Phillipston

From Wikipedia and the Town Of Phillipston website: Phillipston is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Phillipston was first settled in 1751, and incorporated as the town of Gerry on October 20, 1786, after separating from Templeton.It was named after Elbridge Gerry. The town's name was changed from Gerry to Phillipston on February 5, 1814, after lieutenant governor William Phillips, Jr. The Town of Phillipston is located in Central Massachusetts, about 20 miles west of Fitchburg and is bisected by Route 2. Rural and remote, Phillipston is marked by forests, winding roads and historic stonewalls; it serves as the northern entrance to the Quabbin Reservoir. Its one village - the historic town center - is comprised of a town common ringed by numerous municipal buildings, a school and 19th century homes.

Westminster

From Wikipedia and the Westminster Historical Society website: Westminster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Westminster was first settled by Europeans in 1737. Originally called “Narragansett Number Two” in deference to the many Indian tribes who lived in the region, as the population grew, it became a district in 1759 and assumed the name Westminster, a name rooted in traditions of the minister in old England. Westminster became became fully incorporated in 1770. Westminster is nestled at the foot of Mount Wachusett, the highest mountain in central Massachusetts. The Town is approximately 37 square miles and the land is approximately 1000 feet above sea level. A significant portion of the land is owned by the Commonwealth, and many lakes and rivers create a large watershed for the Nashua River. Westminster is 45 miles west of Boston and lies on both the Old Boston Turnpike and the historic Mohawk Trail. Westminster was unsettled territory in the 18th Century. The land was designated to be given as payment to Soldiers who fought in the French and Indian War, but many were not interested in leaving the comforts of home to settle in the New England wilderness.

Lancaster

From Wikipedia: Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. In 1643 Lancaster was first settled as "Nashaway" (named after the local Nashaway Native American tribe) by a group of colonists known as the Nashaway Company who may have initially been interested in iron deposits in the area. Several of the company were blacksmiths or gunsmiths, including, Herman Garrett, and as early as 1653 a settler, George Adams, was whipped for selling guns and alcohol to the Indians in the area. The town was officially incorporated and renamed "Lancaster on the Nashua" in 1653. Prominent Massachusetts military leader Simon Willard served as an advisor to the company and eventually settled in Lancaster for a period, and provided guns to the local tribe by order of the Massachusetts General Court. Supporters of Lancaster's founder, John Prescott, born in 1604 (great grandfather of Bunker Hill leader William Prescott, wished to name the new settlement Prescott, but the Massachusetts General Court considered such a request from a common freeman presumptuous, given that at that time, not even a governor had held the honor of naming a town after himself. Instead, they decided to use Lancaster, the name of his home town in England.

Leominster

From Wikipedia: Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County. Leominster is located north of Worcester and northwest of Boston. Both Route 2 passes through Leominster. Probably taking the name from Leominster, Herefordshire, England, the region was originally inhabited by various divisions of the Pennacook or Nipmuc Native Americans, who lived along the Nashua River. The river provided fertile soil for the cultivation of corn, beans, squash and tobacco. European settlers began arriving in the mid-17th century and in 1653, the area of Leominster was first founded as part of the town of Lancaster. The European settlers and native people lived peacefully for a number of years, until the start of King Philip's War in 1675. The violent war between the native Indians and early settlers killed hundreds of people and drove off the inhabitants from the area. After the war, Lancaster remained virtually deserted until a new land grant was offered to residents in 1701. To prevent further conflict with the native Indians, the settlers negotiated with Chief Sholan of the Nashaway tribe for the land. It would be the only parcel of land to be legally purchased in Central Massachusetts. By 1737, the area of Leominster had gained enough residents to be incorporated as a separate town. The town of Leominster was officially incorporated on June 23, 1740.

Templeton

From Wikipedia: Templeton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Established as " Templetown" March 6, 1762, from the plantation called "Narragansett Number Six." Part set off to Gardner June 27, 1785,and part included in new town of Gerry (Phillipston) Oct. 20, 1786.

Athol

From Wikipedia: Athol is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Originally called Pequoiag when settled by Native Americans, the area was subsequently settled by five families in September 1735. When the township was incorporated in 1762, the name was changed to Athol. John Murray, one of the proprietors of the land, chose the name which means "new Ireland". Early residents subsisted on agriculture and hunting. By 1791, Athol had four gristmills, six sawmills, a fulling mill, and a shop with a trip hammer, all of which were operated by water power. The Athol Cotton Factory, built in 1811, was one of the first industries to serve a market beyond the local one. Through the 1800s, textile, leather, wood, and metal industries further expanded the market for goods produced in Athol. The construction of the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad in the 1840s fostered so much industrial growth that a second line connecting Athol and Springfield was constructed in 1870. Construction of the Fitchburg Railroad, an east-west line, came through Athol in 1879, on its way to the Hoosac Tunnel and the Berkshires.The Athol Machine Company was established in 1868 in order to manufacture a chopping machine invented by Laroy S. Starrett. In 1881, Mr. Starrett established the L. S. Starrett Company, known for making quality precision tools. The company remains the town's largest employer to this day, and thus does Athol live up to the nickname "Tool Town".

Harvard

From Wikipedia: Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The town is located 25 miles west-northwest of Boston, in eastern Massachusetts. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several non-traditional communities, such as Harvard Shaker Village and the utopian transcendentalist center Fruitlands. It is also home to St. Benedict Abbey, a traditional Catholic monastery. The official seal of the town depicts the old town public library on The Common prior to renovations that removed the front steps. Europeans first settled in what later became Harvard in the 17th century, along a road connecting Lancaster with Groton that was formally laid out in 1658. There were few inhabitants until after King Philip's War, in which Groton and Lancaster were attacked and substantially destroyed. Over the next 50 years the population grew until it had reached a point adequate to support a church. A new town including parts of Lancaster, Groton, and Stow was incorporated in 1732, subject to the proviso that the inhabitants "Settle a learned and Orthodox Minister among them within the space of two years and also erect an House for the publick Worship of God." It is uncertain how the town obtained its name, though the Willard family, among the first settlers and the largest proprietors in the new town, had several connections to Harvard College. The first minister was Rev. John Seccombe, serving from 1733 to 1757. In 1734, the town was considered to have five districts or villages. These were Oak Hill, Bare Hill, Still River, Old Mill, and Shabikin, present day Devens.

Gardner

From Wikipedia: Gardner is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Gardner is home to Dunn State Park, Gardner Heritage State Park, Lake Wampanoag Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mount Wachusett Community College. Named in honor of Col. Thomas Gardner, the community was first settled by Europeans in 1764 and officially incorporated as a town in 1785 after receiving land grants from the surrounding towns of Ashburnham, Westminster, Templeton and Winchendon. Dating from about 1805, it became a center for lumber and furniture industries. Gardner is known as the "Chair City" and "The Furniture Capital of New England", due to its long history in furniture production. By 1910 it had 20 chair factories which produced 4 million chairs per year. It was also noted for silversmithing. The Gardner State Colony for the Insane pioneered the use of cottage residences. Gardner was incorporated as a city in 1923.

Devens

From Wikipedia: The town of Devens, Massachusetts is more locally known as Fort Devens. It is an inactive United States Army military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County. It was named after jurist and Civil War general Charles Devens. The first military base on the site was established by Major Simon Willard, an English army officer, in 1656. Willard, a founder of the town of Concord, Massachusetts, was the commanding officer of "Willard’s Dragoons" of the Militia of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of the earliest organized military forces in central Massachusetts. Willard's home was situated near the Verbeck Gate of Fort Devens, and was destroyed in 1676 in a raid during King Philip's War. The U.S. Army post which resided at Fort Devens was officially closed in 1996 after 79 years of service. In January 2011 a group of Devens residents filed a citizens' petition for Devens to become a legally incorporated town. Efforts to make Devens the state's 352nd town failed on the local level in 2006. As of 2018, Devens is designated "a regional enterprise zone and census-designated place in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County," ergo not a town.

 

Fitchburg

From Wikipedia: Fitchburg was first settled in by Europeans in 1730 as part of Lunenburg, and was officially set apart from that town and incorporated in 1764. The area was previously occupied by the Nimpuc tribe. It is named for John Fitch, one of the committee that procured the act of incorporation. In July 1748 Fitch and his family, living in this isolated spot, were abducted to Canada by Native Americans, but returned the next year. Fitchburg is situated on both the Nashua River and a railroad line. The original Fitchburg Railroad ran through the Hoosac Tunnel, linking Boston and Albany, New York. The tunnel was built using the Burleigh Rock Drill, designed and built in Fitchburg. Fitchburg was a 19th-century industrial center. Originally operated by water power, large mills produced machines, tools, clothing, paper, and firearms. The city is noted for its architecture, particularly in the Victorian style, built at the height of its mill town prosperity. A few examples of these 19th century buildings are the Fay Club, the old North Worcester County Courthouse and the Bullock house. As the city is one of Worcester County's two shire towns, it has hosted the Northern Worcester County Registry of Deeds, established in 1903, and the county jail on Water Street. The 1961 film Return to Peyton Place was filmed in Fitchburg.

Worcester County

 Worcester County has the highest number of locales we will visit, coming in with 10 places.

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