The Topsfield Fair Turns 200

For millions of people across generations, autumn on the North Shore is synonymous with the Topsfield Fair, with its fairytail-sized pumpkins, whirling carnival rides, sticky caramel apples, and adorable animals. I’ve been one of those fairgoers since I was a child, and those annual trips to the fair shine bright in my memory. As a teenager, I strolled through the fairgrounds hand in hand with my high school boyfriend, who tried valiantly to win me a stuffed animal on the midway. As a mom nearly 20 years later, I watched my own little girl delight in winning herself a goldfish after a triumphant game of ring toss. So when I was tasked

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The Magazine

Our author recounts both the history of the oldest agricultural fair in the country and her own personal memories of it.

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