Worcester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 862,111, making it the second-most populous county in Massachusetts while also being the largest in area. The largest city and traditional shire town is the city of Worcester.
Worcester is a city in, and county seat of, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, Worcestershire, England, as of the 2020 Census the city's population was 206,518, making it the second-most populous city in New England after Boston. Worcester is approximately 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston, 50 miles (80 km) east of Springfield and 40 miles (64 km) north-northwest of Providence. Due to its location near the geographic center of Massachusetts, Worcester is known as the "Heart of the Commonwealth;" a heart is the official symbol of the city.
Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,664 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1735, Grafton is the home of a Nipmuc village known as Hassanamisco Reservation, the Willard House and Clock Museum, Community Harvest Project, and the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. Grafton consists of the North Grafton, Grafton, and South Grafton geographic areas, each with a separate ZIP Code. Grafton also operates the state's largest On-Call Fire Department, with 74 members.
The Blackstone River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 48 mi (80 km) and drains a watershed of approximately 540 sq. mi (1,400 km2). Its long history of industrial use has left a legacy of pollution, and it was characterized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1990 as "the most polluted river in the country with respect to toxic sediments."
Quinsigamond Community College is a public, community college in Worcester, Massachusetts. A commuter school, the college has an enrollment of over 13,000 students in its Associate degree and certification programs. Many students are enrolled in transfer programs with the intent of continuing on to a four-year college or university, often the University of Massachusetts Amherst or Worcester State University, through guaranteed-acceptance programs.
Lake Quinsigamond is a body of water situated between the city of Worcester and the town of Shrewsbury in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 4 miles (6 km) long, between 50 and 85 feet deep, and has a surface area of approximately 772 acres (3.1 km²). Lake Quinsigamond hosts 8 islands with the majority owned by private citizens. Two islands are connected to land via bridge. The largest island, Drake Island, is still state owned. Water from the lake empties into the Quinsigamond River in the Blackstone Valley.
Route 9 is a 135.310-mile-long (217.760 km) major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with U.S. Route 20, Route 2, and Interstate 90, Route 9 is one of the major east–west routes of Massachusetts. The western terminus is near the center of the city of Pittsfield. After winding through the small towns along the passes of the Berkshire Mountains, it crosses the college towns of the Pioneer Valley and then south of the Quabbin Reservoir and the rural areas of western Worcester County. Entering the city of Worcester from the southwest corner of the city, it passes through the center of the city and forms the major commercial thoroughfare through the MetroWest suburbs of Boston, parallel to the Massachusetts Turnpike. Crossing the Route 128 freeway circling Boston, it passes through the inner suburbs of Newton and Brookline along Boylston Street, and enters Boston on Huntington Avenue, before reaching its eastern terminus at Copley Square.
The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a National Heritage Corridor dedicated to the history of the early American Industrial Revolution, including mill towns stretching across 24 cities and towns near the river's course in Worcester County, Massachusetts and Providence County, Rhode Island. It makes up a historical area in the Blackstone Valley and is named for the late US Senator from Rhode Island John Chafee. In 2014, the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park was created out of a smaller portion of the National Heritage Corridor. Both units now exist as cooperative entities. The organization is headquartered at the building in Woonsocket Depot Square which is located at 1 Depot Square, Woonsocket, RI 02895.
The Millers River is a 52.1-mile-long (83.8 km) river in northern Massachusetts, originating in Ashburnham and joining the Connecticut River just downstream from Millers Falls, Massachusetts. Sections of the river are used for whitewater kayaking, and a section upriver is popular with flatwater racers, and the river is known locally as a good place for pike fishing.
The Burnshirt River is a 12.9-mile-long (20.8 km) stream in Worcester County, Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Ware River, draining ultimately into the Connecticut River and thence the Long Island Sound.
The French River is a river in south-central Massachusetts and northeastern Connecticut, USA.
The Peters River is a river in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows 7.0 miles (11.3 km).
Abbott Run is a de facto river in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It flows approximately 10 miles (16 km).
The Blackstone River Greenway is a partially completed 48-mile (77 km) paved rail trail defining the course of the East Coast Greenway through the Blackstone Valley from Worcester, Massachusetts to Providence, Rhode Island.
The Old Connecticut Path was the Native American trail that led westward from the area of Massachusetts Bay to the Connecticut River Valley, the first of the North American trails that led west from the settlements close to the Atlantic seacoast, towards the interior. The earliest colonists of Massachusetts Bay Colony used it, and rendered it wider by driving cattle along it. The old route is still followed, for part of its length, by Massachusetts Route 9 and Massachusetts Route 126.
Farnumsville Historic District is a historic district encompassing a historic mill village in Grafton, Massachusetts. It is located on the eastern bank of the Blackstone River, extending along Providence and Main Streets, roughly between Cross and Depot Streets, and radiating along those roads and adjacent streets. This area was one of Grafton's 19th century industrial mill villages, which was centered on the Farnum Mill, which first began operating in the second decade of the 19th century. The main mill building that survives dates to 1844, and the housing stock in the village is in a diversity of styles, built roughly between the 1820s and 1920s.
The West River, in the US state of Massachusetts, is a 13.4-mile-long (21.6 km) tributary of the Blackstone River.
Boulevard Park was a ballpark located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It served as the home park of the Worcester Busters, Worcester Boosters and Worcester Panthers. It lasted approximately two decades, opening on April 19, 1906, and burning in 1926. The capacity of the ballpark was 3,500.
More than nine variations of the name have been seen in the records throughout history. In Native American Algonquian language, Quinsigamond is loosely translated as "the pickerel fishing place." Pickerel is a type of fresh water fish commonly native to inland lakes and ponds.
In Mandaeism, a yardna or yardena is a body of flowing fresh water that is suitable for ritual use as baptismal water. The masbuta and other Mandaean rituals such as the tamasha can only be performed in a yardna. Stagnant fresh water, brackish water, and seawater are not considered to be yardnas.
