Topsham, Maine

Called Sawacook, the area was territory of the Pejepscot Abenaki Indians, a subtribe of the Anasagunticooks (now Androscoggins), who controlled the Androscoggin River. They lived and fished at Pejepscot Falls. But a plague, probably smallpox 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.[4]

The first sawmill 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.[5] Shipbuilding and lumber mills were important early businesses, the latter especially active between 1750 and 1770. There was a gristmill and brickyard. Pejepscot Falls provided water power to operate mills, and industries included a door, window sash and stairway factory, shingle mill, watch factory, pottery maker, nail factory, pitchfork factory, two tanneries, tobacco manufacturer, two feldspar quarries and a marble works. In 1856, the Sagadahoc Agricultural & Horticultural Society erected its building and fairgrounds, and the town remains host to the annual Topsham Fair.[6]

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" 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. 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 5 feet (1.5 m) 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.[7]

The Brunswick and Topsham Water District was incorporated in 1903.[8]

• 
  Pejepscot Falls in 1869
• 
  Town view c. 1875
• 
  Paper mills c. 1912

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 35.59 square miles (92.18 km²), of which 32.20 square miles (83.40 km²) is land and 3.39 square miles (8.78 km²) is water.[1] Located beside Merrymeeting Bay at the mouth of the Androscoggin River, Topsham is drained by the Cathance River, Little River and Muddy River.

The town is crossed by Interstate 295, U.S. Route 201, and state routes 24 and 196. It borders the towns of Bowdoin and Bowdoinham to the north, Brunswick to the south, and Durham and Lisbon to the northwest. The highest point in the town is Tate Hill.

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 is Mt. Ararat Middle School, and the high school is Mt. Ararat High School.

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

• 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
• Holman S. Melcher, Civil War era officer and politician
• Benjamin Orr, US congressman
• Benjamin Randall, US congressman
• John Rensenbrink, co-founder of the Maine Green Independent Party and the Green Party of the United States
• Carter Smith, film director and fashion photographer

• History of Brunswick, Topsham, and Harpswell, Maine Including Ancient Pejebscot. By George Augustus Wheeler and Henry Warren Wheeler. Published 1878. Full image at books.google.
• Pejepscot Historical Society
• Wright, Virginia M. "The Transformation of Topsham". Down East: The Magazine of Maine (December 2009).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Topsham, Maine.

• Town of Topsham, Maine
• Topsham Public Library
• Pejepscot Historical Society