Town of Dunstable, MA

Whenever you turn from Pleasant Street onto Pond Street and see Woodward's Mill Pond, it is easy to picture the history of the place, which was recorded in Dunstable Village, one of the Dunstable history books that are available at the Dunstable Library.

What follows is a rather dry version of the history based on a much more colorful memoir written by Helen Proctor Mason that can be found in one of the Dunstable history books, Dunstable Village, which can be checked out or purchased at the Dunstable Library. Thank you to Curt Gates, the editor of Dunstable Village, and the Board of Selectmen for giving permission to draw so heavily on their book.

Dunstable, incorporated on October 15, 1673, once comprised 200 square miles (128,000 acres) extending from Londonderry, New Hampshire, to Chelmsford, Massachusetts.  It was originally incorporated upon the petition of 26 proprietors of land along the Merrimack.  During the 1700s, section after section broke off until 15 separate towns were formed, leaving Dunstable only 10,500 acres and a population of 380 in 1790.