The Topsfield Historical Society Collection contains civic, military, legal, personal, and business papers of individuals and organizations in Topsfield, Massachusetts. Also included are papers from individuals not living in Topsfield. The collection has been organized into three series.

Series I. Public Records contains records generated from governmental activities (primarily local, but also state or county). Within the civic records (B1 F1), documents may be found which reflect official activities of the town of Topsfield, including state election returns for 1799, 1810, and 1812; a 1758 petition to separate a group of families from the Ipswich parish and join Topsfield; a circa 1828 list of scholars at the North School; petitions for building new roads, appointments of Zaccheus Gould as field driver and Samuel McKenzie as sealer of weights and measures and as measurer of wood and bark; an 1833 return of the town poor which lists name, age, occupation, and ailment; disbursements of aid to disabled soldiers and widows; and the number of church members in 1772. Also included are warrants to collect taxes, personal tax receipts (B1 F2), and tax lists (B1 F3). The common land records (B1 F4) contain agreements, warrants, and accounts of its division into lots.

The bulk of the military records (B1 F5-6) concern the Topsfield Warren Blues. These include a muster list, rules and regulations, and newspaper clippings on the history of the company. Other military documents consist of letters, orders, and notes from Topsfield-related troops.

The folders of legal documents (B1 F7-11) contain correspondence on a case of larceny against Henry E. Lake; a petition to widen the road to Boxford; correspondence regarding the case of Mrs. Francis D. Peabody; an unidentified book of legal cases; notice of appointments for estate administrators (1886-1893); and petitions to the Land Court regarding Ipswich land.

Series II. Private Papers consists of correspondence, diary fragments, personal papers, business and financial records, and genealogical notes of Topsfield residents. The bulk of this series was removed and separately cataloged (see separation sheet). Records which remain include a series of 1842 letters from the Topsfield Academy class of R. Putnam to the editor of the Register about a math puzzler; an 1876 letter discussing the election of Dr. Loring; a letter from Abigail Adams to her granddaughter; an 1832 diary fragment which discusses the writer's activities as a school teacher, events in the town, and political elections; an 1859 diary attributed to Deacon Bixby regarding cutting of lumber; shoemaking (?) production accounts of Rebekah Gould, Mehitable Peabody, and Anna Brown, 1837; land and produce inventory of Samuel Bradstreet's farm; a eulogy of Isaac Averill Jr.; and a poem by Ellen Moody Dole.

The folder on music (B2 F2) includes manuscript music of Jacob Kimball and an unidentified author; the constitution and by-laws of the Beethoven Society; a newspaper article by Henry K. Oliver; and clippings about Kimball. The Revolutionary War-era accounts (B2 F3) contain mostly unidentified mathematical calculations. The genealogical notes (B2 F4) include lists of Topsfield residents in 1865, and notes on births, deaths, and marriages. Within the broadside scrapbook (Volume 1) are an array of broadsides, tickets, programs, and advertisements for Topsfield local businesses, theater and concert events, meetings and lectures, and celebrations.

Box 3 contains 3 reel-to-reel tapes containing interviews with Topsfield residents conducted from 1967 to 1973. The interviewees include Alice Lake, R.N., Charles Pethybridge, Elizabeth Smith, Ruth Houston, Horton Bradstreet, and Herbert Town.

Series III. Non-Topsfield Documents consists of correspondence, petitions, deeds, wills, and legal and financial records of people from Boston, Middleton, Salem, Danvers, Boxford, and Newburyport.