*** Welcome to piglix ***

Spencer (town), Massachusetts

Spencer, Massachusetts
Town
Spencer's Memorial Town Hall, on Main Street at Maple Street.
Spencer's Memorial Town Hall, on Main Street at Maple Street.
Official seal of Spencer, Massachusetts
Seal
Motto: "Look to the Future"
Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts.
Location in Worcester County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°14′38″N 71°59′34″W / 42.24389°N 71.99278°W / 42.24389; -71.99278Coordinates: 42°14′38″N 71°59′34″W / 42.24389°N 71.99278°W / 42.24389; -71.99278
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Worcester
Settled 1721
Incorporated 1753
Government
 • Type Open town meeting
 • Town
   Administrator
Adam Gaudette
Area
 • Total 34.1 sq mi (88.2 km2)
 • Land 32.9 sq mi (85.1 km2)
 • Water 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km2)
Elevation 925 ft (282 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 11,688
 • Density 340/sq mi (130/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 01562
Area code(s) 508 / 774
FIPS code 25-66105
GNIS feature ID 0618385
Website www.spencerma.gov

Spencer is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,688 at the 2010 census.

For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Spencer, please see the article Spencer (CDP), Massachusetts.

Spencer was first settled in 1717 by Nathaniel Wood, and first permanently settled by Samuel Bemis in 1721.

Spencer is located in central Worcester County, twenty minutes west of Worcester via Route 9, and about forty-five east of Springfield via Routes 49, 20, and the Massachusetts Turnpike. It was officially incorporated on April 12, 1753, splitting from the town of Leicester. Spencer was named after the then-acting governor of Massachusetts, Spencer Phips. Spencer was the home of the Howe family of inventors, including Elias Howe, who perfected the lockstitch sewing machine.

In 1784 Spencer was a major stopping place on the Old Boston Post Road's stage route between Boston and Hartford, and on to New York. Passengers changed stages in Spencer, as one coach would come from Boston and connect with one coming north from Hartford. Each stagecoach would turn around and return whence it came. Travelers often stopped for the night at Jenk’s Tavern in Spencer, as did General Henry Knox, pushing his cannons through the streets of the town on his way to Boston from Ticonderoga, and George Washington in 1789. Spencer still has colonial-era milestone markers showing the route of the old post road.


...
Wikipedia

...