Lancaster, Massachusetts

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.HistoryLancaster was first settled as "Nashaway" in 1643. It was officially incorporated and renamed "Lancaster on the Nashua" in 1653. 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 .Lancaster boasts being the official "mothertown" to all of central Massachusetts. Towns such as Harvard, Bolton, Leominster, Clinton, Berlin, Sterling, and part of West Boyslton were all once considered part of Lancaster.Supporters of Lancaster's founder, John Prescott, 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.