Lancaster

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.

In 1643 Lancaster was first settled as "Nashaway" 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..

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