Fred Merriam Livres

Chelmsford, a suburban town of about 34,000, is located 22 miles northwest of Boston. Named for Chelmsford in Essex, England, it received its charter in May 1655. Until railroads and streetcars arrived in the late 1800s, South Chelmsford, East Chelmsford, and Chelmsford Center were primarily agricultural with the support of blacksmiths, carpenters, general storekeepers, millers, sawmill operators, and wheelwrights. These vintage photographs transport readers back in time to stroll Central Square, to discover a millpond that no longer exists, and to see the evolution of Center Common. Discover which farm was later subdivided into a familiar neighborhood, find out where the lumber came from, view homes the way they looked more than 100 years ago, and learn about Chelmsford's past residents and their places of worship.

The Massachusetts town of Chelmsford, chartered in 1655, consisted of five villages. In the 1820s, industries related to the production of cast iron, textiles, and textile mill machinery made their first appearance in the North village along Stony Brook. Its social and economic life became aligned with the new industrial city of Lowell, and there had even been talk of secession from the Centre village in the mid-1800s. A golden age of industrial expansion and production occurred from 1875 to 1910. Industry in the West village consisted of blade and textile manufacturing in two locations, also tied to water power on Stony Brook, but this community was aligned socially and economically with nearby Nabnasset village in Westford. Discover the golden age of the North and West villages in photographs and learn about the people who made it happen.