Historic Sites in Worcester County

History of Worcester County

Worcester County, incorporated in 1731, is the largest county in Massachusetts by area. It stretches across the center of the state from the New Hampshire line to Connecticut and Rhode Island. The city of Worcester grew into a manufacturing center along the Blackstone Canal and the railroads, and it built Mechanics Hall, a landmark concert hall, in 1857.

The county's history is full of firsts. Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was born in Oxford in 1821. John Chapman, "Johnny Appleseed," was born in Leominster in 1774. Robert Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn in 1926. The Holy Cross (1843), WPI (1865) and Clark University (1887) campuses sit in Worcester, and Old Sturbridge Village recreates an early 1800s New England town.