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 Wachusett (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 Wachusett. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Wachusett is located in Worcester County.
To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties may 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 Wachusett. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wachusett:
- Worcester County (The home county of Wachusett)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wachusett, with the one closest to Wachusett listed first.
- Westminster
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Westminster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,091 people
- South Fitchburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- South Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fitchburg
- Fitchburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,310 people
- East Princeton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- East Princeton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Princeton
- Leominster
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Leominster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leominster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,548 people
- South Gardner
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- South Gardner is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gardner
- Ashburnham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ashburnham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashburnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
- Blackburn Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Blackburn Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn Village
- South Ashburnham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Ashburnham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ashburnham
- Princeton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Princeton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,486 people
- West Sterling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Sterling is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sterling
- Gardner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gardner is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,585 people
- Olde English Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Olde English Village is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olde English Village
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wachusett, with the one closest to Wachusett listed first.
- North Orange
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- North Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Orange
- Tully
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Tully is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
- Millington ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Millington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
- Orange
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Orange is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,581 people
- Morse Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Morse Village is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
- New Salem
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- New Salem is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
- Mayo Corners
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mayo Corners is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayo Corners
- Warwick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Warwick is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
- Wendell Depot
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
- Cooleyville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Cooleyville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleyville
- Wendell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wendell is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
- Smiths ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Smiths is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
- Erving
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Erving is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erving
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,749 people
- Hampshire County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wachusett, with the one closest to Wachusett listed first.
- Ware
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ware is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,897 people
- Enfield ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Enfield is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
- Pelham
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pelham is located in Hampshire County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
- Middlesex County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wachusett, with the one closest to Wachusett listed first.
- Ashby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Ashby is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,204 people
- South Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- South Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
- Old City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Old City is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
- Shaker Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
- Shirley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Shirley is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,554 people
- West Townsend
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Townsend is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Townsend
- Townsend Harbor
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Townsend Harbor is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend Harbor
- Townsend
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Townsend is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Townsend
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,448 people
- Devens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Devens is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devens
- West Groton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- West Groton is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
- Ayer
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ayer is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,211 people
- Groton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Groton is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,256 people
- Paper Mill Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Paper Mill Village is located in Middlesex County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
- Cheshire County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wachusett, with the one closest to Wachusett listed first.
- Rindge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Rindge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- West Rindge is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rindge
- Jaffrey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fitzwilliam Depot
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fitzwilliam Depot is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzwilliam Depot
- Fitzwilliam
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Troy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Troy is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,117 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
- Bonds Corner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bonds Corner is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonds Corner
- Dublin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Eastview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Eastview is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastview
- East Swanzey
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- East Swanzey is located in Cheshire County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Swanzey
- Harrisville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Marlborough
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsborough County (NH)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wachusett, with the one closest to Wachusett listed first.
- New Ipswich
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mason
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mason is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <1>
- Greenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Brookline
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Sharon is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
- Temple
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Temple is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,434 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Temple <1>
- Hollis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <1>
- West Wilton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- West Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wilton
- Hollis Depot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hollis Depot is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Depot
- Wilton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,838 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <1>
- Peterborough
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- East Milford
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- East Milford is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Milford
- Milford
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Milford is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,515 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milford <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wachusett, see our County-by-County Page for Wachusett.
Cemeteries Near Wachusett ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wachusett.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Wachusett - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wachusett covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wachusett, with the one closest to Wachusett listed first.
- Woodside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Hill Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southwest of Fitchburg.
- Be careful not to confuse this cemetery with another one that is also named Forest Hill Cemetery (located 63 miles to the north).
- Jump to the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System: MACRIS ID #FIT.804 <2>
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90989 <4>
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southwest of Fitchburg.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #91584 <4>
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tooker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Bernards Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Bower Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Boylston Burial Ground
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- West Sterling Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (418 more) ...
- New Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. Leo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Wachusett had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wachusett, with the one closest to Wachusett listed first.
- West Fitchburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- West Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fitchburg
- Westminster
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Westminster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,091 people
- East Princeton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- East Princeton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Princeton
- South Fitchburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- South Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fitchburg
- Fitchburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fitchburg is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,310 people
- Leominster
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Leominster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leominster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41,548 people
- West Leominster
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- West Leominster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leominster
- South Gardner
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- South Gardner is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gardner
- Princeton Station
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Princeton Station is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Station
- Ashburnham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ashburnham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashburnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,350 people
- Princeton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Princeton is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,486 people
- West Sterling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- West Sterling is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Sterling
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- North Leominster
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- North Leominster is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leominster
- South Ashburnham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- South Ashburnham is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ashburnham
- Gardner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gardner is located in Worcester County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,585 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wachusett. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wachusett.
Newspapers Published in Wachusett ...
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 Wachusett.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wachusett, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wachusett.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Wachusett:
- Websites specific to Massachusetts
- Pages specific to Worcester County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Hampshire County
- Middlesex County
- Cheshire County
- Hillsborough County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Massachusetts
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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.
|
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wachusett) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Wachusett, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |