Lancaster is a town in Worcester County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441.

History

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 The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

considered such a request from a common

freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

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 Prescott's home town in England. Until it was cut down in 1989 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 Eastern central Massachusetts. Towns such as

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almos ...

, Clinton,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Sterling, and part of West Boylston were all formed from territory of the original boundaries of Lancaster. Lancaster was the site of the Mary Rowlandson (–1711) attack ( Lancaster raid) in February 1676 (1675 old style calendar). During

Metacom's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands ...

, which was fought partially in Lancaster, a group of Native Americans pillaged the entire town of Lancaster. Their last stop 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 Native Americans. The Native Americans 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 Native Americans and forced to join their travels across New England. The Native Americans 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.'' In 2000, Lancaster Elementary School changed its name to Mary Rowlandson Elementary School.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.84%, is water. Lancaster is bordered by Lunenburg and Shirley to the north,

to the northeast,

to the southeast, Clinton to the south, Sterling to the southwest, and

to the northwest.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 8,055 people, 2,409 households, and 1,758 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,614 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 86.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 7.7%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 2.5% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 8.1% of the population. There were 2,409 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% were non-families. Of all households 21.8% had a householder that lived alone and 8.4% had a householder that lived alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.6% at the age of 19 or under, 7.9% from 20 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 128.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 131.0 males. As of the 2015

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, the median income for a household in the town was $96,813, and the median income for a family was $99,207. Males had a median income of $62,500 versus $45,174 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $32,899. About 8.3% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Education

Lancaster is served by the Nashoba Regional School District. The town is also served by Minuteman Regional Technical High School It is also the site of the former Atlantic Union College and of South Lancaster Academy, incorporated in 1882–1883. The Dr. Franklin Perkins School is a private

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

school located in the town. Trivium School, founded in 1979, is a private

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

college preparatory school occupying the former estate of E. V. R. Thayer Jr.

Library

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

Notable people

* Herman Vandenburg Ames, dean of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

graduate school * James Atherton, pioneer and the namesake of

Atherton Bridge The Atherton Bridge is a historic iron truss bridge in Lancaster, Massachusetts, spanning the South Branch of the Nashua River. It is a rare example of a hybrid pony truss that is similar to the 19th century truss design of Simeon S. Post. It ...

* Frank Bancroft, Baseball manager * Luther Burbank, botanist, horticulturist and a pioneer in agricultural science * Ezra Butler,

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

* 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 * Abraham Haskell, physician * Stephen N. Haskell, clergyman and pioneering leader of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, founded South Lancaster Academy * Caroline Lee Hentz, novelist *

Henrietta Swan Leavitt Henrietta Swan Leavitt (; July 4, 1868 – December 12, 1921) was an American astronomer. Her discovery of how to effectively measure vast distances to remote galaxies led to a shift in the understanding of the scale and nature of the universe. ...

, astronomer who discovered the relation between the

luminosity Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic energy per unit time, and is synonymous with the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electroma ...

and the period of Cepheid variable stars * Charles W. Moors, Wisconsin politician * George Parker, President of the Lancaster Railroad * Harold Parker, First Chairman of the Massachusetts State Forest Commission, namesake of the

Harold Parker State Forest Harold Parker State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features encompassing more than in the towns of Andover, North Andover, North Reading, and Middleton, Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commo ...

* Cornelia C. Parker, donated 58 acres of forest to the New England Forestry Foundation creating the Parker Family Woods * Herbert Parker (Massachusetts politician), Republican politician, Massachusetts Attorney General from 1902–1906 * John Prescott, pioneer, founder of Lancaster * Mary Rowlandson, colonial Indian captive and author of one of America's first best selling books * Jared Sparks, historian,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

president (taught at a private school in Lancaster 1815–1817) * John Thayer, ornithologist * Nathaniel Thayer, Unitarian congregational minister * Nathaniel Thayer (Jr.), financier and philanthropist * John Whitcomb, soldier in the Continental Army * Henry Whiting, soldier in the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War * Abijah Willard, Loyalist soldier in the American Revolution * Dr. Samuel Willard, representative to the Massachusetts ratification of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

References

External links

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
* {{Authority control 1653 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony Populated places established in 1653 Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts