Leominster, city, Worcester County, central Massachusetts, on the Nashua River; incorporated as a city 1915. Manufactures include plastic goods, clothing, chemicals, and machinery. The National Plastics Center and Museum is here. The community was settled in 1701 on land purchased from the Nashua people; it was separated from Lancaster in 1740. From the 1770s until the 1920s, Leominster was famous for the production of hair combs. Johnny Appleseed was born in the community, which is named for Leominster, England. Population 34,508 (1980); 38,145 (1990); 41,303 (2000).
