Middlesex County Antique Maps

On historic maps, Middlesex County, located in the northeastern corner of Massachusetts, would not have appeared until after May 10, 1643.  At that time, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four sheires" [sic].  The counties incorporated at the time were Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Middlesex.

 Vintage maps of Middlesex County will show that some of the notable cities in the region at the time of incorporation included Cambridge, Charlestown, Concord, Medford, Reading, Sudbury, Wayland, Watertown, and Woburn.  Although nearby Salem (then noted on antique maps as Salem Town) in Essex County would shortly become infamous for the witchcraft hysteria and witch trials that ended in the execution of 19 innocent people, Middlesex County has its own rich history.

 Concord is well known in colonial history as the site of the first major conflict of the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Lexington and Concord, and is therefore prominent on historical maps of the time.  It was here than Paul Revere famously rode to warn of the British coming from Boston, allowing American colonists to muster opposition. Before colonization, the area was known by the Algonquin tribe as Musketaquid, a word meaning "grassy plain".  This is notable because of the suitability of the area for settlement.  Surrounding rivers not only provided fish, but also made for ideal planting conditions.  The Algonquin grew corn crops in the area that is now Concord. Concord is also famous for the grape of the same name, which was cultivated in the region, as well as for a notable literary history.  The city was home to literary talents such as Bronson Alcott and daughter Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau.

The city of Cambridge, located north of Boston across the Charles River, is also well known in the Massachusetts area.  Prominent on old maps, this city is perhaps best known for academic excellence.  The Newe College (so named because Cambridge was called Newe Town until 1638) was founded in 1636 with the intent of training ministers.

Today, Newe College is better known as Harvard College, so renamed for benefactor John Harvard.  Cambridge is also the home of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  Like nearby Concord, Cambridge is also known for literary prominence, producing Fireside Poets Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

 Eventually, parts of Middlesex County would be annexed by the growing Boston area, increasing the size of neighboring Suffolk County.  However, it still stands as the most populous county in Massachusetts, and indeed, New England.