Natick

Natick, Massachusetts
—  Town  —
Natick Common, Halloween 2004
Nickname(s): Home of Champions
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°17′00″N 71°21′00″W / 42.2833333°N 71.35°W / 42.2833333; -71.35Coordinates: 42°17′00″N 71°21′00″W / 42.2833333°N 71.35°W / 42.2833333; -71.35
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Middlesex
Settled	1651
Incorporated	1781
Government
- Type	Representative town meeting
Area
- Total	16.1 sq mi (41.6 km2)
- Land	15.1 sq mi (39.1 km2)
- Water	1.0 sq mi (2.5 km2)
Elevation	180 ft (55 m)
Population (2007)
- Total	31,975
- Density	2,117.5/sq mi (817.8/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01760
Area code(s)	508 / 774
FIPS code	25-43895
GNIS feature ID	0619407
Website	www.natickma.gov

Natick (pronounced /ˈneɪtɪk/) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 32,170 at the 2000 census. Only 15 miles west of Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area. The center of population of Massachusetts in 2000 was located in Natick.^[1]

Origin of the name

The name Natick comes from the language of the Massachusett Native American tribe and means place of hills. The original settlement, in the community of South Natick, is a hilly area. Located in the community of West Natick, is Captain Tom's Hill, which was the site of a small Indian encampment during King Philips War.

History

Natick was first settled in 1651 by John Eliot, a Puritan missionary born in Widford, Hertfordshire, England who received a commission and funds from England's Long Parliament to settle the Massachusett Indians on both sides of the Charles River, on land deeded from the settlement at Dedham. They were called Praying Indians - Eliot was best known for attempting to preserve the culture (minus the religion) of the Native Americans by putting them in thirteen planned towns where they could continue by their own rule, with Natick as the political and spiritual center. Eliot and Praying Indian translators printed America's first written Bible in the Algonquian language. ^{[2][citation needed]}

The colonial government placed such settlements in a ring of villages around Boston as a defensive strategy. Natick was the first and best documented of such settlements. The land was granted by the General Court, part of the Dedham Grant.

A school was set up, a government established, and the Indians were encouraged to convert to Christianity. In November, during King Philip's War, the Natick Indians were sent to Deer Island. Many died of disease and cold, and the Indians who survived found their homes destroyed. The Indian village did not fully recover, and the land held in common by the Indian community was slowly sold off to white settlers to cover debts, and, by 1785, most of the Natick Indians had drifted away.

In 1775, both English and Praying Indian citizens of Natick participated in the Battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, as well as serving in the Continental Army. The names of the Praying Indian soldiers from Natick are memorialized on a stone marker, along with all of Natick's Revolutionary War veterans, on a stone marker on Pond St near downtown Natick.^[3]

The town was officially incorporated in 1781. Henry Wilson, born in 1812 and eighteenth Vice President of the United States, lived most of his life in Natick as a shoemaker and schoolteacher, and is buried there. He is the namesake of one of Natick's middle schools.

Though Natick was primarily a farming town, the invention of the sewing machine in 1858 led to the growth of several shoe factories. The business flourished and peaked by 1880, when Natick, with twenty-three operating factories, was third in the nation in the quantity of shoes produced. The shoes made in Natick were primarily heavy work shoes with only one or two companies adding lighter dress shoes to their line. Natick was famous for its brogan, a heavy ankle-high boot worn by soldiers in the American Civil War. The wound core for a more resilient ball was developed by John W. Walcott and combined with the figure-eight stitching devised by Col. William A. Cutler. It was manufactured by the firm of H. Harwood & Sons in their factory built in 1858 - the first plant in the world for the manufacture of baseballs. In 1988 the H. Harwood & Sons factory was converted into baseball factory condominiums^[4]

In 1874, a great fire in downtown Natick demolished 18 business blocks, two shoe factories, the Town Hall, Natick's only fire engine house and the Congregational Church, as well as many private homes. Though no lives were lost, the loss of property was greater in proportion to the town's wealth than the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In 1875, Natick's new Central Fire Station was completed on Summer Street and opened with grand ceremony on the same city block where the great fire was first discovered. The Central Fire Station is now the home of a private non-profit community performing arts center called The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN).

Natick has a long history of playing host to a portion of the Boston Marathon every Patriots Day. The Marathon route includes miles 8 to 12 and passes through the center of town along Route 135.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 16.0 square miles (41.6 km²), of which, 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²) of it is land and 1.0 square miles (2.5 km²) of it is water. The total area is 6.04% water, including bodies of water Lake Cochituate and Dug Pond.

Communities & Neighborhoods

There are five historical communities within the town of Natick and three neighborhoods.

Communities

Natick Center

Natick Center is located primarily along Central Street and at the intersection of Central and Main Street and serves as Natick's downtown area.

Many public services and public land use is located in this area. Municipal buildings like the Natick Town Hall, Natick Fire Department, Natick Police Department and Morse Institute Library are located here along East Central Street. Also located directly downtown is the Natick Town Common where many town events and such take place, and The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN). An MBTA Commuter Rail station links Natick with Boston. Along with the public buildings and services are residential buildings, churches and many small business, like Bakery on the Common, Jones' Drugs, Crazy Jaynes, Park Street Ice Cream, among others.

After an update to downtown in the 1990s, Central Street, Main Street and the MBTA Commuter Rail bridge were modernized. The construction included a new town hall, fire/police station, extension to the library and other cosmetic updates. More recently, in the past few years, new roads, sidewalks, bus stop, street lights, sidewalk lights, et cetera have come into place to create a brand new feel downtown.

South Natick

South Natick is the original section of Natick where the Native American settlers first arrived and began the town on the shores of the Charles River. The region is known for its level of affluence.

South Natick is located next to Wellesley, Dover and Sherborn and the center of South Natick is at the intersections of Eliot Street and Union Street.

A common mistake is the belief that South Natick is its own separate town or village. Neither of these are true and South Natick is just a section of the town, governed by the same government of The Town of Natick. A main reason for this is due to the street signage like one located in Wellesley along Route 16 which has the destination as So. Natick. Due to this and many other reasons, it is common to see mail addressed to South Natick, Massachusetts rather than just Natick, Massachustts.

North Natick

North Natick is located at the intersections of North Main Street and Worcester Road. It is a primarily residential area but there is a retail strip mall at the intersection of N. Main and Worcester known as 27/9 which has business and stores like Staples, Super Stop & Shop, Building 19, Panera Bread, The UPS Store, Hair Cuts Ltd. and more.

North Natick is another major community of Natick and it is also common to see mail addressed to North Natick, Massachusetts although unlike South Natick, North Natick is not misunderstood as a separate town

East Natick

East Natick is a community of Natick that is located along Oak Street and at the intersection of Oak and Worcester Road. It also borders Wellesley as well as Wayland.

West Natick

West Natick is a large section of Natick that borders the town of Framingham. The intersection of Speen Street and West Central Street is considered to be the center of West Natick and the community also includes the Sherwood and Pelham housing developments of the late '40s and early 50's around Hartford Street and West Central Street

There are many retail stores along West Central Street as well as another MBTA Commuter Rail station in addition to the one in Natick Center.

Neighborhoods

Lake Cochituate

Lake Cochituate is a neighborhood located in North Natick. As the name suggests, it is the area around the lake, Lake Cochituate. It is primarily residential and many residents enjoy boating, water skiing, tubing, fishing and other water activities.

Walnut Hill

Walnut Hill is a neighborhood located on the outskirts of Natick Center. It is known for the hill, Walnut Hill where the private boarding school, Walnut Hill School is located. Besides the school, it is all residential and major roads include Walnut Street and Bacon Street.

Wethersfield

The Wethersfield area of Natick is a neighborhood based in North Natick. It is a residential neighborhood with a set of roads that intertwine and intersect. The name comes from Wethersfield Road which is a road located in the neighborhood at which many roads branch off of.

The majority of houses in the neighborhood are ranch-style houses and originally, most every house was of the style. This has increasingly changed in the past years through renovations and expansions to existing houses.

Demographics

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 32,170 people, 13,080 households, and 8,528 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,132.9 people per square mile (823.7/km²). There were 13,368 housing units at an average density of 886.3/sq mi (342.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.02% White, 1.63% African American, 0.11% Native American, 3.86% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.77% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.97% of the population.

There were 13,080 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.5% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.

According to a 2007 estimate^[6], the median income for a household in the town was $81,855, and the median income for a family was $105,056. Males had a median income of $51,964 versus $41,060 for females. The per capita income for the town was $36,358. About 1.7% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Natick is surrounded, on three sides, by five of the ten most affluent towns in Massachusetts ^[7] with Wayland to the north, Weston to the northeast, Wellesley to the east, Dover to the southeast, and Sherborn to the southwest. In addition to these five very-wealthy communities, Framingham lies immediately to the west. Similar to Natick but larger in size and population, Framingham is largely middle class and has areas of semi-rural affluence, although Framingham has the issue of urban blight in its downtown area which Natick has managed to avoid.

Government

Town

Natick has representative town meeting form of government with a Board of Selectmen and a Town Administrator.^[8] The current members of the Board and the dates their terms end are:

• John Ciccariello, Chairman, 2010;
• Joshua Ostroff, Vice Chair, 2012;
• Kristine Van Amsterdam, Clerk, 2010;
• Carol A. Gloff, 2011; and
• John J. Connolly, 2011.

County

Mismanagement of Middlesex County's public hospital in the mid 1990s left the county on the brink of insolvency, and in 1997 the Massachusetts legislature stepped in by assuming all assets and obligations of the county. The government of Middlesex County was officially abolished on July 11, 1997. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform duties within the county region, but there is no county council or commissioner. However, communities are now granted the right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services.

These are the remaining elected officers for Middlesex County:

• Clerk of Courts: Michael A. Sullivan
• County Treasurer: Position Eliminated
• District Attorney: Gerard T. Leone, Jr.
• Register of Deeds: Richard P. Howe, Jr. (North at Lowell), Eugene C. Brune (South at Cambridge)
• Register of Probate: Tara E. DeCristofaro
• County Sheriff: James DiPaola

Education

Public schools

The Natick Public School District operates the following schools:^[9]

• High school:
  • Natick High School;
• Middle schools:
  • Kennedy Middle School;
  • Wilson Middle School.
• Elementary schools:
  • Bennett-Hemenway Elementary School;
  • Brown Elementary School;
  • Johnson Elementary School;
  • Lilja Elementary School;
  • Memorial Elementary School.

Private Schools

• Brandon School and Residential Treatment Center^[10]
• The Eliot Montessori School^[11]
• Westgate Christian Academy^[12]
• Walnut Hill School^[13]

Notable residents

In alphabetical order:

• Horatio Alger, Jr., minister, author of children's books with a rags to riches theme, settled in Natick in 1860 and built his family home in South Natick

• Thomas S. Allen, American composer
• James Bamford, author, journalist who writes about the world of United States intelligence agencies
• Paul Dellegatto, chief meteorologist for WTVT-TV, the FOX owned and operated station in Tampa; graduated from Natick High School (1978
• Dave Epstein, Meteorologist WCVB-TV, Founder of Growing Wisdom an instructional gardening website free to the public [1]
• William Finn, Tony-winning composer
• John Fitzgerald, Major League Baseball pitcher in 1891.
• Keene Fitzpatrick, legendary track coach at Yale, Michigan and Princeton, 1890-1932
• Doug Flutie, NFL and CFL veteran who attended high school in Natick, before going to Boston College; retired from the New England Patriots after the 2005-06 season; resides in Natick, 50th Heisman Trophy winner
• Darren Flutie, CFL and NFL veteran who attended Natick High School before going to Boston College; 2nd all time in receptions in the CFL. CFL Hall of Famer
• Alison Fraser, Broadway performer and two-time Tony Award nominee grew up in Natick; graduated from Natick High School (1973)
• General Alfred Hartwell, Commanded the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, sister regiment of the 54th Massaschusetts Infantry, during the Civil War, led Union troops into Charleston, South Carolina when it fell and worked for the Freedman's Bureau. Moved to Hawaii in the 1890s and was appointed Chief Justice of the Hawaiian Supreme Court.
• John Herring, Traffic reporter, SmartRoutes Traffic/WCVB/WW1, graduated from Natick High School (1984)
• Walt Hriniak is a former catcher in American Major League Baseball who — despite a very brief MLB playing career and a batting average of only .253 — became one of the most prominent batting coaches in the game during the last two decades of the 20th century. As a player, he stood 5'11" (180 cm) tall, weighed 178 pounds (80.7 kg), batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
• William Kerr (1836-1911) - Born in Ireland and educated in Natick and Boston Massachusetts, he moved to Key West Florida, in 1872, working as an architect, contractor, and builder. He built his Carpenter Gothic cottage at 410 Simonton Street, the Convent of Mary Immaculate in 1878, the Old Postoffice and Custom House, along with several other notable buildings in the town. His bust and a plaque are displayed in the old town's memorial cemetery.
• Walter Kolosky, Noted music writer, author of Power, Passion and Beauty - The Story of The Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra
• Harold Kushner, rabbi and author of many books, especially known for When Bad Things Happen to Good People'.
• Dan LaCouture, player in the National Hockey League since 1999, played with the Boston Bruins and is a graduate of Natick High School
• Harvey Leonard, meteorologist for WCVB Channel 5
• Meg Mallon, professional golfer on the LPGA Tour and twice winner of the U.S. Women's Open
• Samuel Willard Mann, was asked to command Company B of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry and was severely wounded in the assault on Fort Wagner. He is prominently depicted in the film "Glory"
• William Nutt, moved to Natick in 1856, went to Kansas to oppose pro-slave forces there in 1858 and was an organizer of the Natick Shoe Strike in 1860. Served with the 55th Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War and rose to the rank of Colonel.
• Rob Patterson, former guitarist for Otep, touring guitarist for Korn
• Rene Rancourt, professional singer, sings the national anthem at all home Boston Bruins hockey games.
• Jonathan Richman, proto-punk rock icon and founder of The Modern Lovers
• Alexander Wheelock Thayer, United States consul at Trieste in 1859 and author of a biography of Ludwig van Beethoven published in 1866
• Harriet Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist, whose novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) attacked the cruelty of slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential, even in Britain. It made the political issues of the 1850s regarding slavery tangible to millions, energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North. It angered and embittered the South. The impact is summed up in a commonly quoted statement apocryphally attributed to Abraham Lincoln. When he met Stowe, it is claimed that he said, "So you're the little woman that started this great war!" Her novel "Old Town Folks" was written while she was living in Natick and tells the story of her husband's family.
• The Thomas family of Felchville Four members of this family served as enlisted men in the all black 5th Massachusetts Cavalry. Three of the Thomas brothers rode with the 5th when it led Union troops in Richmond at the end of the Civil War.
• Eric Van, statistician
• Marc D. Cappello, New England Patriots Radio Producer
• Waban, 17th Century tribal chief
• David Keough, Well-known country singer
• Mark Walker, Grammy award-winning drummer
• Henry Wilson, the eighteenth Vice President of the United States, lived at 33 West Central Street and worked as a shoemaker at his shoe shop at 181 West Central Street.

Points of interest

Eliot Church in South Natick, Mass.

• The Bacon Free Library, which opened in 1881, is located at 58 Eliot Street. This building was a gift to the community under the will of Oliver Bacon who died in 1878. It has been operating as a public library ever since. The library overlooks the Charles River in South Natick.
• Temple Israel of Natick, Natick's oldest Synagogue, is located on Hartford street. It is currently the largest Conservative Synagogue in the area, and serves many communities in the Metro West area.
• The Natick Historical Society located in the lower level of the Bacon Free Library. Archives and exhibits on John Eliot and Praying Indians, natural history collections, life during colonial times, early republic and industrial revolution, memorabilia of famous Natick citizens.
• Eliot Church, originally founded as a meetinghouse in 1651, is the fifth structure on the site. The present church dates from the 1830s. A sign erected in front of the church in 1930, on the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, reads,"INDIAN MEETINGHOUSE -- On this site John Eliot helped his Indian converts to build their first meetinghouse in 1651, with a 'prophet's chamber' where he lodged on his fortnightly visits to preach to them in their language. His disciple Daniel Takawambait succeeded to the pastoral office in 1698."
• The U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center (SSC) (Also known as The Natick Army Labs), a complex of military R&D facilities, produces military-use items such as field rations, personal protective field equipment, and specialized uniforms.
• Natick Collection (formerly the Natick Mall, still its commonly-used name), managed by General Growth Properties, Inc. of Chicago, is one of Boston's premier shopping centers and recently completed a major expansion. The newly renovated wing opened 9/7/07.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Corporate Headquarters.
• Cognex Corporation Corporate Headquarters.
• The MathWorks Corporate Headquarters.
• Boston Scientific Corporate Headquarters. This site used to be the HQ for mini-computer manufacturer Prime Computer, Inc. Before Prime, Carling ran a Black Label brewery there.
• The Walnut Hill School is one of the nation's leading private secondary schools, offering particular emphasis in the studio and performing arts. Walnut Hill graduates more students to the Juilliard School than any other secondary school in the world.
• The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN), located in Natick's historic Central Fire Station, is a favored performance venue for musicians in jazz, folk, classical, and rock genres. TCAN also hosts theatrical productions by the TCAN Players and children's classes in theatre and dance. Artists performing at TCAN have included Judy Collins, Don McLean, George Winston, Paula Poundstone, Rockapella, Karla Bonoff, John Sebastian and Adrian Belew.

Casey's Diner

• Casey's Diner, constructed in 1922, is one of the oldest operating ten-stool diners in the United States. Casey's Diner is diminutive in size at only 10 feet by 20-1/2 feet, and was constructed by the Worcester Lunch Car Company in Worcester, Massachusetts. Famous for its steamed hot dogs, Casey's originated as a horse-drawn lunch wagon that was parked on Natick Common.
• The Boden Lane Cemetery is a very small burial site established in 1815. Although the cemetery was established in that year, many of the gravestones are dated even earlier than this date, with some dating back to the Revolutionary War. The cemetery is located on Boden Lane, to the right of Beaver Dam, and directly across the street from the Chabad Center of Natick.
• The Natick Community Organic Farm located in South Natick is a fully functioning farm open year round. It has three greenhouses, some large gardens, and a host of animals including three breeding pigs and two cows.
• Henry Wilson Shoe Shop, 181 West Central Street, listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Station Tree in Natick, Mass.

• The station tree is a 500-year-old black oak that the original surveyors used to mark the boundary between Natick and what was then part of Needham. That boundary is now the Natick-Weston town line on Winter Street, near the campus of The Rivers School in Weston, MA. One other notable landmark tree—the Eliot Oak next to the Eliot Church in South Natick—was removed in 1936 after the installation of underground gas lines damaged the root system, ultimately killing it.
• The Chabad Center in Natick is a synagogue and Jewish educational center which is dedicated to strengthening Jewish awareness in the Metrowest area.
• Hebrew School of the Arts is a new breakthrough in typical hebrew school education. Centrally located at the Chabad Center in Natick, Hebrew School of the Arts teaches traditional Judaism while integrating the modern arts of drama.

In Popular Culture

Natick appears on the Family Guy episode Da Boom when the family sets out to the town after Peter reveals that there is a Twinkie factory there. He eventually starts a town on the ruins of the community, naming it New Quahog.

See also

• the Golden Triangle
• Greater Boston
• MetroWest
• Representative town meeting

References

External links

• Natick official website
• Natick Public Schools
• Morse Institute Library
• Bacon Free Library
• Natick Community Organic Farm
• Natick Police Department
• Natick Historical Society
• Natick Historical Commission
• A Brief History of Natick
• The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN)
• Natick's Strategic Planning Initiative
• History of Chief Waban & His Conversion & Relocation to Natick
• Natick Soldier Systems Center
• Natick Retail
• Natick Photos

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Middlesex County, Massachusetts Cities Cambridge | Everett | Lowell | Malden | Marlborough | Medford | Melrose | Newton | Somerville | Waltham | Watertown | Woburn Towns Acton | Arlington | Ashby | Ashland | Ayer | Bedford | Belmont | Billerica | Boxborough | Burlington | Carlisle | Chelmsford | Concord | Dracut | Dunstable | Framingham | Groton | Holliston | Hopkinton | Hudson | Lexington | Lincoln | Littleton | Maynard | Natick | North Reading | Pepperell | Reading | Sherborn | Shirley | Stoneham | Stow | Sudbury | Tewksbury | Townsend | Tyngsborough | Wakefield | Wayland | Westford | Weston | Wilmington | Winchester CDPs Ayer | Cochituate | Fort Devens | East Pepperell | Groton | Hopkinton | Hudson | Littleton Common | Pepperell | Pinehurst | Shirley | Townsend | West Concord Other villages Auburndale | Chestnut Hill | Gleasondale | Newton Centre | Newton Highlands | Newton Lower Falls | Newton Upper Falls | Newtonville | Nonantum | North Billerica | North Chelmsford | Waban | West Newton