- 1828 - A barn behind the Unitarian Church was moved across North Road to a 1/4-acre parcel at modern address 59,61-Central Square. Owner Joseph Reed ran Reed's Tavern (1771-1851) at modern address 2-Chelmsford Street, and his next door neighbor at the time at 1,3-North Road was blacksmith Stephen Pierce.
- 1843 - Nathan P Dadmun purchased the 1/4-acre parcel with blacksmith shop from inkeeper Joseph Reed on January 10 (deed 424/408 South Registry).
- 1846 - Nathan Dadmun purchased a 1-acre parcel of land from Joel Adams, Esquire, of Lowell on November 20 (deed 497/411 South Registry).
- This land was bounded on the west by "the Boston Road," on the south by a line from an Elm tree near the road to a stake by the Brook (now defined by a stone wall), northeast by Beaver Brook, and north by a stone wall on land of widow Eliza W Fiske.
- Joel Adams owned the nearby house at 4-Bartlett Street and granted a large extension on this house, then called an Ell, to Nathan Dadmun to move to his 1-acre parcel. "Also the Ell part of my large House called the Tavern House as far as he main body of the house and above the underpinning with liberty to move the same in the month of April next ..."
- This relocated Ell became Nathan Dadmun's residence at 6-Boston Road, and is seen below about 100-years later with a two story addition on the left, a two-bay garage on the right, and the end of the stone boundary wall in front of the garage.
- Nathan Dadmun purchased a triangular shaped parcel of land, about 35 sq rods or 0.22-acres, from Elija Fiske on December 23 (deed 498/471 South Registry). This parcel was bounded on the south by a stone wall running from "the County road" to Beaver Brook, on the northeast by Beaver Brook, and on the west by the County road. A condition of this purchase was that "Dadmun shall erect and maintain a suitabe fence on the southerly side of said brook."
- Nathan Dadmun moved his blacksmith shop to this new land on the south side of Beaver Brook with convenient access by horse and buggy traffic passing through Central Square.
- The photo below shows the blacksmith shop as it looked around 1900 with the Odd Fellows Hall on the left and a few advertising posters plastered on the wall as was common at the time.
- 1923 - George W Day purchased the two parcels containing the blacksmith shop and house at 6-Boston Road from Charles E Bartlett, administrator of the estate of Nathan's son Girard P Dadmun, on July 25 (deed 687/165). Fun fact - Charles E Bartlett was the first president of the Chelmsford Historical Society.
- George Day, co-owner of the successful Sweetser and Day mill complex located on the other side of Central Square, had the blacksmith shop torn down on September 8. He then had a two-story wooden building constructed on the Beaver Brook end of the property extending out to the sidewalk on Central Square with retail space on the first floor and a tenement on the second floor.
- 1925 - The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company store occupied the retail space with Ernest H Noel of Chelmsford as manager.
- 1932 - George Day commissioned a plan of land to include his two-story wooden building with a 10-foot buffer, a passageway 10-feet wide, and a trapezoid shaped 2,649 sq ft parcel on January 20 (plan 56/75).
- The A&P store seen in the plan was managed by Robert R Goggin this year.
- Louis Goldblatt of Brookline purchased the 2,649 sq ft parcel from George Day on January 30 (deed 810/477).
- This deed had an unusual restriction: "The above premises are hereby conveyed subject to the restriction that the premises shall never be used for religious or church purposes ..."
- Daniel A Doyle of Quincy, an authorized official of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, purchased the 2,649 sq ft parcel from Louis Goldblatt on February 2 (deed 810/479).
- On a seperate mortgage document starting on the same page, Daniel Doyle granted the property to Isaac Rosnov of Boston along with a construction loan to build the store and right to lease the store for a 5-year period on January 30 (mortgage 810/479).
- Doris N Stearns of Boston purchased the 5-ft southern half of the 10-ft wide passageway, totalling about 480 sq ft, on Februry 2 (deed 810/481).
- Repayment of the construction loan and regular lease payments to A&P were secured by the terms of a lease agreement on April 28 (lease 9814).
- When the one-story brick building was completed the A&P grocery store relocated there with Jack Caruthers as manager.
- 1936 - Horace C and his son C Richmond Page from Lowell acquired the drug store business of Walter D Falls then operating in the first floor of the Odd Fellows building.
- 1937 - George Day died on January 3 at age 70.
- Horace and Richmond Page signed a 10-year lease with George's widow Daisy L Day for the first floor of the two-story wooden building to start on July 1 (lease 902/8).
- 1938 - The postcard below shows Central Square with Page's Drug Store at 37-Central Square and the A&P grocery store at 35-Central Square on the right circa 1938.
- 1943 - Doris Stearns lost ownership of her 480 sq ft half righ-of-way in a tax title foreclosure by the Town of Chelmsford. Daisy Day purchased the half right-of-way from the Town of Chelmsford on April 15 (deed 992/423).
- 1947 - "Mr and Mrs Edward T Donaghue will be calling it eight years next Wednesday. Congrats to a swell couple. Ed is manager of the Center section A&P. Mrs Donaghue was the former Adaline Simpson." (Chelmsford Newsweekly, September 19).
- There were no A&P advertisements found in the Chelmsford Newsweekly after December of this year.
- 1948 - In the above postcard the A&P building appears to be empty and abandoned.
- 1949 - In the photo at right the A&P building at 35 Central Square is occupied by the Center Market, under the banner of A-G Food Stores.
- This store did not survive the competition from The Purity Food Store operating across the street from 1947 to 1952.
- 1951 - Thomas G Gallagher of Somerville purchased 37,38-Central Square from Daisy Day on March 17 (deed 1167/59).
- "TOWN OF CHELMSFORD LICENSING BOARD
Notice is hereby given under Chapter 138 of the General Laws that C Richmond Page, d/b/a Page's Drug Store has applied for a transfer of location of his license to sell alcholic beverages of the following kind: All Alcoholic in sealed packages, as a Druggist from 37 Central Square to 35 Central Square, in said Chelmsford ..." (Chelmsford Newsweekly, May 31). - James C and Louise M Harrington purchased 37,38-Central Square from Thomas G Gallagher of Somerville on October 10 (deed 1180/61).
- James Harrington moved his Chelmsford Wine Shop from rented space at 22-Central Square to his now owned 37-Central Square retail space.
- 1955 - Richmond Page, Helen Page, and the Union National Bank of Lowell, Trustees of the Page Trust purchased the 38,740 sq ft parcel that included the 6-Boston Road house along with half the 10 foot passageway on the north side of the Goldblatt A&P parcel from Daisy (Day) Fletcher of Orlando, FL on March 11 (deed 1287/15).
- A correction to the above deed was registered to remove the "half the 10-ft passageway on the north side of the Goldblatt A&P parcel" on March 11 (deed 1296/220).
- 1956 - The Page Trust was given "half the 10-ft passageway on the north side of the Goldblatt A&P parcel" by Daisy Fletcher of Winter Park, FL on November 13 (deed 1355/277).
- The Page Trust built a brick addition on the south side of the A&P building, then Richmond Page moved his drug store into the addition. The pharmacists this year were Duncan Butterfield, Joseph Lantagne, and George Mahoney, and the clerks were Martha Bovill and Mabel Thorburn.
- The original section was leased to the town’s first branch bank - the Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank, and the 6-Boston Road house was divided into medical suites, later expanding into a brick addition in the rear.
- The circa 1960 postcard below shows the Chelmsford Wine Shop at 37,38-Central Square with the Budweiser sign, the Lowell 5-Cent Savings Bank in the former A&P building, and the new brick addition built for Page's Drug Store.
- 1968 - Richmond's son David Page took over operation of Page's Drug store. Richmond Page applied for an all alcoholic license to sell beverages in sealed containers at 34-Central Square on November 7 (notice in Newsweekly).
- 1973 - David R Page of Waltham, Pauline Page Latham of Lowell, Sandra Lee Page of Cambridge, and Susan Page Wheeler of Ithaca, NY, purchased Parcel #1 the 38,740 sq ft that includes 6-Boston Road, Parcel #2 half of the 10-ft passageway on the north side of the A&P building, and Parcel #3 the A&P building at 35-Central Square from C Richmond Page, Helen Q Page, and Union National Bank of Lowell, Trustees of the Page Trust, on December 31 (deed 2097/199).
- The same day The BR Trust purchased Parcels #1, #2, and #3 above from David Page of Waltham, Pauline Page Latham, Sandra Lee Page, and Susan Page Wheeler(deed 2097/221).
- 1974 - David Page moved the drug store to a 4,400 square foot space in the former Purity Supreme building at 20-Boston Road, leaving 34 and 35-Central Square vacant. Richmond Page officially retired this year, but continued to help out at the new store, was active on the board of the Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank and took part in charitable functions.
- James C Harrington died on February 27. His son John moved the Chelmsford Wine Shop to 18-Boston Road in between the Purity Supreme and Marshalls stores and renamed it Harrington Wine and Liquors.
- 1975 - Dennis Harrington purchased Louise Harrington's share of 37,38-Central Square on January 21 (deed 2141/499).
- Jo-Lee's Yarn and Hobby Variety moved into the 37-Central Square retail space.
- 1979 - Heavy rains on January 25 caused debris in Beaver Brook to block the Cushing Place arch bridge and flood Central Square. In response the bridge was rebuilt with a large rectangular opening to accommodate high water flow.
- At this time, Jo-Lee's Yarn and Hobby Variety occupied 37-Central Square. The Center Medical Building at 34 and 35-Central Square was occupied by physicians Gerald C Bousquet, Roy M Maletz, Richard C Pratt, Kenneth C Prescott, and Kenneth P Murphy.
- The Page Building at 6-Boston Road was occupied by physician Stephen R Brovender (100), dentist Stephen Tolman (101), Management Retail Systems consultants (102), Chelmsford X-Ray (104), Chelmford Medical Laboratory (105), physician Theo J Ongaro (107), physician Vernon E Strobl (200), physician Cecil Alexander (201), physicians William R Hilll Jr and Edward F Parsons (202), and the Merrimack Valley Speech and Hearing Center and urologist Donald G Keamy (205).
- 1983 - The BR Trust commisioned a Master Deed Plan that defined the layout of condominium units in buildings A (34,35-Central Square) and and B (6-Boston Road) on December 15 (plan 143/28).
- 1984 - The BR Trust registered a Master Deed defining ownership allocation and Articles of Association for the 12-unit BR Condominium Association on April 19 (deed 2729/182).
- 1992 - James M Harrington, Trustee of the Central Square Realty Trust purchased 37,38-Central Square from Dennis Harrington on April 3 (deed 5884/142).
- 1994 - The CVS Pharmacy chain took over the Page’s Drug Store location at 16,20-Boston Road in the Purity Plaza.
- 1995 - Dennis Harrington purchased 37,38-Central Square back from James Harrington, Trustee, on March 9 (deed 7410/249)
- 2006 - The BR Trust Master Deed Plan was amended on February 10 (plan 221/78).
- The amended plan eliminated condominium unit 302 in the 34,35-Central Square one-story brick building and re-allocated space in units 300 and 301. This formalized a transition from multiple small rooms used by medical and business professionals into two large open spaces with a single address of 34-Central Square.
"Restauranteur hooks a site in Chelmsford By John Ciampa Staff Writer
"Ali Zosherafatain likes to spend weekday mornings down at the historic Boston Fish Pier on the southern edge of the city's harbor. He arrives early, and says getting there by about 6:30 means he’ll be able to buy some of the choicest cuts of fish coming in from the Atlantic.
"There's plenty of good catches to pick from, but he says he takes time to inspect and hold each piece before buying it. A tuna loin, for instance, may look good on the outside, but must also have the correct thickness to cook evenly and make a good presentation on a dinner plate.
“'I enjoy it; it’s hands on and it gives me a chance to get to know the guys working there,' he said 'I might be there to get swordfish, but they could tell me that the sea bass looks good today — if I like it and buy some, that’s going to dictate the menu.' It’s a menu that’s coming soon to Chelmsford. Zosherafatain expects to open Fishbones — a soon-to-be restaurant and fish market that’s currently transforming 34-Central Square into an elegant eatery — by the beginning of November.
"It’s going to be a place where customers can not only eat traditional entrees such as scrod and fish n’ chips, but also experiment with more unusual offerings, like a mixed seafood kabob over a bed of greens, lightly topped by a sesame dressing. 'I like to go against the grain,' he said. 'But I also understand what many other people enjoy. Either way, you just let us know how you want it and we’ll make it that way.'
"Zosherafatain places a priority on responding to customers on an individual basis. For instance, one of the dishes he’s featuring is a broiled fish combo sprinkled with homemade breadcrumbs, but he says patrons can vary the combination of fish used or how the dish is prepared at will. For those who like variety, the restaurant will also feature a bar serving raw items like cherrystone clams.
"An outdoor patio for seasonal seating has just been finished, and offers a gateway to a take-out booth that will allow the lunch crowd to get its chowder fix, among other things ... Seating capacity will be 48, with an additional 20 available when the patio is open. Parking will be at the back of the restaurant, which Zosherafatain says will be emptied by 5 p.m. each evening as the adjacent office building closes.
"A large lobster aquarium will also stand against the front window, giving the pedestrians of Central Square a glimpse of the ocean some 25 miles inland.
"... Zosherafatain, 43, moved to the U.S. with his family ... (in) 1979. He started working in various Boston restaurants when he was 15, but developed a love for seafood after an extended stint at Jimmy’s Harborside on Boston’s Northern Avenue. He’s owned and operated the Atlantic Sea Grill in Acton since 1990, but says he's often driven through Chelmsford thinking it would be an ideal setting for another establishment ..."
- 2010 - 37-38 Central Square was occupied by Michael's Upholstery and later Marcus and Leslie's Antidote.
- 2014 - Harrington Properties LLC purchased 37,38-Central Square from Dennis Harrington on March 20 (deed 28075/277).
- 2016 - 37-38 Central Square was occupied by Cut to the Chase Salon.
- 2018 - Lessard LLC purchased 37-38-Central Square from Harrington Properties LLC on July 26 (deed 32271/97).
- 2020 - Graham Harrington LLC purchased 37,38-Central Square from Lessard LLC on October 5 (deed 34726/152).
- 2023 - Tiny Tile Mosaics occupied 37-38-Central Square and the Odd Fellows Hall newly renovated for a steak house on the first floor and apartents above is on the left.
- All photos labeled (colorized) are black and white images edited by Fred Merriam
- Book, Arcadia Publishing, "Images of America, Chelmsford Revisited" by Fred Merriam
- Book, Courier Printing, "History of Chelmsford 1910-1970" by Eleanor Parkhurst and Fred Merriam
- Cemetery Records, Town of Chelmsford
- Deeds, plans, leases, mortgages, Middlesex North Registry by default
- Deeds, Middlesex South Registry, as listed
- Directories, Chelmsford Historical Society website, Media - Directories page
- GIS Mapping, Town of Chelmsford website
- Google Earth Pro, as listed
- Newspaper, Chelmsford Independent, as credited
- Newspaper, Chelmsford Newsweekly, as credited
- Photo collection, Chelmsford Historical Society
- Photo collection, Richard Lahue, Chelmsford
- Photo collection, Fred Merriam, Chelmsford
- Photo collection, Linda Prescott, Chelmsford
- State Inventory CLM.334, Chelmsford Historical Commission website, History - Businesses page