The earliest known record of the name "Northfield" being used in reference to the area is 1852. This was a newspaper entry in the
South Australia Register 4 October 1852 on the marriage notice of John Lewis to Harriet Ricketts of Northfield. Northfield was known as "Northfield, Dry Creek" as early as 1855 and the Free Labour stone quarry worked by Convicts at that time was later to become the Prison Quarry. The suburb was serviced by the former
Northfield railway line and
Northfield railway station from the opening of the line in 1857, until its closure to passenger traffic on 29 May 1987. The former terminus of the line,
Stockade railway station, which was closed in 1961, was built to load stone from the quarries behind Female Labour Prison). Sections of Northfield were renamed
Northgate and
Lightsview in later years. ==Landmarks==