3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 126 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1806.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Chelsea’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chelsea is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chelsea’s overall grade.
Vermont towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Vermont town has 147 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chelsea’s 1,038 sits above most of its state (97% of Vermont towns have fewer) while its 127 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.8 points). Two sources give 1781.
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 Chelsea’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The town was founded on August 4, 1781. It was originally called Turnersburgh after settler Bela Turner. In 1788 the townspeople of Turnersburgh approved a bill to rename the town Chelsea.
The first small schoolhouses were established in the early 1800s. By 1845 there were 18 schools operating around the town. In 1852 the Chelsea Academy was built in the village district. The Chelsea Academy burnt in 1870. In 1913 the "new" Chelsea High School building was built, this building still houses the Chelsea Public School today.
At the next town meeting, held March 3rd, 1789, the warrant begins with the date of Chelsea, alias Turnersburg, and the inhabitants of Chelsea are warned to meet at the house of Samuel Moore, etc., thus proving that the suggested name of Brookline was not accepted, but that that of Chelsea was. At this meeting the town voted to accept the burying ground laid out on the branch ; voted to appoint a committee to find the centre of the town, for
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
cuit composed of the towns of Chelsea, Tunbridge, Royalton, Vershirc, Corinth, Washington and Orange. In 1837 Chelsea became a station. The society occupied the court house until 1837, when the present church edifice was built on Main street. While Chelsea was a part of a circuit, the preacher in charge resided here, and preached in the court house, most of the time, local preachers, or licensed exhorters, supplying the other
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.
Timeline
Chelsea, 1781 to 1927
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 1781, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Chelsea’s post office opened in 1806, and the first U.S. census counted 239 people here in 1790.
How does Chelsea rank for history?
Chelsea is more historic than 98% of U.S. towns. 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 Chelsea?
Three places: the Moxley Covered Bridge (listed 1974), the Congregational Church of Chelsea (1976) and the Chelsea Village Historic District (1983).
How old are the homes in Chelsea?
39% of Chelsea’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.8 points), against a typical 22% for a Vermont 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 (10), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.
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