Topsham () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Topsham was included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 9,560 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area The city of Portland, Maine, is the hub city of a metropolitan area in southern Maine. The region is commonly known as Greater Portland or the Portland metropolitan area. For statistical purposes, the U.S. federal government defines three differ ...

. The town is home to the annual Topsham Fair.

History

Called Sawacook, the area was territory of the Pejepscot

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

, a

subtribe Subtribe is a taxonomic category ranking which is below the rank of tribe and above genus. The standard suffix for a subtribe is -ina (in animals) or -inae (in plants). The first use of this word dates back to the late 19th century. An example of ...

of the Anasagunticooks (now Androscoggins), who controlled the

Androscoggin River The Androscoggin River (Abenaki: ''Ammoscongon'') is a river in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire, in northern New England. It is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data''The National Map'', a ...

. They lived and fished at Pejepscot Falls. But a plague, probably

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

brought by Europeans, decimated the tribe's population in 1615–1616. On June 16, 1632, the area was granted by the Plymouth Council to Thomas Purchase and George Way, later acquired by Richard Wharton and then, in 1714, by the Pejepscot Company. The first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

was built in 1716 on the Cathance River and, in 1717, the plantation received the name Topsham, named for Topsham in Devon, England. On January 31, 1764, it was incorporated as a town by the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

Shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

mills were important early businesses, the latter especially active between 1750 and 1770. There was a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

and

brickyard A brickyard or brickfield is a place or Yard (land), yard where bricks are made, pottery firing, fired, and stored, or sometimes Commerce, sold or otherwise distributed from. Brick makers work in a brick yard. A brick yard may be constructed ...

. Pejepscot Falls provided

water power Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kin ...

to operate mills, and industries included a

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide securit ...

window sash A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels, or "sashes". The individual sashes are traditionally paned windows, but can now contain an individual sheet (or sheets, in the case of double glazing) of glass. History ...

and

stairway A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway. ...

factory, shingle mill, watch factory,

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

maker, nail factory,

pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

factory, two tanneries, tobacco manufacturer, two

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

and a

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

works. In 1856, the Sagadahoc Agricultural & Horticultural Society erected its building and fairgrounds, and the town remains host to the annual Topsham Fair. In 1756, a toll bridge connecting Brunswick and Topsham was constructed by the "Proprietors of the Androscoggin Bridge." It was destroyed by fire in 1842. The current Frank J. Wood Bridge, known as "the Green Bridge", was opened in 1932. In 1936, a large flood hit Brunswick and Topsham, damaging the pedestrian "

Swing Bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

" and causing the Androscoggin to flow through the lower levels of the Pejepscot Mill. It is thought that Topsham and Brunswick have safe houses related to the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. Although the Underground Railroad was only metaphorically underground, it is thought that in Brunswick and Topsham, it was (in parts) actually underground, utilizing tunnels which ran between safe houses. These tunnels were constructed of carefully laid red brick with vertical side walls, an arched top and a flat brick-paved bottom up to some wide which would allow the easy passage of individuals on foot as well as a horse and buggy if desired. In Topsham, tunnels were constructed from the Granny-Hole Mill on the Androscoggin River up to the Samuel Veazie House, passing through the Charles Thompson House and the Walker Homestead on the way. The Brunswick and Topsham Water District was incorporated in 1903. File:Pejepscot Falls, Androscoggin River, ME.jpg, Pejepscot Falls in 1869 File:Topsham from Mason St, by Barnes, G. W. (George W.).jpg, Town view File:Paper Mills, Topsham, ME.jpg, Paper mills

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Located beside Merrymeeting Bay at the mouth of the

, Topsham is drained by the Cathance River, Little River and Muddy River. The town is crossed by Interstate 295,

U.S. Route 201 U.S. Route 201 (US 201) is part of the nationwide system of United States Numbered Highways. It runs for entirely within the state of Maine and is a spur route of U.S. Route 1. Its southern terminus is in Brunswick at US 1 and Maine State R ...

, and state routes 24 and

196 Year 196 ( CXCVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dexter and Messalla (or, less frequently, year 949 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 196 for this yea ...

. It borders the towns of Bowdoin and Bowdoinham to the north, Brunswick to the south, and Durham and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

to the northwest. The highest point in the town is Tate Hill.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 8,784 people, 3,720 households, and 2,453 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 4,167 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.1%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.8%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population. There were 3,720 households, of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 52.8% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.1% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals. 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 persons and the average family size was 2.81 persons. The median age in the town was 45.2 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.4% were from 25 to 44; 31.6% were from 45 to 64; and 18.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,100 people, 3,424 households, and 2,461 families living in the town. The median income for a household in the town was $47,682, and the median income for a family was $52,134. Males had a median income of $35,943 versus $25,581 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,135. About 3.0% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools in the area are operated by Maine School Administrative District 75. There are two elementary schools: Williams-Cone School and Woodside Elementary. The middle school i
Mt. Ararat Middle School
and the high school is Mt. Ararat High School.

Sites of interest

* Androscoggin Pedestrian Swinging Bridge * Pejepscot Paper Company Mill (1868)

Notable people

* William A. Ellis, former member of the Wisconsin Senate, was born in Topsham * Frank Glazer, pianist, composer and professor of music * Elijah Kellogg, minister, lecturer, author * Rebecca Jauch, state legislator * Holman S. Melcher, Civil War era officer and politician *

Benjamin Orr Benjamin Orr (, September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000) was an American musician. He was best known as the bassist, co-lead vocalist, and co-founder of the band the Cars. He sang lead vocals on several of their hits, including "Just What I Nee ...

, US congressman * Benjamin Randall, US congressman * John Rensenbrink, co-founder of the Maine Green Independent Party and the

Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; ...

* Carter Smith, film director and fashion photographer

References

External links

Town of Topsham, Maine

Topsham Public Library

{{Authority control Portland metropolitan area, Maine Towns in Sagadahoc County, Maine Towns in Maine Pejepscot, Maine