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The Lancaster cross stones

1 pp 1850

Cross stones, found in the local hills, have long been prized by many residents. They are a unique form of mineral andalusite (aluminum silicate) called chiastolite, from the Greek chiastros meaning "x-marked." According to local lore, they were worn by Native American braves as charms to give them strength. In the 19th century, it was popular to have them polished and fashioned into jewelry. They are also found in California, Pennsylvania, and Maine.

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The Major Jacob Fisher house

1 pp 1850

This is the Major Jacob Fisher House, built in 1794 in the North Village. A watchmaker, surveyor, and cabinetmaker, Fisher was known as a shrewd businessman. The area, then called Union Village, began to flourish with the arrival of this prominent man.

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The Mansion House

1 pp 1850

Built c. 1750 by carpenter Aaron Willard, the Mansion House, as it has been called, is located not far off Main Street on Neck Road. A third story was added to the structure in the mid-19th century, and it was used for many years as a boarding school by Mrs. Southwick, Rev. M.C. Stebbins, and William A. Kilbourn, A.M.

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The Memorial Flagpole

1 pp 1922

All stand at attention as the flag is raised. The Memorial Flagpole on the Lancaster Town Green, was erected by the citizens of Lancaster in 1922 as a tribute to those who served their country during World War I. It bears an inscription composed by Henry Holton Fuller.

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The Narrow Lane School

1 pp 1897

The Narrow Lane School in South Lancaster was built in 1897 at a cost of $12,000. It was located on a two-and-a-half-acre parcel of land procured from the Turner family. The school housed elementary grades for many years until the Memorial School in Lancaster Center opened in 1957. In 1969, the school department turned the building over to selectmen. Costs for upgrading the building for town use proved prohibitive and, in 1973, it was demolished.

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The North Village Tavern

1 pp 1860

Built by Maj. Jacob Fisher c. 1800, this establishment on the south corner of North Main Street and Lunenburg Road was later known as Fairbank's Inn and as Dwyer's Tavern. In the 1930s, it was a single-family dwelling for descendants of the Fuller family who ran a lumbermill near the Lancaster-Clinton line. This image shows the place as it looked in the late 19th century.

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The Old Brick Tavern

1 pp 1870

No doubt anticipating a brisk business, Paul Willard, in 1804, built the Old Brick Tavern near Route 2 and Shirley Road. About the same time, the Union Turnpike Company planned and built a road providing a link for travel from Boston to Albany, Greenfield and Brattleboro. The road passed by the tavern. In fact, a tollhouse was established at its crossing of Shirley Road. Within a year, however, the Bolton and Lancaster Turnpike, with its easier grades, opened. That route, through the North Village, received more traffic. In the 1870s, the Shakers bought the property and added the mansard roof. They did not occupy the building themselves but leased it to others to be run as a boardinghouse. Through the years, the building has been used as a retreat house, as quarters for officers during World War I, and as a private convalescent hospital. Today, it is a private residence.

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The Old Settler's Burial Field

1 pp 1850

The Old Settler's Burial Field is located on a long narrow knoll not far from the banks of the Nashua and below the hill where the first and second meetinghouses were constructed, east of the Middle Cemetery.

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The Old Shaker Infirmary

1 pp 1850

This dwelling on the Old Union Turnpike near Route 2 was originally used as an infirmary by the nearby Shirley Shaker Community. It was moved to a site across from the Old Brick Tavern to serve as a caretaker's cottage c. 1905-1909. The Shaker Village was begun when Mother Anne Lee visited the area in the late 18th century. A small Shaker cemetery and their Holy Hill are located north of Route 2 on the Lancaster-Shirley line.

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The Old Shaker Infirmary

1 pp 1850

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The Parker's tea shop

1 pp 1850

Located on the family's Sterling Road estate was the Tea Shop, once operated by Cornelia and Elizabeth Parker, daughters of Harold Parker. The ladies were well known as gracious hostesses and for their love of fine entertaining.

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The Peabody School

1 pp 1850

This announcement appeared in an 1821 issue of the Massachusetts Spy. At the time, Mrs. Peabody and her 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, were about to open a school in Lancaster. Unfortunately, the school proved unsuccessful and the Peabody family moved away not long thereafter. Elizabeth (1804-1894) was prominent in the 19th century as an educator, writer, and first woman publisher in Boston. Her younger sisters, Sophia and Mary, married writer Nathaniel Hawthorne and educator Horace Mann, respectively.

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The Lancaster cross stones

The Major Jacob Fisher house

The Mansion House

The Memorial Flagpole

The Narrow Lane School

The North Village Tavern

The Old Brick Tavern

The Old Settler's Burial Field

The Old Shaker Infirmary

The Old Shaker Infirmary

The Parker's tea shop

The Peabody School