Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. Landmarks include Dexter Drumlin, First Church of Christ, Unitarian and Middle Cemetery. Lancaster is the birthplace of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, astronomer and human calculator.
Every piece is drawn from Lancaster's own map data and historic archives, then printed and shipped from the USA when you order. No two towns look alike.
Every road in town, on archival matte paper
The same map, in navy and silver
Famous natives, by birth year
Nine local landmarks, archival matte
Map of local landmarks, washable fabric
Heavy-blend fleece, street map printed on the back
Soft Bella+Canvas jersey
Glossy ceramic, dishwasher safe
Ceramic keepsake, gold ribbon
Weatherproof, for the front walk
Soft-touch, zip cover
Sturdy all-over-print tote
Glossy top, cork back
Soft fleece, 50″×60″
20 oz, double-wall stainless
Named for Lancaster (county town of Lancashire, England).
Population 2010: 8,055 → 2020: 8,441
From Wikidata (CC0).
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 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, Bolton, Leominster, Clinton, Berlin, Sterling, and part of West Boylston were all formed from territory of the original boundaries of Lancaster.
During Metacom's War, in February 1676 (1675 old style calendar), Mary Rowlandson was taken captive by Native Americans during the Lancaster raid. Rowlandson later wrote a book about her experiences titled A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. In 2000, Lancaster Elementary School changed its name to Mary Rowlandson Elementary School.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Lancaster, Massachusetts, revision 1369362611 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
We share a part of every Lancaster sale with local partners, and we'd love to print from your collection. Old photographs, maps and postcards make the best keepsakes.
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