Editing Chelmsford, Massachusetts

{{Short description|Town in Massachusetts, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{About|the town in Massachusetts|the city in the United Kingdom|Chelmsford}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                            = Chelmsford, Massachusetts
| settlement_type                 = [[New England town|Town]]
| official_name                   = 
| nickname                        = 
| image_skyline                   = First Parish Church, Chelmsford, MA.jpg
| imagesize                       = 200px
| image_caption                   = First Parish Church
| image_seal                      = Seal of Chelmsford, Massachusetts.png
| motto                           = "Let the children guard what the sires have won."
| image_flag                      = 
| established_title               = English Settlement
| established_date                = 1652
| established_title2              = Incorporated
| established_date2               = 1655
| named_for                       = [[Chelmsford|Chelmsford, Essex]]
| image_map                       = Middlesex County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Chelmsford highlighted.svg
| mapsize                         = 250px
| map_caption                     = Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
| image_map1                      = 
| mapsize1                        = 
| map_caption1                    = 
| subdivision_type                = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name                = {{flag|United States}}
| subdivision_type1               = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1               = {{flag|Massachusetts}}
| subdivision_type2               = [[List of counties in Massachusetts|County]]
| subdivision_name2               = [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex]]
| subdivision_type3               = [[List of regions in the United States|Region]]
| subdivision_name3               = [[New England]]
| established_title3              = 
| established_date3               = 
| government_type                 = [[Representative town meeting]]
| leader_title                    = [[Select board]]
| leader_name                     = {{Plainlist|
* Patricia Wojtas, Chair
* Virginia E. Crocker Timmins, Vice Chair
* Erin E. Drew, Clerk
* George R. Dixon Jr.
}}
| leader_title1                   = [[Town manager]]
| leader_name1                    = Paul E. Cohen
| unit_pref                       = Imperial 
| area_footnotes                  = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2022">{{cite web |title=2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Massachusetts: County Subdivisions |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2022_Gazetteer/2022_gaz_cousubs_25.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |accessdate=June 8, 2023}}</ref>
| area_total_km2                  = 59.8
| area_land_km2                   = 58.0
| area_water_km2                  = 1.8
| area_total_sq_mi                = 23.1
| area_land_sq_mi                 = 22.4
| area_water_sq_mi                = 0.7
| population_as_of                = 2020
| population_footnotes            = <ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web| url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=&g=0600000US2501713135&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1| title=P1. Race – Chelmsford town, Massachusetts: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| access-date=June 8, 2023}}</ref>
| population_total                = 36392
| population_density_km2          = 
| population_density_sq_mi        = 1625.9
| elevation_m                     = 75
| elevation_ft                    = 246
| timezone                        = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset                      = −5
| timezone_DST                    = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset_DST                  = −4
| coordinates                     = {{coord|42|35|59|N|71|22|04|W|region:US-MA|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type                = [[ZIP Code]]s
| postal_code                     = {{ubl|01824 (Chelmsford)|01863 ([[North Chelmsford, Massachusetts|North Chelmsford]])}}
| area_code                       = [[Area code 351|351]]/[[Area code 978|978]]
| blank_name                      = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info                      = 25-017-13135
| blank1_name                     = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info                     = 0618220
| website                         = {{URL|www.townofchelmsford.us}}
| footnotes                       = 
}}
'''Chelmsford''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ɛ|l|m|s|f|ər|d}}) is a town in [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts]], United States.   

Chelmsford was incorporated in May 1655 by an act of the [[Massachusetts General Court]].  When Chelmsford was incorporated, its local economy was fueled by [[lumber mill]]s, [[limestone]] [[Quarry|quarries]], [[kiln]]s. In the 1700s, the Chelmsford militia played a role in the [[American Revolution]] at the [[Battle of Lexington and Concord]] and the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]. 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 [[mill town|factory town]]s in the United States because of its early role in the country's [[Industrial Revolution]]. Chelmsford experienced a drastic increase in population between 1950 and 1970, coinciding with the connection of [[U.S. Route 3 in Massachusetts|U.S. Route 3]] in Lowell to [[Massachusetts Route 128]] in the 1950s and the extension of U.S. Route 3 from Chelmsford to [[New Hampshire]] in the 1960s.

Chelmsford has a [[representative town meeting]] form of government. The town has one public high school—[[Chelmsford High School]], which was ranked<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2015 |title=America's Top High Schools |date=September 2, 2015 |access-date=September 15, 2015 |website=Newsweek |publisher=Newsweek LLC |archive-date=October 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161016074212/http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> among the top 500 schools in the nation in 2015—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 (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Places to Live: Top 100 |website=CNN Money |year=2011 |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/top100/index2.html |access-date=June 25, 2012 |first1=Kate |last1=Ashford |first2=Andrea |last2=Bartz |first3=Jeff |last3=Cox |first4=Asa |last4=Fitch |first5=Stephen |last5=Gandel |first6=Josh |last6=Hyatt |first7=Rob |last7=Kelley |first8=Kathleen |last8=Knight |first9=Joe |last9=Light |display-authors=8 |archive-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614085349/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2011/top100/index2.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
=== Early colonization ===
The [[Pennacook]] inhabited the area for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Settler-colonizers from the adjacent communities of [[Woburn, Massachusetts|Woburn]] and [[Concord, Massachusetts|Concord]] 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]], England. The nearby communities of [[Groton, Massachusetts|Groton]] and [[Billerica, Massachusetts|Billerica]] were incorporated at the same time. Chelmsford originally contained the neighboring town of [[Westford, Massachusetts|Westford]], as well as parts of [[Carlisle, Massachusetts|Carlisle]], [[Tyngsborough, Massachusetts|Tyngsborough]] and a large part of [[Lowell, Massachusetts|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.<ref name=":1">Stewart-Smith, D. (1998). The Pennacook Indians and the New England frontier, circa 1604-1733. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" /> 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.<ref name="auto">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.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=QUATRE NATIONS AUTOCHTONES S'UNISSENT POUR AFFIRMER LEUR AUTONOMIE TERRITORIALE |url=https://caodanak.com/quatre-nations-autochtones-sunissent-pour-affirmer-leur-autonomie-territoriale/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206110726/https://caodanak.com/quatre-nations-autochtones-sunissent-pour-affirmer-leur-autonomie-territoriale/ |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |access-date= |website=Odanak Band Council Website}}</ref>

Several women of Chelmsford were suspected of being [[Witchcraft|witches]], such as Sarah (Hildreth) Byam and Martha Sparks.<ref name=":0" /> In 1691, Martha was held in the [[Boston Gaol (Massachusetts)|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.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=SWP No. 123: Martha Sparks - New Salem - Pelican |url=http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n123.html |access-date=August 23, 2020 |website=salem.lib.virginia.edu |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702104654/http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/n123.html |url-status=live}}</ref> 
[[File:1899 Chelmsford public library Massachusetts.png|thumbnail|left|Chelmsford Public Library, 1899]]

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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Waters |title=History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts |publisher=Courier-Citizen Company |year=1917 |location=Lowell, Mass |pages=572–599}}</ref> Sarah (Hildreth) Byam was accused of being a witch under these circumstances.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Byam |first=Edwin |title=Descendants of George Byam |year=1975 |location=Suffield, Conn |page=14}}https://www.chelmhist.org/media/Descendants_of_George_Byam.pdf</ref>

The Chelmsford militia played a role in the [[American Revolution]] at the [[Battle of Lexington and Concord]] and the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]].  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]] painting [[The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775]] and in a painting in the [[Bunker Hill Monument|Bunker Hill Museum]]. Captain Benjamin Walker of this town was also killed in this battle.

=== Later history ===
[[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, Massachusetts|Roxbury]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Emerson Chronology |date=March 13, 2008 |access-date=January 10, 2010 |publisher=Ralph Waldo Emerson Society |url=http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/emerson/chronology/emersonchronsublink.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330072358/http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/emerson/Chronology/EmersonChronSublink.html |archive-date=March 30, 2010}}</ref>

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, Massachusetts|Rowley]] known as [[Clark School (Rowley, Massachusetts)|Clark School]].<ref name=":0" />

Both the [[Middlesex Canal]] and [[Middlesex Turnpike (Massachusetts)|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]] 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, Massachusetts|Tewksbury]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A taste of the town's history |date=July 24, 2008 |access-date=March 15, 2012 |publisher=GateHouse Media |url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/chelmsford/news/x390637371/A-taste-of-the-towns-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729032922/http://www.wickedlocal.com/chelmsford/news/x390637371/A-taste-of-the-towns-history |archive-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Typical houses in Chelmsford, Mass.jpg|thumb|Typical houses in Chelmsford]]
Chelmsford is in northern Middlesex County, bordered by the city of [[Lowell, Massachusetts|Lowell]] to the northeast. It is {{convert|25|mi}} northwest of downtown [[Boston]] and {{convert|15|mi}} southeast of [[Nashua, New Hampshire]]. The town is bordered by two sizable rivers: the [[Merrimack River]] to the northeast, and the [[Concord River]] at the town's easternmost boundary.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|23.1|sqmi|km2}}, of which {{convert|22.4|sqmi|km2}} are land and {{convert|0.7|sqmi|km2}}, or 3.04%, are water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2022"/>

Chelmsford consists of several neighborhoods.  In addition to the town center, smaller areas include South Chelmsford, West Chelmsford, East Chelmsford, [[North Chelmsford, Massachusetts|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.  

==Climate==
{{climate chart
|Chelmsford, Massachusetts
|17|35|3.53
|19|38|2.84
|27|47|4.05
|36|58|3.76
|46|69|3.66
|55|77|3.36
|60|82|3.57
|59|81|3.42
|50|73|3.39
|39|62|3.92
|31|51|3.83
|22|40|3.54
|source=<ref name="MSN weather">{{cite web |url=http://weather.msn.com/local.aspx?wealocations=wc:USMA0080&q=Chelmsford%2c+MA |publisher=MSN |year=2010 |access-date=January 25, 2010 |title=Monthly averages and records |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318140419/http://weather.msn.com/local.aspx?wealocations=wc:USMA0080&q=Chelmsford%2C+MA |archive-date=March 18, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|float=right
|units=imperial
}}
Like much of the rest of Massachusetts, Chelmsford has a [[humid continental climate]] according to the [[Köppen climate classification]].  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.<ref name="MSN weather"/>

In a typical year, Chelmsford, Massachusetts temperatures fall below 50°F for 195 days per year. Annual precipitation is typically 44.1 inches per year (high for the US) and snow covers the ground 62 days per year, or 17.0% of the year (high in the US). It may be helpful to understand the yearly precipitation by imagining nine straight days of moderate rain per year. The humidity is below 60% for approximately 25.4 days, or 7.0% of the year.<ref name="Climate in Chelmsford, Massachusetts">{{cite web | title=Climate in Chelmsford, Massachusetts| url=https://dwellics.com/massachusetts/climate-in-chelmsford | access-date=March 31, 2023 }}</ref>
{{-}}

==Demographics==
{{See also|List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income}}
{{Historical populations | type=USA
 | 1850|2097
 | 1860|2291
 | 1870|2374
 | 1880|2553
 | 1890|2695
 | 1900|3984
 | 1910|5010
 | 1920|5682
 | 1930|7022
 | 1940|8077
 | 1950|9407
 | 1960|15130
 | 1970|31432
 | 1980|31174
 | 1990|32383
 | 2000|33858
 | 2010|33802
 | 2020|36392
 | 2022*|35906
 | footnote=* = population estimate.  {{Historical populations/Massachusetts municipalities references}}<ref>{{cite web | title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020−2022| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] | access-date=November 24, 2023 | url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[2010 United States Census|US census of 2010]],<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website |archive-date=July 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701194655/https://www.census.gov/ |url-status=live}}</ref> 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 (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.1% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.1% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 8.4% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.4% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.4% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|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,<ref name="Town crime rates">{{cite web |title=Massachusetts: Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by State by City, 2008 |publisher=US Federal Bureau of Investigation |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=https://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_08_ma.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090923211333/http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_08_ma.html |archive-date=September 23, 2009}}</ref> compared to a rate of 449 in Massachusetts as a whole and 455 nationwide.<ref>{{cite web |title=Violent Crime in Massachusetts |publisher=Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security |last=Penman |first=Shelley |access-date=January 31, 2010 |date=July 2009 |url=http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/eops/Publications/082009_violent_crime_v5_jul09.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107010440/http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/eops/Publications/082009_violent_crime_v5_jul09.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="State crime rates">{{cite web |title=Crime in the United States by State, 2008 |publisher=US Federal Bureau of Investigation |date=September 2009 |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=https://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_05.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129105507/http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_05.html |archive-date=January 29, 2010}}</ref><ref name="US crime rates">{{cite web |title=Crime in the United States by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 1989–2008 |publisher=US Federal Bureau of Investigation |date=September 2009 |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=https://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_01.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123152342/http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/data/table_01.html |archive-date=January 23, 2010}}</ref>  The town had a property crime rate of 1,904 incidents per 100,000 people in 2008,<ref name="Town crime rates"/> compared to a rate of 2,400 for the state and 3,213 nationwide.<ref name="State crime rates"/><ref name="US crime rates"/>  Chelmsford has one [[police station]] located near McCarthy Middle School.  The {{convert|25000|ft2}}, $7.19-million dollar structure began operation in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chelmsford station to open April 22 knock wood |work=[[The Sun (Lowell)|The Sun]] |last=Spoth |first=Tom |date=April 15, 2003 |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0FA70B81827BF88A&p_docnum=4&p_queryname=4}}</ref>

==Government==

[[File:Old Town Hall, Chelmsford MA.jpg|thumbnail|left|Old Town Hall, now the town's Center for the Arts]]
The town uses a [[representative town meeting]] model with a Select Board overseeing the operation of the town.<ref name="Board of Selectmen">{{cite web |title=Elected Officials, Board of Selectmen |publisher=Town of Chelmsford |access-date=May 5, 2020 |url=https://www.townofchelmsford.us/269/Board-of-Selectmen |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805074220/http://www.townofchelmsford.us/269/Board-of-Selectmen |url-status=live}}</ref>  From its incorporation until 1989, the town was governed by an [[open town meeting]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Brief history |url=https://www.chelmsfordgov.com/CHCwebsite/PDF_files/Brief_History_with_Timeline.pdf |website=chelmsfordgov.com |publisher=Town of Chelmsford, Massachusetts |access-date=February 4, 2024}}</ref> Reporting to the Select Board 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.<ref name="Elected Officials">{{cite web |title=Elected Officials |publisher=Town of Chelmsford |date=January 25, 2010 |access-date=January 25, 2010 |url=http://wwc.townofchelmsford.us/officials/official.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103083246/http://wwc.townofchelmsford.us/officials/official.htm |archive-date=January 3, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{asof|2020}} Chelmsford is represented in the [[Massachusetts Senate]] by [[Michael J. Barrett]].<ref name="State Legislators">{{cite web |title=State Legislators |publisher=Town of Chelmsford |access-date=January 25, 2010 |url=http://www.townofchelmsford.us/State-Legislators.cfm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101211143521/http://www.townofchelmsford.us/State-Legislators.cfm |archive-date=December 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Senator Susan Fargo |publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date=January 25, 2010 |url=http://www.mass.gov/hdc/about/bio_fargo.htm |archive-date=December 13, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213041326/http://www.mass.gov/hdc/about/bio_fargo.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>  The town sends four delegates to the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]], each of whom represent one or more of Chelmsford's nine [[electoral precinct|precincts]].<ref name="State Legislators"/>  [[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.<ref name="State Legislators"/>

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]], first opened in [[North Chelmsford, Massachusetts|North Chelmsford]] in 1982; this facility had 16 beds.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20061230104309/http://www.rfkchildren.org/Website/CURRENT%20DRAFT%20VERSION/Rotenberg.htm Fay A. Rotenberg School North Chelmsford, Massachusetts]" (). Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps. December 30, 2006. Retrieved on December 24, 2015.</ref> In 2006 the school moved to its current location in [[Westborough, Massachusetts|Westborough]].<ref>"[http://www.rfkchildren.org/whats-new-at-rfk/celebrating-30-years-of-service-to-young-women/ Celebrating 30 Years of Service to Young Women]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151224052640/http://www.rfkchildren.org/whats-new-at-rfk/celebrating-30-years-of-service-to-young-women/ Archive]). Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps. January 12, 2012. Retrieved on December 24, 2015.</ref>

==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);<ref name="ESE">{{cite web |title=Student Data, Chelmsford: Enrollment by Grade |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=00560000&orgtypecode=5& |archive-date=February 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225121132/http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=00560000&orgtypecode=5& |url-status=live}}</ref> class sizes are for 2008–2009 school year.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Active Schools
|-
! Name !! Grades !! Enrolment
|-
| Charles D. Harrington Elementary School || Pre-K–4 || 586
|-
| Byam Elementary School || K–4 || 536
|-
| Center Elementary School || K–4 || 521
|-
| South Row Elementary School || K–4 || 473
|-
| Col. Moses Parker Middle School || 5–6 || 757
|-
| C. Edith McCarthy Middle School || 7–8 || 947
|-
| [[Chelmsford High School]] || 9–12 || 1412
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Defunct Schools
|-
! Name !! Status
|-
| North School || Building burned down in 1981.
|-
| Westlands Elementary School || Closed due to budget cuts in 2008. Building repurposed as home for Chelmsford Community Education and Chelmsford Integrated Preschool ("CHIPS") programs.
|-
| George R. Quessy School || Building no longer standing.
|-
| Highland School || Interior rebuilt as residential.
|-
| McFarlane School || Interior rebuilt as residential.
|-
| Chelmsford High School (1st) || High School moved into new building. Building repurposed as Town Hall offices.
|-
| Chelmsford High School (2nd) || High School moved into new building in 1974. Building repurposed as C. Edith McCarthy Middle School.
|-
| Murdoch Middle Public Charter School || Became [[Innovation Academy Charter School]]<ref>{{cite web |title=About us |work=Innovation Academy Charter School |access-date=January 28, 2010 |url=http://www.murdochschool.org/about/about_us.php |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727101927/http://www.murdochschool.org/about/about_us.php |archive-date=July 27, 2011}}</ref> and moved to new campus in [[Tyngsborough, Massachusetts|Tyngsborough]] in 2008. Building repurposed as Middlesex Sheriff's Office Training Academy.
|}

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.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Data, Chelmsford: Total Expenditure Per Pupil, All Funds, By Function |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/finance.aspx?orgcode=00560000&orgtypecode=5&leftNavId=501& |archive-date=February 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225121147/http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/finance.aspx?orgcode=00560000&orgtypecode=5&leftNavId=501& |url-status=live}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Public Schools Chart |magazine=Boston Magazine |last=Recck |first=George |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=http://www.bostonmagazine.com/boston/public2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100708155819/http://www.bostonmagazine.com/boston/public2009 |archive-date=July 8, 2010}}</ref>  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.<ref>{{cite web |title=2006-07 SAT Report |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/sat.aspx |archive-date=February 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213101826/http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/state_report/sat.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> Chelmsford High School performed significantly better than the state average in the English, math and science portions of the 2009 Grade 10 [[Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System|MCAS]] tests, scoring 89, 87 and 77 out of 100, respectively.<ref>{{cite news |title=Top-scoring districts on the 2009 Grade 10 MCAS exams |newspaper=Boston Globe |access-date=January 31, 2010 |url=https://www.boston.com/news/special/education/mcas/scores09/10th_top_districts.htm |date=September 14, 2009 |archive-date=January 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113115834/http://www.boston.com/news/special/education/mcas/scores09/10th_top_districts.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Historic places in Chelmsford==

[[File:Old Chelmsford Garrison House, MA.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Old Chelmsford Garrison House]]]]
*[[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 [[Interstate 495 (Massachusetts)|I-495]] and [[U.S. Route 3|U.S. 3]]. Also found in Chelmsford are state routes [[Route 3A (northeastern Massachusetts)|3A]], [[Route 4 (Massachusetts)|4]], [[Massachusetts Route 27|27]], [[Route 40 (Massachusetts)|40]], [[Route 110 (Massachusetts)|110]], and [[Route 129 (Massachusetts)|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.

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 in Massachusetts|Interstate 95]] ([[Route 128 (Massachusetts)|Route 128]]) and the [[New Hampshire]] state line.

[[Freight train|Freight]] travels daily through Chelmsford over the tracks of the historic [[Stony Brook Railroad]]. The line currently serves as a major [[Transport corridor|corridor]] of [[Pan Am Railways]]' District 3 which connects New Hampshire and [[Maine]] with western [[Massachusetts]], [[Vermont]], and [[New York (state)|New York]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070111225147/http://www.panamrailways.com/Maps/map.htm Pan Am Railways route map].''panamrailways.com''. Accessed August 31, 2007.</ref>

The [[Bruce Freeman Rail Trail]] runs {{convert|6.8|mi|km}} through Chelmsford, including the Central Square intersection.

The [[Lowell Regional Transit Authority|LRTA]] bus routes 15, 16 and 17 connect Chelmsford to the [[Lowell (MBTA station)|Lowell train station]] on the [[MBTA Commuter Rail]] [[Lowell Line]].

==Notable people==
<!-- Please only add people to this list who have a Wikipedia biography. List is ordered alphabetically by surname. -->
* [[Josiah Gardner Abbott]] (1814–1891), born in Chelmsford, politician<ref name="Marquis 1607-1896">{{cite book |title=Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896 |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |year=1967}}</ref>
* [[Keith Aucoin]] (born 1978), former NHL player
* [[Jeff Bauman]] (born 1986), author and Boston Marathon bombing survivor
* [[Phil Bourque]] (born 1962), former NHL player
* [[Gerry Callahan]] (born 1961), sports columnist and radio host
* [[Dawn Clements]] (1958–2018), artist
* [[George Condo]] (born 1957), painter<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Tomkins |first=Calvin |date=January 17, 2011 |title=Portraits of Imaginary People: How George Condo reclaimed Old Master painting |url=https://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/17/110117fa_fact_tomkins |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227002434/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/17/110117fa_fact_tomkins |archive-date=February 27, 2011 |access-date=March 30, 2011 |magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref>
* [[Bill Cooke (defensive end)|Bill Cooke]] (born 1951), former NFL player
* [[Dan Curran]] (born 1976), former NFL player
* [[John Call Dalton]] (1825–1889) physiologist, born in Chelmsford
* [[Edward DeSaulnier]] (1921–1989), state legislator and judge<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/439124584/ |title=28 Apr 1989, 23 - The Boston Globe at Newspapers.com |website=Newspapers.com |access-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-date=October 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026214536/http://www.newspapers.com/image/439124584/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Gururaj Deshpande]], venture capitalist and entrepreneur
* [[Jack Eichel]] (born 1996), NHL player
* [[Bridget Richardson Fletcher]] (1726–1770), hymnwriter and poet<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snodgrass |first=Mary Ellen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CgzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA157 |title=American Colonial Women and Their Art: A Chronological Encyclopedia |date=November 10, 2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4422-7097-8 |pages=157 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Steve Hunt]] (born 1958), jazz pianist and composer
* [[Tony Lupien|Ulysses John "Tony" Lupien]] (1917–2004), [[Major League Baseball]] player and college baseball coach
* [[Jon Morris (ice hockey)|Jon Morris]] (born 1966), former NHL player
* [[Colleen Mullen]] (born 1980), college basketball coach and former player
* [[Sandra Newman]] (born 1965), writer
* [[Benjamin Pierce (governor)|Benjamin Pierce]] (1757–1839), born in Chelmsford, [[Governor of New Hampshire]] and the father of U.S. president [[Franklin Pierce]]
* [[Jeffrey Snover]], Microsoft Technical Fellow and inventor of [[PowerShell]]
* [[Peter Torkildsen]] (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]] (born 1969), actress

==See also==
* [[Islamic Society of Greater Lowell]]

==References==

{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080404033909/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_results.asp?ImageType=index&atlastype=MassWorld&atlastown=&atlas=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&atlas_desc=MASSACHUSETTS+1871 ''1871 Atlas of Massachusetts''.] by Wall & Gray. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080404035120/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PAGE_0010_0011.jpg&atlastype=MassWorld&atlastown=&atlas=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&atlas_desc=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&pageprefix=  Map of Massachusetts.] [https://web.archive.org/web/20080404034546/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PAGE_0044_0045.jpg&atlastype=MassWorld&atlastown=&atlas=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&atlas_desc=MASSACHUSETTS+1871&pageprefix= Map of Middlesex County.]
*''History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts'', by Wilson Waters, Henry Spaulding Perham, published 1917, 893 pages.<br>Two versions of ''History of Chelmsford, Massachusetts'' are online: [https://archive.org/details/historychelmsfo00perhgoog <!-- quote=History of Chelmsford. --> Page images] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20040603215422/http://www.usigs.org/library/books/ma/Chelmsford1917/ HTML]
* ''History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts'', [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QGolOAyd9RMC <!-- quote=intitle:History intitle:of intitle:Middlesex intitle:County intitle:Massachusetts. -->  Volume 1 (A-H)], [https://archive.org/details/historymiddlese00drakgoog/page/n314 <!-- pg=506 quote=intitle:History intitle:of intitle:Middlesex intitle:County intitle:Massachusetts. --> Volume 2 (L-W)] compiled by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879–1880. 572 and 505 pages. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_QGolOAyd9RMC/page/n287 <!-- pg=367 --> Chelmsford article] by Frederick P. Hill in volume 1 page 367–380.
*[http://www.indiana.edu/~wfiu/nl_news.htm]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070809122409/https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/moneymag/0707/gallery.BPTL_top_100.moneymag/21.html Money Magazine – Top 100 Places to Live]

==External links==
{{Commons category|Chelmsford, Massachusetts}}
*{{Official|www.townofchelmsford.us}}

{{Middlesex County, Massachusetts}}
{{Greater_Boston}}
{{Merrimack River}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Chelmsford, Massachusetts| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Towns in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Massachusetts populated places on the Merrimack River]]