Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Encyclopedia : C : CH : CHE : Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts located 32 miles from Boston. The population was 33,858 at the 2000 census.
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 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 towns of Westford and Carlisle and also contained part of Lowell. In 2005, the town celebrated its 350th anniversary. The town motto is "Let the children guard what the sires have won."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. [link]
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 was then bought by Schweppes until they dropped the label. The ginger ale is manufactured today by 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, currently Bernard Lynch, 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].Schools
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.
McCarthy Middle School is located on 250 North Road near Chelmsford High School. 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.
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.
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.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.
Transportation
Chelmsford is located at the intersection of the major US highways of I-495 and Route 3. Also in Chelmsford, state routes 110, 3A, and 4 intersect (in a complex intersection understandable only to local residents/commuters), and routes 27, 129, 4, and 40 end.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.
People born or raised in Chelmsford
Greg Marcks, writer and director of the independently produced film graduated from Chelmsford High School with the class of 1994. The film is reported to be inspired by his experiences growing up in Chelmsford.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, including Zesty's Pizza, Skip's Restaurant, and the now defunct Skip's Ice Cream and Tony and Ann's Pizza.
Benjamin Pierce, Governor of New Hampshire and the father of former U.S. president Franklin Pierce, was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts in 1757.
Josiah Gardner Abbott, a member of the Massachusetts state house of representatives and a member of the Massachusetts state senate, was born in Chelmsford in 1814.
Ulysses John "Tony" Lupien, Major League Baseball player and the baseball coach at Dartmouth College for 21 seasons, was born in Chelmsford in 1917.
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."
External links
- [Chelmsford official website]
- [Chelmsford Historical Society]
- [Chelmsford Independent (local newspaper)]
- [Chelmsford Library]
- [Area Schools]
- [Homeschooling in Chelmsford]
- [Lowell Line Extension]
References
- [link]
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