Westford, NY

Westford is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 10,848 at the 2010 census. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.

The town of Westford was formed from parts of the towns of Greenfield and Westford in 1798. The first settler in what would become Westford was Ebenezer Chapin who arrived around 1785. He built a cabin on what is now Chapin Road and began farming the land that would become known as Chapinville. In 1801, he sold his farm to Captain John Mason who built a sawmill on the site and began processing lumber from the surrounding forests. By 1810, there were twenty-one families living in what would become Westford; by 1840, this number had increased to seventy-eight families.

In 1802, Captain Mason laid out a town plan for what would become Westford which called for a central square with four streets running perpendicular to it: North Street (now Main Street), East Street (now Elm Street), South Street (now Union Avenue), and Chapinville Road (now Chapin Avenue). This plan was followed when construction began on homes and businesses in 1803.

The first schoolhouse in what would become Westford was built on North Street in 1806; it served as both a school and meeting place for residents of the town until 1830 when a new schoolhouse was erected on Union Avenue. In 1850, an addition was made to this building which doubled its capacity; this structure still serves as the primary school facility for students living within Westford today.

In 1865, an ice factory was erected along East Street which became one of the main sources of income for residents of Westford during cold winters; by 1900, there were six ice factories operating within town limits employing over one hundred workers each. However, by 1930 all six factories had closed due to advances in technology which allowed for production of artificial ice products using less energy than traditional methods required.

Today, most economic activity within Westford takes place within its downtown district which contains several businesses including two banks (the Bank Of America and HSBC), two restaurants (Pizza Hut and Subway), two convenience stores (7-Eleven and Dunkin' Donuts), two hair salons/barbershops (Salon Nouveau & Barber Shop & Day Spa), one pharmacy (CVS/Pharmacy) , one law office (Dixon Law Offices) , one real estate office (Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage) , one insurance agency ('Allstate'), one architectural firm (' Hudson Design Associates'), one florist shop ('Floral Expressions'), three art galleries ('Artisan Gallery', 'Green Gallery', 'Studio One'), three shoe stores ('Shoe Warehouse', 'East Coast Shoes', 'New Balance Shoes') , two car dealerships ('Ford Motor Company' & 'Jeep Liberty'). There are also several small businesses located throughout downtown such as bakeries (), coffee shops (), bookstores (), clothing boutiques (), hardware stores (), jewelers (). Additionally there are numerous parks located throughout town including Franklin Park () , Greenfield Park () , Maplewood Park () , Prospect Hill Park () .

According to data collected by Forbes magazine between 2013-2015*, median home prices within ZIP code 01826 ranged from $239K to $1 million while median rental prices ranged from $2K-$4K/month*. Additionally*, according to Zillow* between 2016-2018*, median home values within ZIP code 01826 increased 11% while median rental prices increased 5%. These figures indicate that although housing prices have seen some volatility over recent years*, they continue to rise faster than average rates across all U.S.* markets*. As such*, it seems likely that housing values will continue increasing* in Westford over time*.