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Ashburnham, Massachusetts

Ashburnham, Massachusetts
Town
Historical Society Meeting House
Historical Society Meeting House
Official seal of Ashburnham, Massachusetts
Seal
Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts.
Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°38′10″N 71°54′30″W / 42.63611°N 71.90833°W / 42.63611; -71.90833Coordinates: 42°38′10″N 71°54′30″W / 42.63611°N 71.90833°W / 42.63611; -71.90833
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Worcester
Settled 1736
Incorporated 1765
Government
 • Type Open town meeting
 • Town Administrator Douglas Briggs
Area
 • Total 41.0 sq mi (106.2 km2)
 • Land 38.7 sq mi (100.2 km2)
 • Water 2.3 sq mi (6.0 km2)
Elevation 1,028 ft (313 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 6,081
 • Density 157.1/sq mi (60.7/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC−4)
ZIP code 01430
Area code 351 / 978
FIPS code 25-01885
GNIS feature ID 0618356
Website www.ashburnham-ma.gov

Ashburnham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. At the 2010 census the town population was 6,081. It is home to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory school.

It contains the census-designated place of South Ashburnham, Massachusetts.

Ashburnham was first settled in 1736, and was officially incorporated in 1765. The name is of British origin, possibly drawn from the Earl of Ashburnham, in Pembrey, or the Sussex community of Ashburnham.

Ashburnam was originally made up of the lands granted to officers and soldiers of a 1690 expedition to Canada. It was called the Plantation of Dorchester-Canada until it was incorporated.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 41.0 square miles (106 km2), of which 38.7 square miles (100 km2) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2) (5.68%) is water. Ashburnham has two distinct topographical areas, hilly to the east and relatively flat high ground to the west. To the east, Mount Watatic and Little Watatic Mountain rise in the northeastern part of town, with Jewell Hill to the southeast and Blood Hill rising just over the town line. In the western part of town are several lakes, including Lake Wampanoag, Sunset Lake, Lake Watatic, Wallace Pond, and the Upper & Lower Naukeag Lakes, all of which (except Lake Wampanoag) feed into the headwaters of the Millers River, which flows westward towards the Connecticut River. Several brooks also feed into these lakes and ponds, along with several others between the hills in the eastern part of town. Several areas scattered around the town are protected as part of Ashburnham State Forest, as well as two smaller areas which are parts of Mount Watatic State Wildlife Management Area and a small portion of the High Ridge Wildlife Management Area to the south.

Though it is over fifteen miles west of the easternmost portions of Worcester County, it nonetheless is the northeast corner of the county, bordering Middlesex County to the east, and Cheshire County, New Hampshire and Hillsborough County, New Hampshire to the north. Ashburnham is bordered by Rindge, New Hampshire and New Ipswich, New Hampshire to the north, Ashby to the east, Westminster and a small portion of Fitchburg to the southeast, Gardner to the southwest, and Winchendon to the west. The town's center lies seven miles from downtown Fitchburg, 29 miles north of Worcester, and fifty miles northwest of Boston. There are several small villages within town, the most notable being North and South Ashburnham.


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