Town file
Ashburnham, Massachusetts
Ashburnham, Massachusetts (Worcester County, Massachusetts) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 462, "The Old Flame & The Dominatrix" (27 January 2024). The episode goes to Ashburnham, Massachusetts, a town of 6,315 people in Worcester County in the north centre of the state, close to the New Hampshire border and about an hour and ten minutes from Boston.
- Town
- Ashburnham
- County
- Worcester County
- State
- Massachusetts
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 462
- Approximate location
- 42.649, -71.920
Episode 462 / 27 January 2024 / 72 min / express
The Old Flame & The Dominatrix
"We're going to Ashburnham, Massachusetts, north central Massachusetts, right up near the top of the state near the border, in Worcester County, population 6,315." about 0:03:13
The case: Murder of Brandon Chicklis (June 23, 2018). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 6,315
- Median household income
- $104,074
- Median home value
- $358,100
History, in brief
- Ashburnham sits on the central New England divide at a high altitude, sending water north, south, east and west to the Merrimack River and the Connecticut River. about 0:04:53
- In the early 1800s there was enough water to power tanneries, mills and lumber operations making tubs, pails and furniture. about 0:05:08
- Its big manufacturing decade was 1870 to 1880. about 0:05:24
- In that period Ashburnham was the second largest manufacturer of chairs in the world. about 0:05:35
- Today its largest attribute is open space: a third of its undeveloped land is state forest, town forest or private and public conservation land. about 0:06:01
The reviews read out
5 stars
"The town appears to be obsolete but the land and the view of the woods are fairly beautiful, there are no nearby shopping centres and the people are somewhat friendly."about 0:06:47
4 stars
"They have seen people pulled over for speeding and there is always someone with bad intentions somewhere, but they have not seen anything like that; it seems just fine."about 0:07:20
3 stars
"Not too much crime, it is a small town."about 0:07:45
2 stars
"Employment is dropping, local businesses keep closing and everyone has to drive long distances to work; they will have to move to find a good enough paying job."about 0:07:56
1 star
"The town is dead at night and the only food is two poor pizza places and a decent Chinese place."about 0:08:28
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Groton, Massachusetts18 miles
- Mont Vernon, New Hampshire21 miles
- Framingham, Massachusetts34 miles
- Greenfield, Massachusetts35 miles
- Salem, New Hampshire37 miles
- Hooksett, New Hampshire39 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.