In land area, Chelsea city can be considered as the smallest in Massachusetts, specifically located in Suffolk County, United States and just across the short river in Massachusetts, the Mystic River.

Early tribes called this area before Winnisimmet, or "good spring nearby". By 1624 it was Samuel Maverick who started a trading post and made a permanent settlement at Boston Harbor. It was only in 1739 that its name was changed as Chelsea patterned to a neighborhood of a similar name found in London.

Before, North Chelsea was originally part of the present Chelsea; this included all of Revere, Winthrop and places of Saugus until in 1846.

Today, financial policies in the city were clearly established making its financial standing stable and the council-manager form of government made it a priority of setting a high quality for service. These all took place during a charter change in 1995. It also won the All-America City Award in 1998. The famous Carnegie library of 1910 is located in this city of 35,080 people.