts newcomers, old-timers, and visitors from all over Massachusetts and the United States.
Contact Us
The Topsfield Historical Society has existed for over 100 years and has over 400 members in 18 states. We invite you to join our membership.The Gould Barn page has more information on renting the Barn for your next event.
Questions about our historical archives can be addressed to HistoricalRecords@TopsfieldHistory.org.
We invite you to explore our website, send us your comments and join our Society.Please Note: Do NOT call the Gould Barn phone number. That phone is for internal purposes only. No messages are taken and no calls returned.
The Society can be reached by email only. Please use the appropriate emails above or use webmaster@topsfieldhistory.org.
