Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County and the earliest permanent settlement in the central part of the state. It is located in the beautiful Nashua Valley, and its center is near the "Meeting of the Waters," where the north and south branches of the Nashua converge to form one stream that flows north to the Merrimack. It is also the mother town for several nearby communities, including Harvard, Bolton, Leominster, Sterling, Berlin, Boylston, West Boylston, and Clinton. Included in Lancaster are over two hundred vintage images with their exciting stories of the people, places, and landmarks that have contributed to the history of this great town. The book will take the reader on a historic tour to meet the wealthy and philanthropic Thayer family, Boston Brahmins who never lost their love for beautiful Lancaster on the Nashua, and to see their estates, which remain as elegant reminders of a bygone era. In Lancaster, the reader will learn of the Advent pioneers, who laid the groundwork for a small liberal arts institution known at first, simply, as "that New England school" and, later, as Atlantic Union College.