Lancaster, Massachusetts

Lancaster, Massachusetts
Town
First Church of Christ, a National Historic Landmark designed by Charles Bulfinch
Seal
Nickname(s): Lancaster-on-the-Nashua
Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°27′20″N 71°40′25″W / 42.45556°N 71.67361°W / 42.45556; -71.67361Coordinates: 42°27′20″N 71°40′25″W / 42.45556°N 71.67361°W / 42.45556; -71.67361
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Worcester
Settled	1643
Incorporated	1653
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	28.2 sq mi (73.0 km2)
• Land	27.7 sq mi (71.8 km2)
• Water	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Elevation	300 ft (91 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	8,055
• Density	290/sq mi (110/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01523
Area code(s)	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-34165
GNIS feature ID	0618368
Website	http://www.ci.lancaster.ma.us/

Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 8,055.

Lancaster is home to many great wilderness recreation areas with its hills, rivers, lakes, and forests.

For geographic and demographic information on the village of South Lancaster, please see the article South Lancaster, Massachusetts.

History

Town Hall

Lancaster was first settled as "Nashaway" (after the local Nashaway Indian tribe) in 1643. It was officially incorporated and renamed "Lancaster on the Nashua" in 1653. Until it was cut down due to safety concerns, Lancaster boasted the largest oak tree in the state, called the Beaman Oak, named after settler Gamaliel Beaman (1623–1677).

Lancaster boasts being the official "mothertown" to all of central Massachusetts. Towns such as Harvard, Stow, Bolton, Hudson, Marlborough, Leominster, Clinton, Berlin, Sterling, and Boylston were all once considered part of Lancaster.

Supporters of Lancaster's founder, John Prescott (1604–1681), wished to name the new settlement Prescottville, 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.

Lancaster was the site of the Mary Rowlandson (c. 1637-1711) attack in February of 1676 (1675 old style calendar). During King Philip's War, which was fought partially in Lancaster, a tribe of Indians pillaged the entire town of Lancaster. Their last stop on their trail of destruction was Mary Rowlandson's house. Coming to the defense of the house was Rowlandson's brother-in-law, who was immediately shot and killed by the attacking Indians. The Indians then set fire to the house, forcing Rowlandson to exit the burning building. Upon crossing the doorstep, Rowlandson saw a scene full of carnage. The majority of her household was slaughtered, with the exception of her husband, Joseph Rowlandson Sr., who was not on the premises, their son, also called Joseph, their two daughters, Mary and Sarah, and herself. Mary, her son, and her two daughters were captured by the Indians and forced to join their travels across New England. The Indians non-fatally shot Mary Rowlandson in her side, but her youngest daughter, Sarah, sustained an injury during the attack that would later bring about her death.

After her release from captivity, Rowlandson wrote a book called A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. The book is widely considered one of the greatest examples of a captivity narrative. In 2000, Lancaster Elementary School changed its name to Mary Rowlandson Elementary School.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.2 square miles (73 km²), of which 27.7 square miles (72 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), or 1.84%, is water.

Lancaster is bordered by Lunenburg and Shirley to the north, Harvard to the northeast, Bolton to the southeast, Clinton to the south, Sterling to the southwest, and Leominster to the northwest.

Demographics

As of the census^[11] of 2000, there were 7,380 people, 2,049 households, and 1,551 families residing in the town. The population density was 266.7 people per square mile (102.9/km²). There were 2,141 housing units at an average density of 77.4 per square mile (29.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 84.51% White, 10.61% African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.15% Asian, 1.54% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.44% of the population.

There were 2,049 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.1% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 19.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 125.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $60,752, and the median income for a family was $66,490. Males had a median income of $42,367 versus $35,417 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,010. About 4.4% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Education

Lancaster is served by the Nashoba Regional School District. It is also the site of Atlantic Union College and of South Lancaster Academy, incorporated in 1882-3. Dr. Franklin Perkins School is a private special education school located in the town. Trivium School, founded in 1979, is a private Catholic college preparatory school occupying the former estate of E. V. R. Thayer, Jr.^[12]

Library

Lancaster public library, 1899

Lancaster's public Thayer Memorial Library first opened in 1868.^[13][14] In fiscal year 2008, the town of Lancaster spent 1.74% ($259,465) of its budget on its public library—some $36 per person.^[15]

Notable people

• Luther Burbank, botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science
• Ezra Butler, United States Representative from Vermont
• James C. Carter, New York City lawyer
• Charles F. Chandler, chemist
• Horace Cleveland, landscape architect
• Francis B. Fay, merchant and politician
• Hannah Flagg Gould, poet
• Timothy Harrington, Lancaster clergyman^[16]
• Abraham Haskell, physician^[17]
• Stephen N. Haskell, clergyman and pioneering leader of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, founded South Lancaster Academy
• Caroline Lee Hentz, novelist
• Henrietta Swan Leavitt, astronomer
• Charles W. Moors, Wisconsin politician
• Herbert Parker (Massachusetts politician), Republican politician, Massachusetts Attorney General from 1902-1906
• John Prescott, pioneer, founder of Lancaster
• Mary Rowlandson, colonial Indian captive, author
• Jared Sparks, historian, Harvard University president (taught at a private school in Lancaster 1815-1817)
• John Thayer, ornithologist
• Nathaniel Thayer, Unitarian congregational minister
• Nathaniel Thayer, financier and philanthropist
• John Whitcomb, soldier in the Continental Army^[18]
• Henry Whiting, soldier in the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War^[19]
• Abijah Willard, Loyalist soldier in the American Revolution^[20]
• Dr. Samuel Willard, representative to the Massachusetts ratification of the United States Constitution

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lancaster, Massachusetts.

Wikisource has the text of a 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article about Lancaster, Massachusetts.

• Town of Lancaster official website
• Lancaster Online, community website
• Annals of Lancaster: The Massacre of February 10, 1676
• Information about early education in Lancaster
• Lancaster 2007 Master Plan maps and tables
•  "Lancaster. A town, including several villages, in Worcester County, Mass.". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. 

Municipalities and communities of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States County seat: Worcester Cities Fitchburg Gardner Leominster Southbridge Worcester Towns Ashburnham Athol Auburn Barre Berlin Blackstone Bolton Boylston Brookfield Charlton Clinton Douglas Dudley East Brookfield Grafton Hardwick Harvard Holden Hopedale Hubbardston Lancaster Leicester Lunenburg Mendon Milford Millbury Millville New Braintree North Brookfield Northborough Northbridge Oakham Oxford Paxton Petersham Phillipston Princeton Royalston Rutland Shrewsbury Southborough Spencer Sterling Sturbridge Sutton Templeton Upton Uxbridge Warren Webster West Boylston West Brookfield Westborough Westminster Winchendon CDPs Athol Baldwinville Barre Clinton Cordaville Devens East Brookfield East Douglas Fiskdale Hopedale Lunenburg Milford North Brookfield Northborough Oxford Rutland South Ashburnham South Lancaster Spencer Sturbridge Upton-West Upton Warren Webster West Brookfield Westborough Whitinsville Winchendon Other villages Gilbertville Ironstone Linwood North Uxbridge Old Furnace Still River Union Chapel Wheelockville Wheelwright