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The colorful and often exciting history of Topsfield Fair
began in 1818 when the Essex Agricultural Society, the non-profit
organization that owns the Topsfield Fair, was officially granted a charter
on June 12th of that year.
The goal of the fledgling Society, formed by a group of
"practical farmers" who first met on February 16, 1818, was "to promote and
improve the agricultural interests of farmers and others in Essex County."
Now, 186 years later, the Society still strives to do
this, "to encourage, promote and preserve Essex County agricultural
activities and to educate the general public regarding their importance in
an atmosphere of fun and excitement through the medium of the Topsfield
Fair."
What began as the Essex Agricultural Society Cattle Show
with its annual exhibits/fairs held in various sites around Essex County to
showcase agriculture, Topsfield Fair has been held annually at its existing
location since 1910. It is fitting that the fair eventually settled in
Topsfield, for it was at the town's former Cyrus Cummings Tavern that twenty
or more men first gathered that February in 1818 to form what soon became
the Essex Agricultural Society.
The Honorable Timothy Pickering, a 1763 Harvard graduate
and Revolutionary War hero with a renowned political background, was elected
as the first president of the Society, a position he held for ten years.
History speaks of Pickering, who had a small farm in Wenham, as "a
scientific and practical farmer" who had earlier assisted in the formation
of the Agricultural Society of Philadelphia. During his political career
under President George Washington he served as Postmaster General, Secretary
of War and Secretary of State. Returning to Massachusetts he was elected
United States Senator for two terms and later served in the House of
Representatives from 1813 to 1817.
An offshoot of the Massachusetts Society for the
Promotion of Agriculture, incorporated in 1792, the Essex Agricultural
Society, which now has more than twelve hundred members, was originally
established to serve as a clearinghouse for farmers. Its goal was to gather
and provide information from progressive farmers and bring that information
to every farmer in Essex County.
The Society first brought the needed information to its
members by publishing, in pamphlet form, informative information on
agriculture. The information ranged from methods used by progressive farmers
to new tools that were available and new breeds of animals.
The first pamphlet recorded a paper written by President
Pickering and presented on May 5, 1818. The subjects included information on
an incredible cow with remarkable butter-making qualities owned by Caleb
Oakes of Danvers, and some new root crops. So impressed was Pickering with
the new root crops (believed to be carrots) he supplied each member of the
Society with a packet of seeds.
The second method of bringing important information to
the farmers of Essex County was the Cattle Show that had proved popular in
other areas. The fair as it is known today descended from that original
event that was held on October 5, 1820 in Topsfield. According to historical
documents, Topsfield was chosen because it was the most central point in
Essex County in those days of stagecoach travel.
At that first show there were committee reports on
working oxen, neat cattle, dairy, fat oxen and swine, Indian corn, potatoes
and manure. The first premium was awarded to President Pickering for
"superior performance of his plough."
The fair has been held annually since that first cattle
show with just six exceptions, all out of the hands of the Society. By
government decree it was suspended for three years during the Civil War and
for three years, 1943, 1944 and 1945 during World War II.
Topsfield Fairgrounds sits on the former Treadwell Farm
property. Dr. John Goodhue Treadwell of Salem bequeathed the farm to the
Agricultural Society in 1858 for the "promotion of the science of
agriculture." |
