After a devastating fire in Boston in 1873, many factories relocated to Chelsea, just a mile away across the Mystic River. An inexpensive passenger ferry also made Chelsea a convenient destination for the rising number of immigrants arriving in Boston. With jobs and affordable housing, the city by the early twentieth century had grown from a summer retreat for the wealthy to one of the most densely populated cities in America. When fire struck again, this time in Chelsea on April 12, 1908, it demolished a large section of the city. Images of the fire, the rebuilding that followed, the Great...

A summer resort for wealthy Bostonians, the first home in America for countless immigrants, and the residence of a Colonial Governor, Chelsea, Massachusetts, has a varied and unique history. The town was settled in 1624, six years before Boston, and began as a simple ferry stop on the road to the North Shore and beyond. With the advent of improved transportation in the 19th century, Chelsea's accessibility to the mainland made it the perfect place to relocate, and the community began to thrive.