Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Worcester,

A city and county seat of Worcester county, Mass.; on the Blackstone River; 44 miles west of Boston. It is noted for the variety and extent of its manufactures, especially of wire, envelopes, looms, boots and shoes, and machinery for cotton and woollen mills. The city, which contains a large number of villages, was settled in 1674 under the name of the Quinsigamond Plantations. The first settlement was soon broken up by hostile Indians; as was also the second one, in 1684. A permanent one was [446] made in 1713; the town was incorporated June 14, 1722; and a city charter was granted Feb. 29, 1848. The first church was organized in 1719. Between 1790 and 1800 Isaiah Thomas, who had moved there from Boston, carried on the most extensive publishing business in the country. The Declaration of Independence was first publicly read in Massachusetts from the steps of the Old South Church there. The development of Worcester's manufacturing interests has been rapid since 1828, when the Blackstone Canal was opened. Population in 1900, 118,421.