The Massachusetts Colony awarded grants of land to war soldiers in lieu of currency.

As a result, before 1765, the town of Ashburnham
was comprised of 7 land grants:

1. Starr Grant

2. Cambridge Grant

3. Lexington Grant

4. Rolfe Grant

5. Converse Grant

6. Bluefield Grant

7. Dorchester Canada

   The land that would later become the town of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, was originally made up of several colonial-era land grants, many of which were awarded to soldiers and officers for their service in earlier wars, particularly the French and Indian Wars. These grants were part of a broader effort by the Massachusetts Bay Colony to settle and secure its western frontiers. Among the original grants in the Ashburnham area were the “Canada Grants,” given as compensation to veterans, and other parcels known as “Narragansett Townships,” which were allocated to veterans of King Philip’s War.

   These land divisions often followed a grid-like pattern and were surveyed and parceled out before being settled. Some grants were given directly to individuals, while others were distributed in shares or sold to speculators. The process helped bring settlers to the area in the mid-1700s, leading to the official incorporation of Ashburnham in 1765. The early layout of the town, including its roadways and property lines, was heavily influenced by these original land grants, and remnants of those early divisions still shape Ashburnham’s geography and land use today.