In December 1874, a committee of “concerned friends” established the Topsfield Town Library; first town librarian Rev. Anson McLoud called the library’s establishment “a perennial source of gratification, improvement, and enlargement” in the town of Topsfield. 150 years later, on December 10, 2024, we celebrated that anniversary with a birthday party for the ages, welcoming over 200 visitors with live music, cake and refreshments, a historical exhibit in partnership with the Topsfield Historical Society, unveiling of a community paper quilt project, and a lecture highlighting the library’s history.
Leading off our party, the TriTown Rock Band, “a performing peer-mentored ensemble for Tri-Town (Topsfield, Boxford, and Middleton) students with and without disabilities in Grade 6-12,” rocked out from 4-5pm. Playing such classics like “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Walking on Sunshine,” we figured there was no better way to mark 150 years than hosting those who will lead us into the next 150 years!
At 5pm, the sweet sounds of classical guitarist Scott Ouellette filled our building as Topsfield Library Director Dan Tremblay cut into our huge cake (supplied by the Topsfield Bakeshop). We also served specially-branded cookies celebrating our 150th anniversary from Wicked Good Cookies.
State Representatives Kristen Kassner and Sally Kerans, and State Senator Bruce Tarr were on hand to present the library with special citations marking the 150th Anniversary of the Topsfield Town Library. At 6pm. Head of Adult Services Sean Smith gave a presentation about the history of the library from its founding to present day, acknowledging “the foundation of this library, and its successes, are due to the public spirit and tireless work of the citizens of Topsfield.” As such, the celebration was truly “for the entire town.”
Text of History of the Topsfield Library lecture
Given by Head of Adult Services, Sean Smith, on December 10, 2024
My name is Sean Smith, and I am a librarian here at the Topsfield Town Library. In preparation for this evening, I spent much of the past year researching the history of this library, I am going to share a very brief history of the library. One clear, undeniable theme emerges: the foundation of this library, and its successes, are due to the public spirit and tireless work of the citizens of Topsfield. Truly, tonight is a celebration for the entire town.
The Topsfield Town Library can trace its origins to the Topsfield Library Society, founded on March 20, 1794, under Reverend Asahel Huntington, the pastor of the Congregational Church. It was a subscription library formed by 80 residents who paid 20 shillings each. The bookcase, original books, and handwritten constitution of the society from 1794 are on display in the George Francis Dow Periodical Room, to my right. The case and collection were stored at the home of the current librarian. Books circulated the last Monday of each month between 1-4pm; a maximum of one book was allowed checked out at one time. You could purchase additional “shares” to borrow more items or have priority on borrowing a certain item. Following the death of Rev. Huntington in 1813, interest in the Library Society waned. Other subscription-based libraries popped up in Topsfield throughout the mid-1800s, including an Anti-Slavery Library and Agricultural Library.
On December 21st, 1874, a committee of “concerned friends” established the taxpayer-funded Topsfield Town Library, merging the several subscription-based libraries in town under one roof. I wish to briefly highlight a couple of these “concerned friends.”
At the forefront of this movement in Topsfield was Sidney Merriam, a Topsfield native and Civil War veteran. Following the war, he returned to Topsfield and, in the words of the Salem Gazette, “planned and carried out the noble work of founding a public library in his native town.” Merriam spearheaded the effort to merge the subscription libraries and build support for the library. Following his death in 1876 at age 35, the Library Committee reported to the town that “the Library owes its existence and its effective organization” to him more than any other individual. Among his last acts in life was to secure a thousand dollar bond for the library that will be “so administered that coming generations will bless his memory.” The Sidney Augustus Merriam Reading Room is named for him, to my left.
Another vital name in the history of the library was Rev. Anson McLoud. He was born in 1813 and served as pastor at the Congregational Church in Topsfield from 1841-1869. A passionate advocate for education for Topsfield, he served on the Topsfield School Committee and was on the founding committee of the Topsfield Town Library. He viewed the establishment of the Library as “the natural and necessary crown and completion of our free school system…[it] will become…a perennial source of gratification, improvement, and enlargement” in the Town of Topsfield. He served as the first librarian from the library’s founding until his death in 1883.
In an address given on October 31, 1875, of which we have the handwritten remarks preserved thanks to the Topsfield Historical Society on display in the Dow Periodical Room, Rev. McLoud stated “…the library healthful and vigorous grows and adapts…supplying the conscious wants of the community, for whose benefit it has been called into existence… The readers of the Library will possess intelligence, breadth of view, soundness of judgment, independence of thought, in one word, Character, which will make them better citizens in every respect.”
A room was provided in the then newly-built Topsfield Town Hall, another town building celebrating 150 years this year, to house the library. With the additions from the smaller subscription libraries and proceeds from donations (money and books) of interested townspeople, at the end of its first year the Topsfield Town Library contained 1,256 volumes, with an overall circulation of 7,700 books. The new town library was open to ALL Topsfield residents aged 12 and older. It was considered an immediate success.
One early controversy: in 1878, one Topsfield reverend, in a sermon, denounced the “weak and sentimental trash and love-sick stories” in the library’s catalog and called for a considerable “weeding” of the books in the library’s collection to benefit the moral atmosphere of young readers, as “too much novel is a very bad thing.” However, it was noted that “the library, outside of its fiction, is irreproachable.” The novel that precipitated this attack on the library was Daniel Defoe’s Colonel Jack.
In 1891, Victoria Reed became the first paid librarian at the Topsfield Town Library.
The Spanish Flu pandemic ravaged the world following World War I. To prevent spread of the highly contagious virus, the library shut down for at least a month in 1919-1920.
By 1912, the Library had outgrown its space in Town Hall. George Francis Dow, in a letter to the Town Select Board, wrote that a lot on the corner of Main and High Streets, because of its location, seemed “admirably suited for a site for a Public Library building” and offered to sell it at a discount to the town, with the condition that, for at least ten years, the space be reserved for a library building. Dow’s vision for a library in this location, and his work to secure federal funding was indispensable; the George Francis Dow Periodical Room, on my right.
Architect Harold Field Kellogg drew up plans for a library to be built at the site, with the outside reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. It took twenty years, but the building we stand in was opened on February 16, 1935. Kellogg is responsible for the mural around this room depicting the history of the town, and the relief of the three muses now located above the entrance to the Activity Room.
The library was local headquarters for the Victory Book Campaign, which sent books to American troops overseas fighting during the Second World War. During the summer months, this building was used every Tuesday by the local Red Cross as a community work room for making surgical dressings, and Thursdays the library was used by the local Red Cross sewing unit. In addition, the library was closed on Wednesdays in 1943 to conserve oil for the war effort.
Following the war, the town’s population continued to grow, and the library continued to grow as well. A 1967 renovation located a Children’s Room in the basement of the building, and a 1973 renovation sought to make the building more accessible, reinforce the second floor, and alleviate over-crowding in patron areas.
A special shoutout to the Friends of the Topsfield Town Library, founded in 1969. To this day, the Friends of the Library work to help fund some of our programming, our museum pass program, summer reading programs, and more. For over 50 years, the Friends are another example of public-minded citizens making this library, and this town, a better place.
By the 1980s, once again as the library and town evolved and grew, space was getting cramped. The first floor was jammed with computers and library materials. In 1987, the Topsfield Town Library joined the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium.
In 1988, the Library received surprising news. The will of George L. Gould, an original contributor to the 1935 building, was fully revealed and included a significant bequest to the Library, expressing his strong conviction that the library should not only be a repository of the printed word but also a cultural center promoting the aesthetic in the lives of Topsfield residents.”
George Gould was born in 1852 and was a proprietor of paint and varnish, serving on the Board of Directors of Benjamin Moore paint. George Gould had a summer home on Washington St. in Topsfield and was related to the Gould family that were among the original settlers of the town. The George L. Gould Fund continues to support the library mission to this day by funding library materials, programs, concerts, artwork and more. In addition, this bequest helped fund an addition to the original building built 1997-1999. Countless people in this town, and here tonight, volunteered their time and money to see that vision become reality.
On August 23, 1997, the library temporarily relocated to the storefront at the Topsfield Village Shopping Center. 200 volunteers helped move over 7,000 bags of books from the library to a storefront in the Topsfield Village Shopping Center while the addition was completed. The Library reopened on February 27, 1999 amid much celebration.
In the 21st century, the library continues to “grow and adapt,” as prescribed by our first librarian, Rev. McLoud. We stared down another pandemic, with the staff here working hard to continue to offer library services to our community. Today, more than 2,700 residents of the town have an active library card. This year, the library holds 120,000 volumes, with a circulation close to 130,000 (averaging almost 20 checkouts per capita, among the highest in the state) and hosted over 300 programs. Our e-book/e-audiobook collection is growing rapidly, with the highest circulation per capita in our consortium this fiscal year. We have a Library of Things where you can check out everything from an air hockey table to board games, a sewing machine, lawn games, seeds, and mobile hotspots.
So, here’s to another 150 years. Thank you, Topsfield.
