Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA

Worcester County stretches across central Massachusetts from the New Hampshire border to Rhode Island and Connecticut. Worcester is its largest city, while Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner and numerous smaller towns create a landscape that ranges from urban valleys to wooded uplands, reservoirs and farmland. The county was established in 1731 from portions of Middlesex, Suffolk and Hampshire counties. Its Blackstone and Nashua river valleys became important centers of early American industry. Manufacturing, higher education, health care, agriculture and outdoor recreation continue to distinguish this broad inland region.