The Topsham post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Waits River (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 162 in 17902020 census: 1,199204 years
How historic is Topsham?
B+
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Topsham post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Topsham’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Topsham is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Topsham’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Topsham’s 20.0 sits below most of its state (35% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Topsham’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Peaked at 1,745 in 1840; 1,199 people lived here in 2020.
24 censuses, 1790–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Topsham’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Topsham’s post office has been open since 1822. Another post office, Waits River, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Topsham
1822–today
West Topsham
1827–today
Waits River
1854–1963
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East TopshamTopsham Four CornersWaits RiverWest Topsham
12cemeteries and burying grounds inside Topsham
Avery FamilyCurrier HillEast TopshamFellowsGroton RoadHuckins - Caldwell HillMills FamilyOld West TopshamRound TopWaits RiverWest TopshamZion Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Topsham, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Topsham yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Topsham is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,199 at the 2020 census. It contains four villages: East Topsham, Topsham Four Corners, Waits River, and West Topsham.
Its first post office opened in 1822. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,173 to 1,199 (+2%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Topsham in 1929
Passages that mention Topsham, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Sketches of the town of Topsham, Orange County, Vermont, 19291929 · page 63Read the page →
Read the text
In the original charter of the Town of Topsham and many other towns in the State of Vermont one lot was given to this society. Lot. No. 6 0 became the ‘‘Society Lot” in the Town of Topsham.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Sketches of the town of Topsham, Orange County, Vermont, 19291929 · page 59Read the page →
Read the text
The Methodist Church Society of Topsham was organized at West Topsham September 15, 18 60. The society had nearly one hundred members in Topsham besides several in East Orange and East Corinth. The services were carried on in public or private buildings in the villages of Topsham till 1876.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Topsham, 1822 to 1963
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Topsham post office opened in 1822, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Topsham rank for history?
Topsham is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Topsham?
Two places: the Elwin Chase House (listed 1977) and the Waits River Schoolhouse (1988).
How old are the homes in Topsham?
18% of Topsham’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.0 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont town; the median home was built in 1981.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2017
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2014
2007
2004
