Ashburnham, Massachusetts

Ashburnham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. At the 2010 census the town population was 6,081. It is home to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory school and Camp Winnekeag, a Seventh-day Adventist camp and retreat center.It contains the census-designated place of South Ashburnham, Massachusetts.HistoryAshburnham was first settled in 1736, and was officially incorporated in 1765. The name is of British origin, possibly drawn from the Earl of Ashburnham, in Pembrey, or the Sussex community of Ashburnham.Ashburnam was originally made up of the lands granted to officers and soldiers of a 1690 expedition to Canada. It was called the Plantation of Dorchester-Canada until it was incorporated.Geography and transportationAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 41.0sqmi, of which 38.7sqmi is land and 2.3sqmi (5.68%) is water. Ashburnham has two distinct topographical areas, hilly to the east and relatively flat high ground to the west. To the east, Mount Watatic and Little Watatic Mountain rise in the northeastern part of town, with Jewell Hill to the southeast and Blood Hill rising just over the town line. In the western part of town are several lakes, including Lake Wampanoag, Sunset Lake, Lake Watatic, Wallace Pond, and the Upper & Lower Naukeag Lakes, all of which (except Lake Wampanoag) feed into the headwaters of the Millers River, which flows westward towards the Connecticut River. Several brooks also feed into these lakes and ponds, along with several others between the hills in the eastern part of town. Several areas scattered around the town are protected as part of Ashburnham State Forest, as well as two smaller areas which are parts of Mount Watatic State Wildlife Management Area and a small portion of the High Ridge Wildlife Management Area to the south.