Chelmsford () is a town in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

that was established in 1655. It is located northwest of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The Chelmsford militia played a role in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

at the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...

. Chelmsford was incorporated in May 1655 by an act of the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

. When Chelmsford was incorporated, its local economy was fueled by lumber mills,

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

quarries and

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

s. The farming community of East Chelmsford was incorporated as Lowell in the 1820s; over the next decades it would go on to become one of the first large-scale factory towns in the United States because of its early role in the country's

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. Chelmsford experienced a drastic increase in population between 1950 and 1970, coinciding with the connection of U.S. Route 3 in Lowell to

Massachusetts Route 128 Route 128, known as the Yankee Division Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts maintained by the Highway Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Spanning , it is one of two beltways (the oth ...

in the 1950s and the extension of U.S. Route 3 from Chelmsford to

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in the 1960s. Chelmsford has a representative town meeting form of government. The current town manager is Paul Cohen. The town has one public high school— Chelmsford High School, which is ranked among the top 500 schools in the nation—as well as two middle schools, and four elementary schools. The charter middle school started in Chelmsford became a regional charter school ( Innovation Academy Charter School) covering grades 5 through 12, now located in Tyngsborough. Chelmsford high school age students also have the option of attending the Nashoba Valley Technical High School, located in Westford. In 2011, Chelmsford was declared the 28th best place to live in the United States by ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...

'' magazine.

History

Early colonization

The

Pennacook The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were an Algonquian-speaking Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who lived in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a n ...

inhabited the area for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Settler-colonizers from the adjacent communities of Woburn and

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

founded Chelmsford in 1652. An act of the Massachusetts General Court in the last week of May 1655 incorporated Chelmsford as a town; it was named after

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of Londo ...

, England. The nearby communities of Groton and Billerica were incorporated at the same time. Chelmsford originally contained the neighboring town of Westford, as well as parts of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

, Tyngsborough and a large part of Lowell (formerly known as East Chelmsford). Successive Pennacook leaders Passaconaway and Wonalancet strove to maintain a friendship with the European settler-colonizers who founded Chelmsford within their territory.Stewart-Smith, D. (1998). The Pennacook Indians and the New England frontier, circa 1604-1733. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. Despite this determinedly pro-peace stance, Chelmsford settlers became increasingly violent towards the tribe, often forcing the Pennacook to flee north temporarily or permanently. On one notable occasion, a handful of Pennacook who were too sick or elderly to flee with their kin remained behind and Chelmsford settlers burnt them alive in their dwelling. Eventually most Pennacook refugees permanently moved north to join relations in Odanak, but their descendants among the Abenaki First Nation and other tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy continue to view Chelmsford as part of their ancestral and unceded homeland.Day, Gordon, 1981. ''The Identity of the Saint Francis Indians'', National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, National Museum Of Man Mercury Series ISSN 0316-1854, Canadian Ethnology Service Paper No. 71 ISSN 0316-1862. In 1722 Chelmsford had imposed a fine for keeping strangers in town for more than 30 days. This was used for racial, religious, and political discrimination, as well as to keep out witchcraft. This practice and similar ones occurred until the Act of Settlement of 1793. In 1760, several women of Chelmsford were suspected of being

witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

such as Sarah (Hildreth) Byam and Martha Sparks who were charged under these accusations. Martha was held in the Boston Gaol for witchcraft, appeared in court, but was eventually set free after about a month. Some relate her freedom to the influence of the Chelmsford minister. 1899 Chelmsford public library Massachusetts

1899 Chelmsford public library Massachusetts

The Chelmsford militia played a role in the

at the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the

. The town's own Lieutenant Colonel Moses Parker fought on the hill. He was wounded and captured, and died from his wounds on July 4, 1775. The Lieutenant Colonel Moses Parker Middle School honors his name, and the lobby displays a representation of the man. He is depicted in the

John Trumbull John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Re ...

painting The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775 and in a painting in the Bunker Hill Museum. Captain Benjamin Walker of this town was also killed in this battle.

Later history

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

opened a school in Chelmsford in 1825, closing it after a few months to take over his brother's school in

Roxbury Roxbury may refer to: Places ;Canada * Roxbury, Nova Scotia * Roxbury, Prince Edward Island ;United States * Roxbury, Connecticut * Roxbury, Kansas * Roxbury, Maine * Roxbury, Boston, a municipality that was later integrated into the city of Bo ...

. Chelmsford's first school for the deaf was established in 1866, with a focus in oralism. There was a maximum capacity of eight students at a time. This pioneer school was eventually closed in order to make way for the formation of a larger deaf school in Rowley known as Clark School. Both the Middlesex Canal and Middlesex Turnpike, major transportation routes, were built through Chelmsford in the first part of the 19th century. Chelmsford was the birthplace of the Chelmsford Spring Co. in 1901, which later became the Chelmsford Ginger Ale Company, acquired by

Canada Dry Canada Dry is a brand of soft drinks founded in 1904 and owned since 2008 by the American company Dr Pepper Snapple (now Keurig Dr Pepper). For over 100 years, Canada Dry has been known mainly for its ginger ale, though the company also manuf ...

in 1928. The ginger ale plant, rebuilt in 1912 after a disastrous fire consumed the original plant, stood on Route 110 until its demolition in 1994. The Chelmsford brand of golden ginger ale continued to be manufactured by Canada Dry for decades. It is currently manufactured by Polar Beverages for DeMoulas/Market Basket supermarkets, based out of neighboring

Tewksbury Tewksbury may refer to: Places *Tewksbury, Massachusetts, USA *Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, USA * Tewksbury Heights, Contra Costa County, California, USA *Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England **Tewkesbury (UK Parliament constituency) **Borough o ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.29%, is water. Chelmsford is bordered by two sizable rivers: the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...

to the north, and the

Concord River The Concord River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. The river drains ...

to the east. Chelmsford consists of several neighborhoods. In addition to the town center, smaller areas include South Chelmsford, West Chelmsford, East Chelmsford, North Chelmsford and The Westlands. North Chelmsford, an industrial village, is distinct from the rest of the town to the extent that it has many of its own town services. The northern parts of Chelmsford tend to be more urban and densely populated, while the south is generally more rural. Like much of the rest of Massachusetts, Chelmsford has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

. Summers are typically warm and humid, while winters tend to be cold, windy, and snowy. The level of precipitation is roughly consistent throughout the year.

Demographics

As of the US census of 2010, there were 33,802 people, 13,313 households, and 9,328 families residing in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 88.6%

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

, 1.1%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 8.4% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2% of the population.

Crime

As of 2008, Chelmsford had a violent crime rate of 132 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to a rate of 449 in Massachusetts as a whole and 455 nationwide. The town had a property crime rate of 1,904 incidents per 100,000 people in 2008, compared to a rate of 2,400 for the state and 3,213 nationwide. Chelmsford has one

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, a ...

located near McCarthy Middle School. The , $7.19-million dollar structure began operation in 2003.

Government

The town uses a representative town meeting model with a Board of Selectmen overseeing the operation of the town. As of May 2020, the members of the Board of Selectmen are: Chairman Virginia Crocker Timmins, Vice Chairman Kenneth Lefebvre, Clerk Mark Carota, George R. Dixon, Jr. and Pat Wojtas.. Reporting to the Board of Selectmen are the town manager, town counsel, and town accountant. The town manager oversees the public employees and serves as Chief Executive Officer. The current town manager is Paul Cohen. Other elected boards include the Planning Board, School Committee, Library Trustees, Cemetery Commission, Board of Health, Sewer Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals. Chelmsford is represented in the Massachusetts Senate by Michael J. Barrett. The town sends four delegates to the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

, each of whom represent one or more of Chelmsford's nine precincts. Tami Gouveia is the state representative for precincts one and nine; Thomas Golden Jr., precincts two, three, and eight; James Arciero, precincts eight, five and seven; and Vanna Howard, precinct four. The Fay A. Rotenberg School, a juvenile correctional facility for girls operated by the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps, Inc. on behalf of the

Massachusetts Department of Youth Services The Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) is a state agency of Massachusetts. Its Administrative Office is headquartered in 600 Washington Street Boston. The agency operates the state's juvenile justice services. The DYS regions are the ...

, first opened in North Chelmsford in 1982; this facility had 16 beds. In 2006 the school moved to its current location in

Westborough Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...

Education

The Chelmsford Public Schools district serves students in pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade. Data below are from Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE); class sizes are for 2008–2009 school year. All expenditures considered, the Chelmsford public schools district spent $10,070 per pupil as of 2008, which was lower than the state average of $12,449. This was an increase of almost $400 from Chelmsford per-pupil spending in 2007. As of 2008 per-pupil allocation, $3,937 went to classroom and specialist teachers, $333 to administration, and $185 to instructional materials, equipment and technology. In 2009, Chelmsford High School ranked 66th out of 150 public high schools considered by '' Boston Magazine''. The ranking took into account many statistics associated with quality of education and academic performance, including the school's 14.5:1

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

. In the 2006–2007 school year, the average SAT scores for Chelmsford High School were 527 in the reading section, 519 in writing, and 535 in math. Chelmsford High School performed significantly better than the state average in the English, math and science portions of the 2009 Grade 10 MCAS tests, scoring 89, 87 and 77 out of 100, respectively.

Historic places in Chelmsford

* Chelmsford Center Historic District * Fiske House (1798) * Hildreth-Robbins House (1742) * Middlesex Canal (1802) * Old Chelmsford Garrison House (1691), now a museum * Oliver Hutchins House (1820) * Barrett-Byam Homestead (1663)-home of the Chelmsford Historical Society * North Town Hall (1853)

Transportation

Chelmsford is located at the intersection of the major US highways of I-495 and U.S. 3. Also found in Chelmsford are state routes 3A, 4, 27, 40, 110, and 129, making it a significant junction of roadways. The heart of the town center is Central Square - the junction of routes 4, 110, the end of 129, and Westford Street. The Square is affectionately known as 'Chicken Corner' to locals. Until the 21st century, lights there were seen as non-'historic', crossing the of pavement with no controls save a few stop signs was akin to a game of Chicken. Drivers would wait in long lines of cars to enter the square, where they often would invent their own lanes, waiting for a relatively safe chance to cross. In 2004, the town was forced to put in stoplights and lane markers. They were necessary to control the traffic-clogged center. In addition to the Square, Chelmsford Center is a series of merging and splitting roads, many one-way, including the beginning of route 27. Chelmsford is home to the former Drum Hill Rotary. This rotary was the cause of many accidents that occurred due to its small overall size and ability for vehicles to gain speed. It formed the intersection of U.S. Route 3 (exit 32), Route 4, Drum Hill Road, and Westford Road. The rotary was demolished in 2003. It was replaced with a four intersection square with traffic lights, and is now called Drum Hill Square. This was part of a widening project for U.S. Route 3 between

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

( Route 128) and the

state line.

Freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...

travels daily through Chelmsford over the tracks of the historic

Stony Brook Railroad The Stony Brook Railroad (formally the Stony Brook Railroad Corporation), chartered in 1845, was a railroad company in Massachusetts, United States. The company constructed a rail line between the Nashua and Lowell Railroad's main line at the ...

. The line currently serves as a major

corridor Corridor or The Corridor may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Corridor'' (1968 film), a 1968 Swedish drama film * ''The Corridor'' (1995 film), a 1995 Lithuanian drama film * ''The Corridor'' (2010 film), a 2010 Canadia ...

of Pan Am Railways' District 3 which connects New Hampshire and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

with western

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail runs through Chelmsford, including the Central Square intersection. The LRTA bus routes 15, 16 and 17 connect Chelmsford to the Lowell train station on the

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 stati ...

Lowell Line The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire Main Line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad and later operated as part of the Boston & M ...

Notable people

Josiah Gardner Abbott Josiah Gardner Abbott (November 1, 1814 – June 2, 1891) was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts General Court and as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Early life Abbott was born in ...

(1814–1891), born in Chelmsford, politician *

Keith Aucoin Keith M. Aucoin (born November 6, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, and St. Louis Blues. Playing caree ...

(born 1978), former NHL player * Jeff Bauman (born 1986), author and Boston Marathon bombing survivor *

Phil Bourque Phillipe Richard Bourque (born June 8, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was never selected in the NHL Entry Draft; instead, he was signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 4, 1982. He is a dista ...

(born 1962), former NHL player * Gerry Callahan, sports columnist and radio host * Dawn Clements (1958–2018), artist * George Condo (born 1957), painter * Bill Cooke (born 1951), former NFL player * Dan Curran (born 1976), former NFL player * Edward DeSaulnier (1921–1989), state legislator and judge *

Gururaj Deshpande Gururaj Deshpande ("Desh" Deshpande) is an Indian American venture capitalist and entrepreneur, who is best known for co-founding the Chelmsford, MA-based internet equipment manufacturer Sycamore Networks,Jack Eichel John Robert Eichel (born October 28, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey center for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eichel was selected second overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. Be ...

(born 1996), NHL player * Steve Hunt (born 1958), jazz pianist and composer * Ulysses John "Tony" Lupien (1917–2004),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

player and college baseball coach *

Jon Morris Jon Morris (born April 5, 1942) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman for fifteen seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for the Boston/New Engl ...

(born 1966), former NHL player * Colleen Mullen (born 1980), college basketball coach and former player * Sandra Newman (born 1965), writer * Benjamin Pierce (1757–1839), born in Chelmsford,

Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering ...

and the father of U.S. president

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

* Jeffrey Snover, Microsoft Technical Fellow and inventor of PowerShell *

Peter Torkildsen Peter Gerard Torkildsen (born January 28, 1958) is an American Republican Party politician from Massachusetts. He represented the 13th Essex district, including his hometown of Danvers, in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1985 ...

(born 1958), former chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party and former congressman * John Traphagan (born 1961), author and professor of religious studies and anthropology *

Kristen Wilson Kristen Wilson (born September 4, 1969) is a former American actress, best known as Miranda DuBaer in '' Twitches'' and ''Twitches Too'' and as Lisa Dolittle in the films '' Dr. Dolittle'', '' Dr. Dolittle 2'', and '' Dr. Dolittle 3''. Early li ...

(born 1969), actress

References

External links

Town of Chelmsford official website
{{authority control Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts Massachusetts populated places on the Merrimack River