Chelsea is a town of 37 square miles along the first branch of the White River and is bisected by Route 100 running north and south.  In 1781 a charter was granted under the of Turnersburg.  The town government was organized in 1788, though the town started in 1784 and at the time listed a population of 897.

A unique feature of Chelsea is two commons.  On the north common stands the church in the building that was completed in 1813.  On the south common stands the Country Court House, which was built in 1847.

As the center of the county, in 1795 the town was designated the seat of county government thus becoming the "Shire Town".

Adjacent to the Court House is the Chelsea School which has students k-12.