Westford, Massachusetts

Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Originally a part of neighboring Chelmsford, West Chelmsford soon grew large enough to sustain its own governance, officially incorporating as Westford in 1729. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Westford primarily produced granite, apples and worsted yarn. Citizens from Westford also had some notable involvement in the Revolutionary War.

By the end of the American Civil War, as roads and transportation improved, Westford began to serve as a residential suburb for the factories of Lowell. Throughout the 20th century, Westford progressively grew, continuing to provide residential housing for the industries of Lowell and, later, Boston.

In the 1960s, the town was home to one of the research sites supporting Project West Ford. By the 1970s, with the advent of the 128 Technology Belt, Westford began to act as a suburb for high-tech firms in Burlington, Woburn and other areas, later becoming a center of technology itself. By the 1990s, Westford was home to offices for Red Hat, Samsung, Seagate, Iris Associates, Visual Solutions and many other technology firms. It is also the North American headquarters for Puma. The leading manufacturer of EEG electrodes, HydroDot Inc., located to Westford in 2007. In addition to rapidly expanding high-tech industries, Westford is characterized by suburban retail and upper-middle class residential areas.