Worcester

Sister cities

• Piraeus
• Worcester
• Afula

History

The area was inhabited by members of the Nipmuc tribe at the time of European contact. The native people called the region Quinsigamond and built a settlement on Pakachoag Hill in Auburn. In 1673, English settlers John Eliot and Daniel Gookin led an expedition to Quinsigamond to establish a new Christian Indian praying town and identify a new location for an English settlement. On July 13, 1674, Gookin obtained a deed to of land in Quinsigamond from the Nipmuc people and English traders and settlers began to inhabit the region. In 1675, King Philip's War broke out throughout New England with the Nipmuc Indians coming to the aid of Indian leader King Philip. The English settlers completely abandoned the Quinsigamond area and the empty buildings were burned by the Indian forces. The town was again abandoned during Queen Anne's War in 1702. Named after the city of Worcester, England, the town was incorporated on June 14, 1722. On April 2, 1731, Worcester was chosen as the county seat of the newly founded Worcester County government. Between 1755 and 1758, future U.S. president John Adams worked as a schoolteacher and studied law in Worcester. Worcester also had a role in the start of the American Revolution. On September 6, 1774, 4,622 militiamen from 37 towns in Worcester County assembled and marched on Main Street, Worcester; they sought to shut down the Crown's court before it could sit for a new session. The event was dubbed the Worcester Revolution, or the Worcester Revolt. Having seized the courthouse, the militiamen waited for the 25 appointees from the Crown to arrive, where they were denied entry and later forced to disavow their appointments by King George III. Bloodshed and violence was avoided, with no shots fired. British authority had been demonstrably…

Geography

Worcester has a total area of : of land and , comprising roughly 2.59%, of water. Worcester is bordered by the towns of Auburn, Grafton, Holden, Leicester, Millbury, Paxton, Shrewsbury, and West Boylston. Worcester is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth" because of its proximity to the center of Massachusetts. The city is about west of Boston, east of Springfield, and northwest of Providence, Rhode Island. The Blackstone River forms in the center of Worcester by the confluence of the Middle River and Mill Brook. The river courses underground through the center of the city, and emerges at the foot of College Hill. It then flows south through Quinsigamond Village and into Millbury. Worcester is the beginning of the Blackstone Valley that frames the river. The Blackstone Canal was once an important waterway connecting Worcester to Providence and the Eastern Seaboard, but the canal fell into disuse at the end of the 19th century and was mostly covered up. In recent years, local organizations, including the Canal District Business Association, have proposed restoring the canal and creating a Blackstone Valley National Park. Worcester is one of many cities claimed, like Rome, to be found on seven hills: Airport Hill, Bancroft Hill, Belmont Hill (Bell Hill), Grafton Hill, Green Hill, Pakachoag Hill and Vernon Hill. However, Worcester has more than seven hills, examples of which include Indian Hill, Newton Hill, Poet's Hill, and Wigwam Hill. Worcester has many ponds and two prominent lakes: Indian Lake and Lake Quinsigamond. Lake Quinsigamond (also known as Long Pond) stretches across the Worcester and Shrewsbury border and is a very popular competitive rowing and boating destination. Worcester's humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb) is typical of New England.…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  26,533
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  25,412
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  23,549
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  21,701
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,777
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  19,715
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,578
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,188

Largest nearby schools

• Wachusett Regional High
  High · Holden · 1,930 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Shrewsbury High School
  High · Shrewsbury · 1,823 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• South High Community
  High · Worcester · 1,666 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Worcester Technical High
  High · Worcester · 1,469 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School
  Other · Worcester · 1,422 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• North High
  High · Worcester · 1,377 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Doherty Memorial High
  High · Worcester · 1,344 students · 15.6:1 ratio
• Burncoat Senior High
  High · Worcester · 1,179 students · 17.6:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2018-02-15
  0 km SE of East Kingston, New Hampshire
• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.5 — 2007-10-19
  2 km WSW of Littleton Common, Massachusetts
• M 2.8 — 2002-09-28
  2 km N of Wilton, New Hampshire
• M 2.5 — 2002-06-07
  3 km NNW of Hopedale, Massachusetts