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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Fitchburg (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Fitchburg. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Fitchburg is located in Worcester County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Worcester County: Tolland (CT), Windham (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Cheshire (NH), Hillsborough (NH) & Providence (RI).

Below are the counties that are near Fitchburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fitchburg:

  • Worcester County     (The home county of Fitchburg)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fitchburg, with the one closest to Fitchburg listed first.
    • South Fitchburg
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Lunenburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Leominster
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Blackburn Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackburn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
      • Blackburn Village is located in Worcester County
    • Ashburnham
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Westminster
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • East Princeton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • South Ashburnham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Pratts Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • West Sterling
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Lane Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane Village
      • Lane Village is located in Worcester County
    • North Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Village
      • North Village is located in Worcester County
    • South Gardner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Essex County
    • Haggetts
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Haggetts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haggetts
      • Haggetts is located in Essex County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Haggetts
      • From Fitchburg to Haggetts
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fitchburg, with the one closest to Fitchburg listed first.
    • North Orange
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Tully
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tully. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
      • Tully is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tully
      • From Fitchburg to Tully
    • Millington ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
      • Millington is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Millington
      • From Fitchburg to Millington
    • Orange
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Mayo Corners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Morse Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morse Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
      • Morse Village is located in Franklin County
    • New Salem
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • New Salem is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
    • Warwick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Wendell Depot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wendell Depot have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
      • Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
    • Cooleyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Erving
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Wendell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wendell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
      • Wendell is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fitchburg, with the one closest to Fitchburg listed first.
    • Old City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
      • Old City is located in Middlesex County
    • Ashby
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • South Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
      • South Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Shirley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • West Townsend
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Townsend have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
      • West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
    • Townsend
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • West Groton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
      • West Groton is located in Middlesex County
    • Townsend Harbor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Shaker Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Ayer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Paper Mill Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paper Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
      • Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Groton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Pepperell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cheshire County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fitchburg, with the one closest to Fitchburg listed first.
    • Rindge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • West Rindge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Rindge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
      • West Rindge is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Rindge
      • From Fitchburg to West Rindge
    • Jaffrey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jaffrey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaffrey
      • Jaffrey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jaffrey <3>
    • Fitzwilliam Depot
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fitzwilliam
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bonds Corner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Dublin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,555 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dublin <3>
    • Richmond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Troy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Troy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
      • Troy is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <3>
    • Eastview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eastview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastview
      • Eastview is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Eastview
      • From Fitchburg to Eastview
    • East Swanzey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Harrisville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Marlborough
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlborough have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlborough
      • Marlborough is located in Cheshire County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,086 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marlborough <3>
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fitchburg, with the one closest to Fitchburg listed first.
    • Mason
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <3>
    • New Ipswich
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Ipswich have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ipswich
      • New Ipswich is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,429 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Ipswich <3>
    • Greenville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Brookline
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollis Depot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
      • Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <3>
    • Temple
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Temple have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
      • Temple is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,434 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Temple <3>
    • Sharon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • West Wilton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Wilton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wilton
      • West Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Wilton
      • From Fitchburg to West Wilton
    • Wilton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,838 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <3>
    • East Milford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Milford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • South Merrimack
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockingham County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fitchburg, with the one closest to Fitchburg listed first.
    • Londonderry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Londonderry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Londonderry
      • Londonderry is located in Rockingham County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,646 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Londonderry <3>
    • Windham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fitchburg, see our County-by-County Page for Fitchburg.

Cemeteries Near Fitchburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fitchburg.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fitchburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fitchburg, with the one closest to Fitchburg listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fitchburg had a population of 22,037 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Fitchburg had a population of 40,310 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Fitchburg, with the one closest to Fitchburg listed first.

  • South Fitchburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • West Fitchburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Fitchburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fitchburg
    • West Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
  • West Leominster
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Leominster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leominster
    • West Leominster is located in Worcester County
  • Lunenburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Wachusett
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wachusett have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wachusett
    • Wachusett is located in Worcester County
  • Leominster
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • North Leominster
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Leominster have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leominster
    • North Leominster is located in Worcester County
  • Lunenburg Station
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lunenburg Station have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunenburg Station
    • Lunenburg Station is located in Worcester County
  • Ashby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Westminster
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Gates Crossing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gates Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gates Crossing
    • Gates Crossing is located in Worcester County
  • Ashburnham
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fitchburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fitchburg.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Fitchburg ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fitchburg.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Fitchburg. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Fitchburg and those printed in the larger area surrounding Fitchburg.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<5> of Fitchburg.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Fitchburg:

The official website for Fitchburg: www.ci.fitchburg.ma.us/

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.

When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.

<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fitchburg) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fitchburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5808, Longitude: -71.7959    
<6>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<7>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Fitchburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025