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.

Lexington

From Wikipedia: Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 11 miles (17 km) from Downtown Boston. Settled in 1641 as a farming community, it is well known as the site of the first shots of the American Revolutionary War, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. It is home to Minute Man National Historical Park. The area that is now Lexington was first settled circa 1642 as part of Cambridge, Massachusetts. As the population increased, Lexington was incorporated as a separate parish, called Cambridge Farms, in 1691. On April 19, 1775, what many regard as the first battle of the American Revolutionary War was the Battle at Lexington. On the night of April 18, the British Army had sent out 800 grenadiers and light infantry soldiers on foot from Boston, with the intention of destroying Colonial gunpowder and cannons that were being stored in Concord, as well as capturing two leaders of the Sons of Liberty, John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were staying in Lexington. Hancock and Adams were warned of the danger by two alarm riders, Paul Revere and William Dawes, who alerted the countryside of the British movements. When the British soldiers arrived on the Lexington Common not long after sunrise, they faced 77 men of the Lexington militia, commanded by Captain John Parker. Someone-still unknown to this day—fired a shot, provoking an exchange of musket fire between the two sides.

Shelburne

From Wikipedia and the Town of Shelburne website: Shelburne is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States.  It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Shelburne was first settled in 1756 as part of Deerfield, Massachusetts, known then as "Deerfield Northwest". It was initially organized as the district of Shelburne in 1768, named in honor of William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, an Irish-born British politician, who later served as Prime Minister during the American Revolutionary War. Shelburne was officially incorporated as a town in 1775. Its character has always been two-sided; the main body of town has farmland among the low hills, while the area around Shelburne Falls has mostly been a milling community. The early history of Shelburne surrounds the area of Shelburne Falls, then known as Salmon Falls. The Falls were considered an important native fishing site and prior to colonial settlement was also the site of extensive colonial fishing. Permanent settlement of Shelburne began in the vicinity of Shelburne Falls, c 1760, by five families. 

Temporarily On Hold

 Due to circumstances beyond my control (don't you just hate when someone says that?) I'll be putting this project on hold. There are various reasons and those reasons take precedence. You'll see some posts come through for a while. I have all the town posts scheduled to publish through November 2021. I anticipate starting the project back up in October 2021 if all goes as planned. What's that old saying? The best laid plans...