Town Of Westminster

About Us

The Town of Westminster is a suburban hill town which was originally the six-square mile Narragansett Township Number 2, granted to veterans and heirs of veterans of King Philip's War in 1728. The initial grants to settlers were of 60-acre parcels, and in the Colonial period the town fit the description of a poor agrarian community.

Formerly used by Indians for hunting and fishing, the town was actually founded in 1733, although the first permanent settlement of the town didn't take place until 1737. Westminster was incorporated as a town in 1759, but the community wasn't accepted as a town until 1770. The community had been garrisoned as an outpost in the French and Indian Wars during the 1740's.

Every homeowner was a farmer in those early days and some set up sawmills, grain mills and shops to provide other necessities.

By 1820, Westminster's diversity of religious affiliation was great enough to force the town to stop supporting a single minister with public taxes. There were Armenians, Unitarians, Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists and Universalists in the town.

The community took a moderate position during Shays Rebellion, recommending release of the insurgents who had been captured but registering its opposition to the court system.

The "new" road to Fitchburg was built in 1835, and the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad reached town in 1848.

By 1900 East-West electric streetcar service was established from Fitchburg to Gardner through Westminster center.