Real places, real neighborhoods and current market numbers, verified by broker Ryan C. Winslow.
What Spencer is known for
Spencer is best known for the Spencer Fair, its agricultural fair held every Labor Day weekend at the fairgrounds on Smithville Road. It is also the hometown of the Howe family inventors, including Elias Howe Jr., who invented the lockstitch sewing machine. Today it is a Route 9 town with ponds, state forest land and the Trappist monks of St. Joseph's Abbey.
Nathaniel Wood settled Spencer in 1717 and the town was incorporated in 1753, named for Lieutenant Governor Spencer Phipps. It was a stagecoach stop on the Old Boston Post Road, and George Washington stayed in town in 1789. Shoe and wire mills drove its growth, and in 1888 and 1889 David Prouty, Richard Sugden, Luther Hill and Nathaniel Myrick gave the town a high school, a library, a park and the fairgrounds. Spencer is a small town on Route 9 about twenty minutes west of Worcester, with a historic Main Street and a lot of open land and water around it. Daily life centers on Main Street, the town parks, the ponds and the fall fair.
Where to live
The downtown along Route 9 holds Town Hall at 157 Main Street, the Richard Sugden Library, antique and specialty shops, and a historic district with houses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. (source)
Upper and Lower Wire Village grew around Richard Sugden's wire mills near Thompson Pond and the Seven Mile River. Wire Village Road passes old mill sites and Ralph Warren Park, and Wire Village School serves the town's younger grades. (source)
Spencer's only natural lake sits just off Park Street near the town center. Luther Hill Park on its shore has the town beach, a pine grove, a playground, a skate park and a disc golf course. (source)
The area along South Spencer Road holds Vietnam Memorial Park beside the South Spencer School and the southwest trailhead of the Depot Rail Trail at 65 South Spencer Road. (source)
North of the center, Route 31 and the back roads lead to St. Joseph's Abbey, Browning Pond, Brooks Pond and Camp Marshall on McCormick Road. This part of town is rural, with woods, farms and ponds. (source)
These mill-era reservoirs north of Route 9 have mostly privately owned shoreline, with public shore access near the Sugden dam and a gravel boat ramp off Donnelly Cross Road. (source)
Local favorites
A 1948 Worcester Lunch Car Company diner that ran on Plantation Street in Worcester until 2003, then moved to Spencer. Known for breakfast plates and diner comfort food. (source)
A family owned, full-service restaurant with a broad menu of American entrees, seafood and pizza. (source)
A Main Street restaurant and bar that also hosts weddings and large functions in its private dining rooms. (source)
Locals go for pancakes, crepes and homemade corned beef hash at this family run breakfast spot. (source)
Owner Casey Wood, a culinary school graduate, bakes pastries fresh daily and makes custom cakes. Go early because the case sells out. (source)
Scratch-made cheeseburgers, hot dogs, hand-cut fries and homemade ice cream at picnic tables on Route 9. (source)
Sushi rolls and nigiri alongside Chinese favorites and Thai curries. (source)
A family owned pizza shop that also makes pasta, wings, subs and salads, with delivery. (source)
After hours
A dog-friendly taproom with views of the 20-barrel brewing system, cans to go and private event space. Located at 8 Meadow Road. (source)
The 1889 downtown library at 8 Pleasant Street has oak paneling, stained glass and the town's Historical Museum, plus programs for all ages. (source)
A 14-acre park on Lake Whittemore with a pine grove, picnic tables, playground, skate park and a disc golf course installed by the Spencer Lions Club. (source)
Home to baseball, softball and youth football at the end of Water Street. Its wooden grandstand dates to 1931. (source)
An 18-hole disc golf course with five layouts on a farm property in neighboring Leicester. It hosts weekly leagues and the MVP Open. (source)
Shopping
Locally owned since the 1940s at the corner of Routes 9 and 49. It combines Ace Hardware, lawn equipment, garden and pet supplies, clothing, toys and a Hallmark store. (source)
A family run garden center, farm, nursery and greenhouse at 29 North Brookfield Road, in business since 1947, with workshops and seasonal events. (source)
At the monastery entrance on Route 31. It sells the monks' Trappist Preserves, Trappist-made chocolates and fruitcake, religious books and art. (source)
Spencer's downtown on Route 9 has antique and specialty shops set among the town's historic buildings. (source)
Outdoors
A 965-acre state forest at 51 Howe Road with trails, picnicking at Howe Pond, canoeing, fishing, cross-country skiing and a monument at the birthplace of Elias Howe. Open sunrise to sunset with free parking. (source)
A Mass Audubon sanctuary off Greenville Street with trails through fields and hardwood and white pine forest ending at the pond. Foot travel only, no dogs. (source)
A 2-mile walking trail on an old railroad bed running from South Spencer Road to Chestnut Street near downtown. (source)
State wildlife land shared with Paxton and Leicester, with a flood-control levee and reservoir crossed by the Midstate Trail. Spencer access is from Moose Hill Road. (source)
A 200-acre state wildlife management area on scenic Borkum Road, crossed by the Midstate Trail on its way into Charlton. (source)
A state park at 1 Sawmill Road in Paxton with a restored sawmill, waterfalls and mill sites along Eames Pond. (source)
A National Park Service affiliated corridor that follows the Blackstone River from Worcester to Providence, tracing the start of the American Industrial Revolution. (source)
Things to do
A Trappist monastery at 167 North Spencer Road. The monks have made Trappist Preserves jams and jellies since 1954. (source)
A fieldstone monument and the original stone doorsteps mark the birthplace of the sewing machine inventor inside Spencer State Forest. (source)
The 1931 wooden grandstand at O'Gara Park, on ballfields the Spencer Baseball Association first leased in 1886. (source)
The town's collection of historical artifacts, housed inside the 1889 library on Pleasant Street. (source)
A Main Street park given to the town in 1905. Its Soldiers' Monument, erected on Patriots' Day 1911, honors the Spencer men who served in the Civil War. (source)
On the calendar
Spencer's agricultural fair at the fairgrounds on Smithville Road, with gates open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (source)
An evening parade of lighted floats, fire trucks and ATVs organized by the town Celebrations Committee. (source)
The Spencer taproom celebrates Oktoberfest with seasonal beers such as its Pumpkin Lager. (source)
The garden center's yearly plant and nursery sale, held the same weekend as the Spencer Fair. (source)
Schools
Wire Village School (Spencer, grades K-4), East Brookfield Elementary (East Brookfield, grades PK-6)
Knox Trail Middle School (Spencer, grades 5-8)
David Prouty High School (Spencer, grades 9-12)
Listed for reference, not ranked. Confirm school zoning for any address with the district. (source)
Broker notes
Route 9 (Main Street) runs east-west through town to Worcester. Route 31 runs north-south, and Route 49 leads south to Route 20 and the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Worcester Regional Airport (ORH) is about 16 minutes away. Boston Logan International (BOS) is about 1 hour 7 minutes by car.
Ryan C. Winslow, broker/owner of Winslow Homes. REALTOR® since 2009, 3,000+ homes sold, broker in FL, MA, CT and RI, U.S. Army Retired.
Researched and verified 2026-09-28. Businesses change; call ahead.