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'Chelmsford' is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston area. It is located 24 miles from Boston and, bordering on the City of Lowell, it is part of the Greater Lowell metropolitan area. Besides Lowell, Chelmsford is surrounded by five towns; Billerica, Tewksbury, Westford, Carlisle, and Tyngsborough. The population was 33,858 at the 2000 census. In 2007, Chelmsford was declared the 21st best place to live in the USA according to Money Magazine.^[1]

Contents

Geography

Demographics

History

Government

Education

Transportation

Notable residents

Trivia

References

See also

External links

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 60.0 km² (23.2 mi²). 58.7 km² (22.6 mi²) of it is land and 1.4 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (2.29%) is water.
Chelmsford is bordered by two sizable rivers. The Merrimack River to the north, and the Concord River to the east
Chelmsford has a number of "villages". 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 quite distinct from the rest of the town to the extent that it has many of its own town services.
In general, the northern parts of Chelmsford tend to be more urban and densely populated, while the south is quite rural.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 33,858 people, 12,812 households, and 9,301 families residing in the town. The population density was 577.2/km² (1,495.0/mi²). There were 13,025 housing units at an average density of 222.0/km² (575.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.09% White, 0.79% African American, 0.07% Native American, 4.62% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population.
There were 12,812 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.4% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $70,207, and the median income for a family was $82,676. Males had a median income of $56,493 versus $38,927 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,465. About 2.0% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

History

Chelmsford was founded by settlers from the adjacent communities of Woburn and Concord, Massachusetts. The town was incorporated by an act of the Massachusetts General Court in the last week of May 1655 and named after Chelmsford, England. The nearby communities of Groton and Billerica were incorporated at the same time. Chelmsford originally contained the neighboring town of Westford, and parts of Carlisle, Tyngsboro, and a large part of Lowell (formerly known as East Chelmsford). In 2005, the town celebrated its 350th anniversary. The town motto is "Let the children guard what the sires have won."
The Chelmsford militia played a role in the American Revolution at the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, the latter where Colonel Moses Parker (namesake of the Parker School) and Captain Benjamin Walker of this town were killed. Capt John Ford is known to have killed 5 redcoats at Concord and led the Chelmsford company of the Massachusetts Line for the duration of the war.
Ralph Waldo Emerson opened a school in Chelmsford in 1825, closing it after a few months to take over his brother's school in Roxbury. [2]
Chelmsford, Massachusetts was the birthplace of the Chelmsford Spring Co. in 1901, which later became the Chelmsford Ginger Ale Company, acquired by Canada Dry 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. Currently, it is manufactured today by Polar Beverages for DeMoulas' Market Basket Supermarkets, based out of neighboring Tewksbury, Massachusetts.

Government

The town uses a representative town meeting model with a Board of Selectmen overseeing the operation of the town. Reporting to the Board of Selectmen are the Town’s Manager, Counsel, and Accountant. The Town Manager, until recently Bernard Lynch, who has left to become the City Manager of Lowell, oversees the public employees and serves as Chief Executive Officer. Other elected boards include: Planning Board, School Committee, Library Trustees, Cemetery Commission, Board of Health, Sewer Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Education

★ Chelmsford Public School District consists of one high school, two middle schools, one charter middle school, and five elementary schools.

★ Chelmsford High School, "CHS," is in North Chelmsford on 200 Richardson Road. The high school mascot is the lion, and the school colors are maroon and white. The school itself consists of three houses for registration purposes and college counselor assignment. The houses are: Emerson , Hawthorne, and Whittier House. Each house is lead by a dean and has two college counselors (Whittier has three at the moment). There is also a fourth house, Dickinson, but it is used for administration purposes now.

★ Nashoba Valley Technical High School - Public Regional Vocational Technical High School located in Westford

★ C. Edith McCarthy Middle School is located on 250 North Road near Chelmsford High School. Lt Colonel Moses Parker Middle School is located on 75 Graniteville Road near Chelmsford High School.

★ Murdoch Middle Public Charter School is located on 40 Brick Kiln Road.

★ Innovation Academy (an offshoot of the Murdoch) will be located at the old town hall.

★ Byam Elementary School is located on 25 Maple Road. Center Elementary School (closed for many years in the 80s-90s (circa), and now reopened) is located on 84 Billerica Road. Harrington Elementary School is located in North Chelmsford on 120 Richardson Road. South Row Elementary School is located on 250 Boston Road. Westlands Elementary School is located on 170 Dalton Road.
One of the main sports in Chelmsford is football. The high school team annually plays a Thanksgiving game against the Billerica Indians, the town's historic rival.

Transportation

Chelmsford is located at the intersection of the major US highways of I-495 and Route 3. Also found in Chelmsford are state routes 3A, 4, 27, 40, 110, and 129.
Chelmsford Center is a notorious 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. The nickname is due to the fact that until the 21st century, because lights were seen as non-'historic', crossing the acre 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.
Freight travels daily through Chelmsford over the tracks of the historic Stony Brook Railroad. The line currently serves as a major corridor of Pan Am Railway's District 3 which connects New Hampshire and Maine with western Massachusetts, Vermont, and New York.^[1]
North Chelmsford will also host a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail station if the proposed extension of the Lowell Line to Nashua, New Hampshire is completed.

Notable residents

★ Mark Eshbaugh, artist, author and musician. Eshbaugh grew up in Chelmsford and graduated from Chelmsford High School. He is the author of several books including a text on alternative photographic processes and monographs of his images.

★ Lance Wilder, the background design supervisor for The Simpsons, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on May 7, 1968 and raised in Chelmsford. Lance graduated from Chelmsford High School in 1986. The elementary school appearing in The Simpsons is based on McCarthy Middle School, which was Chelmsford's high school before the construction of the current Chelmsford High School in 1974. The town hall in the show is based on the Chelmsford Public Library (prior to the recent reconstruction). Many other local businesses and stores in Chelmsford find their way into the background in The Simpsons' hometown of Springfield, including Zesty Pizza, Skip's Restaurant, and the now defunct Skip's Ice Cream, Tony and Ann's Pizza, and Jack's Diner.

★ Benjamin Pierce, Governor of New Hampshire and the father of U.S. president Franklin Pierce, was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts in 1757.

★ Josiah Gardner Abbott, (1814-1891), born in Chelmsford, was a member of the United States House of Representatives, the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the Massachusetts Senate.^[2]

★ Nathan Peabody Ames (1803-1847), manufacturer, was born in Chelmsford,

★ Ulysses John "Tony" Lupien, Major League Baseball player and the baseball coach at Dartmouth College for 21 seasons, was born in Chelmsford in 1917.

★ Kristen Wilson, an actress appearing in several films.

★ Gerry Callahan, Popular albeit controversial Boston Herald and former Sports Illustrated sports columnist and co-host of WEEI's Dennis and Callahan, the popular sports radio morning program based in Boston. Played on Chelmsford High School's first ever "Super Bowl" team in 1978. Many consider him the reason Chelmsford lost the game for he drew a penalty on a touchdown play resulting in Chelmsford High School's loss. This play led to the nickname Gerry "The Clippper" Callahan, which people often call up and mention on his radio show.

★ Dan Curran, a fullback/linebacker for the Arena Football League's New Orleans VooDoo.

★ Phil Bourque, NHL Veteran, 2 Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

★ Jon Morris, NHL Veteran, New Jersey Devils

★ Keith Aucoin, Current NHL Player, Carolina Hurricanes

Trivia

★ The seven 12-inch acetate tapes of a concert by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker at The Town Hall on June 22, 1945 were found in a flea market at the Elk's Lodge in Chelmsford. At the time of the recording, neither had risen to fame. Uptown Records remastered the tapes and released a CD titled "Dizzy Gillespie-Charlie Parker: Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945."

★ The Chelmsford militia company under Capt. John Ford manned several cannon during the Battle of Bunker Hill at the rail fence, losing 13 men when one of the ancient pieces exploded. Also, a Joseph Spaulding of Chelmsford claimed to have killed Major John Pitcairn, leader of the British forces at the Battle of Lexington, when he fired before seeing "the whites of their eyes" at Bunker Hill . Joseph Spaulding of Chelmsford died at Concord on April 19, 1975. Pitcairn died at Bunker Hill two months later.

References

1. Pan Am Railways route map.''panamrailways.com''. Accessed August 31 2007.
2. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896, , , , Marquis Who's Who, ,


★ [3]

★ Money Magazine - Top 100 Places to Live

See also

★ Chelmsford (United Kingdom)

External links

★ Chelmsford official website

★ Chelmsford Historical Society

★ Chelmsford Independent (local newspaper)

★ Chelmsford Toastmasters

★ Chelmsford Library

★ Area Schools

★ Homeschooling in Chelmsford

★ Lowell Line Extension