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is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. At the 2000 census the town population was 5,546. It is home to Cushing Academy, a private preparatory school.
For geographic and demographic information on the village of South Ashburnham, please see the article South Ashburnham, Massachusetts.
Ashburnham was first settled in 1736, and was officially incorporated in 1765. The name is of British origin, possibly drawn from the Earl of Ashburnham, in Pembrey, or the Sussex community of Ashburnham.
Ashburnam was originally made up of the lands granted to officers and soldiers of a 1690 expedition to Canada. It was called the Plantation of Dorchester-Canada until it was incorporated.