Chelmsford dates to 1633, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #202 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chelmsford’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chelmsford is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #202 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chelmsford’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chelmsford’s 14.5 sits below most of its state (31% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 53 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1633.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Chelmsford’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Pennacook inhabited the area for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Settler-colonizers from the adjacent communities of Woburn and 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 and Billerica were incorporated at the same time. Chelmsford originally contained the neighboring town of Westford, as well as parts of Carlisle, Tyngsborough and a large part of Lowell (formerly known as East Chelmsford).
Passages that mention Chelmsford, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts1890 · page 720Read the page →
Read the text
the boundary lines have been changed by acts of the Legislature. The last instance was the result of an act approved Feb. 17, 1865, whereby a part of the town of Chelmsford was set off and annexed to the town of Carlisle. The territory added to the town by this act appears to be virtually the same as was taken from the town and added to the town of Chelmsford, by an act passed March 1, 1783, entitled " An Act
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Chelmsford, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1633, according to Wikidata. Chelmsford’s post office opened in 1797, and the first U.S. census counted 1,144 people here in 1790.
How does Chelmsford rank for history?
Chelmsford is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #202 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Chelmsford?
6 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Old Chelmsford Garrison House Complex (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Chelmsford Center Historic District, with 37 contributing buildings. 53 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Chelmsford?
15% of Chelmsford’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1967.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikidata (5), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1889
1889
1890
