Townsend is home to many historic attractions that reflect its long and proud history. The Townsend Harbor houses the first mill of the town which was built in 1733, a pond that was created in 1734 when the dam was built for the mill and the Conant House, Reed House, Grist Mill and Cooperage.
Residents of Townsend enjoy an excellent school system. The North Middlesex Regional School District is comprised of four schools: Spaulding Memorial serves preschool through second grade, Squannacook Elementary serves grades three through five, students in grades six through eight attend Hawthorne Brook Middle School. The North Middlesex Regional High School covers grades nine through 12. A number of prestigious universities are within a short drive including a state college in nearby Fitchburg and the University of Massachusetts in Lowell. Prestigious Harvard University is located in the city of Boston.
When it comes to recreation, this part of Massachusetts offers plenty of choices. The Squannacook River offers a myriad of water-oriented activities, Willard Brook State Park features areas for picnicking and swimming and Townsend State Forest has excellent trails for hiking and cross country skiing.
Townsend was named in honor of Viscount Charles Townshend, a British cabinet minister. In the late 1700s, residents and town clerks had omitted the “H”, thus giving it its present spelling. The first Meeting House was built about 1730 on top of Meeting House Hill. As the town began to flourish, there became the need for a larger meetinghouse. A new and larger meetinghouse was established directly behind the original. The meetinghouse was later moved to the center of Town and became the Methodist Church.
On the afternoon of April 19, 1775, Townsend was notified that the British had set foot on Concord. A warning was sent when the town fired a cannon on the common. Seventy-three men from Townsend participated in the war against the British. After twenty-one days, the men were called back to take care of the Tories reported in Townsend.