Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area.

History
The area was first called Winnisimmet, meaning'good spring nearby,'by the Massachusett tribe which once lived here. It was settled in 1624 by Samuel Maverick (colonist), whose palisaded trading post is considered the first permanent settlement at Boston Harbor. In 1635, Maverick sold all of Winnisimmet, except for his house and farm, to Richard Bellingham. The community remained part of Boston, Massachusetts until it was set off and...

Chelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area.

History
The area was first called Winnisimmet, meaning'good spring nearby,'by the Massachusett tribe which once lived here. It was settled in 1624 by Samuel Maverick (colonist), whose palisaded trading post is considered the first permanent settlement at Boston Harbor. In 1635, Maverick sold all of Winnisimmet, except for his house and farm, to Richard Bellingham. The community remained part of Boston, Massachusetts until it was set off and incorporated in 1739, when it was named after Chelsea, London, a neighborhood in London, England.

In 1775, the Battle of Chelsea Creek was fought here, the second battle of the American Revolution, at which American forces made one of their first captures of a British people ship. Part of George Washington army was stationed here during the Siege of Boston.

Chelsea originally included North Chelsea -- all of Revere, Massachusetts, Winthrop, Massachusetts and parts of Saugus, Massachusetts. In 1846, North Chelsea was set off as a separate town. Reincorporated as a city in 1857, Chelsea developed as an industrial center, producing rubber and elastic goods, boots and shoemaking, stoves and adhesives. It became home to a naval hospital (designed by Alexander Parris) and soldiers home. But on April 12, 1908, nearly half the city was destroyed in the First Great Chelsea Fire. In 1973, the Second Great Chelsea Fire burned 18 city blocks.

In September 1991, Massachusetts enacted special legislation to place Chelsea into receivership. This was the first time since the Great Depression that a United States municipality had such an action taken against it. Events preceding the action included failed financial intervention by the state, a political stalemate over the city's budget, deepening economic decline and a spiraling fiscal crisis. Fortunately, Chelsea had no publicly held long-term debt -- thus, a solution to its problems could be explored in isolation of creditors.