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Leicester, Massachusetts
Leicester (/ˈlɛstər/ ⓘ LEST-ər) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,087 at the 2020 United States census.
What is now Leicester was originally settled by the Nipmuc people and was known by them as Towtaid. On January 27, 1686, the territory of eight square miles was purchased for 15 pounds by a company of nine proprietors engaged in land speculation: Joshua Lamb of Roxbury, Nathaniel Page of Bedford, Andrew Gardner of Roxbury, Benjamin Gamblin of Roxbury, Benjamin Tucker of Roxbury, John Curtice of Roxbury, Richard Draper of Boston, Samuel Ruggles of Roxbury, and Ralph Bradhurst of Roxbury. The proprietors called this land Strawberry Hill but did not make an effort to settle it for nearly 30 years due to its isolated location and the disruption of King Philip's War (1675–1678), King William's War (1688–1697), and Queen Anne's War (1702–1713).
Leicester was incorporated by a vote of the Massachusetts General Court on February 15, 1713, on the condition that the land be settled by 50 families within seven years. Upon the grant of the General Court, the proprietors immediately set about meeting the condition of the town's incorporation. Leicester was divided into two halves, the eastern half to be distributed among settlers and the western half retained and divided among the proprietors, who had grown in number to total 22. A combined 50 parcels (so-called "house-lots") of land with 30, 40, or 50 acres each was allotted to settlers for the eastern half of Leicester for one shilling per acre, with land also set aside for schools, churches, and mills. The purchaser of each parcel was required to settle a family on their house-lot and each received 100 additional acres in another part of town for every 10 acres in their house-lot.
The town was named after Leicester, England. First selectman Samuel Green suggested the use of the name as it was where his father had originated. One of the early settlers in town was Dr. Samuel Green, who lived in a house at 2 Charlton St. in Greenville. Dr. Green trained many other doctors in the early 1700s. This constituted the first medical school in Massachusetts. The Green family was involved in the creation of both Worcester's Green Hill Park and New York City's Central Park.
First (Congregational) Church was organized in 1718 and a Baptist church in Greenville was organized in 1737.
By 1744, the western part of the town, which had been a district, distinct from the eastern half from the beginning, was established as the western parish. That part of Leicester was then incorporated as the separate town of Spencer in 1753. In 1765, the northernmost part of Leicester was taken to form half of the newly incorporated district of Paxton. These districts had most of the powers of a town except that they shared a representative in the General Court with Leicester until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775. Three years after that, the southeastern part of town was taken to form the northwestern quarter of the newly incorporated town of Ward, later renamed Auburn.
Although no significant battles of the American Revolution were fought in the area, Leicester citizens played a large role in the conflict's start. At a Committee of Safety meeting in 1774, Leicester's Colonel William Henshaw declared that "we must have companies of men ready to march upon a minute's notice"—coining the term "minutemen", a nickname for the rapid-response militia members who fought in the revolution's first battles. Henshaw would later become an adjutant general to Artemas Ward, who was second in command to George Washington in the Continental Army.
Before the British troops marched to Lexington and Concord, looking for the ammunition and equipment held by the Americans, that ammunition and equipment was moved further West to four locations in the town of Leicester, including the house Dr. Green built at 2 Charlton Street. This information can be found in books held on reserve in the Leicester Public Library[citation needed]. When they heard that the British had attacked, Leicester's own Minutemen gathered on Leicester Common. They marched quickly to join with other Minutemen on April 19, 1775, to fight at the first conflict between Massachusetts residents and British troops, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. A few months later on June 17, 1775, a freed slave and Leicester resident named Peter Salem fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he killed British Major John Pitcairn. Both men are memorialized in Leicester street names (Peter Salem Road, Pitcairn Avenue), as is Colonel Henshaw (Henshaw Street).
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Leicester, Massachusetts
Leicester (/ˈlɛstər/ ⓘ LEST-ər) is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,087 at the 2020 United States census.
What is now Leicester was originally settled by the Nipmuc people and was known by them as Towtaid. On January 27, 1686, the territory of eight square miles was purchased for 15 pounds by a company of nine proprietors engaged in land speculation: Joshua Lamb of Roxbury, Nathaniel Page of Bedford, Andrew Gardner of Roxbury, Benjamin Gamblin of Roxbury, Benjamin Tucker of Roxbury, John Curtice of Roxbury, Richard Draper of Boston, Samuel Ruggles of Roxbury, and Ralph Bradhurst of Roxbury. The proprietors called this land Strawberry Hill but did not make an effort to settle it for nearly 30 years due to its isolated location and the disruption of King Philip's War (1675–1678), King William's War (1688–1697), and Queen Anne's War (1702–1713).
Leicester was incorporated by a vote of the Massachusetts General Court on February 15, 1713, on the condition that the land be settled by 50 families within seven years. Upon the grant of the General Court, the proprietors immediately set about meeting the condition of the town's incorporation. Leicester was divided into two halves, the eastern half to be distributed among settlers and the western half retained and divided among the proprietors, who had grown in number to total 22. A combined 50 parcels (so-called "house-lots") of land with 30, 40, or 50 acres each was allotted to settlers for the eastern half of Leicester for one shilling per acre, with land also set aside for schools, churches, and mills. The purchaser of each parcel was required to settle a family on their house-lot and each received 100 additional acres in another part of town for every 10 acres in their house-lot.
The town was named after Leicester, England. First selectman Samuel Green suggested the use of the name as it was where his father had originated. One of the early settlers in town was Dr. Samuel Green, who lived in a house at 2 Charlton St. in Greenville. Dr. Green trained many other doctors in the early 1700s. This constituted the first medical school in Massachusetts. The Green family was involved in the creation of both Worcester's Green Hill Park and New York City's Central Park.
First (Congregational) Church was organized in 1718 and a Baptist church in Greenville was organized in 1737.
By 1744, the western part of the town, which had been a district, distinct from the eastern half from the beginning, was established as the western parish. That part of Leicester was then incorporated as the separate town of Spencer in 1753. In 1765, the northernmost part of Leicester was taken to form half of the newly incorporated district of Paxton. These districts had most of the powers of a town except that they shared a representative in the General Court with Leicester until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1775. Three years after that, the southeastern part of town was taken to form the northwestern quarter of the newly incorporated town of Ward, later renamed Auburn.
Although no significant battles of the American Revolution were fought in the area, Leicester citizens played a large role in the conflict's start. At a Committee of Safety meeting in 1774, Leicester's Colonel William Henshaw declared that "we must have companies of men ready to march upon a minute's notice"—coining the term "minutemen", a nickname for the rapid-response militia members who fought in the revolution's first battles. Henshaw would later become an adjutant general to Artemas Ward, who was second in command to George Washington in the Continental Army.
Before the British troops marched to Lexington and Concord, looking for the ammunition and equipment held by the Americans, that ammunition and equipment was moved further West to four locations in the town of Leicester, including the house Dr. Green built at 2 Charlton Street. This information can be found in books held on reserve in the Leicester Public Library[citation needed]. When they heard that the British had attacked, Leicester's own Minutemen gathered on Leicester Common. They marched quickly to join with other Minutemen on April 19, 1775, to fight at the first conflict between Massachusetts residents and British troops, the Battles of Lexington and Concord. A few months later on June 17, 1775, a freed slave and Leicester resident named Peter Salem fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he killed British Major John Pitcairn. Both men are memorialized in Leicester street names (Peter Salem Road, Pitcairn Avenue), as is Colonel Henshaw (Henshaw Street).