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Natick, Massachusetts, USA - Natick High School

Natick, Middlesex, MA

Natick was first settled in 1652 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 – Natick was the first and for a long time served as the center of Eliot's network of praying towns. While the towns were largely self-governing under Indian leaders, the praying Indians were subject to rules governing conformity to English Puritan culture (in practice Natick, like the other praying towns, evidenced a combination of traditional and English culture and practices). Eliot and Praying Indian translators printed America's first written Bible in the Algonquian language. The town was officially incorporated in 1781. kids.kiddle.co

Natick includes: Felchville, Morseville, Navy Yard, Nebraska Plain, and Walkerville.
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Natick Nostalgia: Vintage Photos, Ads, and Postcards


Natick, Massachusetts, USA

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Natick High School

Natick, Massachusetts, USA

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Walnut Hill School, Eliot Hall, Natick, Mass.

Natick, Massachusetts, USA

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Main St. and Congregational Church, Natick, Mass.

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  • 1718 - Natick is settled

    Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates
  • 1781 - Natick is incorporated

    Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates
  • 1839 - Natick
    Natick, Massachusetts
    Middlesex county. Natick is a pleasant town, of good soil: it is watered by Charles river, and contains several delightful ponds, well stored with fish. This was a favorite resort of the Indians. There are some moderate elevations in the town: the Indians used to call it "the place of hills."

    Under the advice and direction of the apostle Elliot, the first Indian church in New England was formed here in 1660, and comprised 40 communicants.

    The manufactures of the town consist principally of shoes. During the year ending April 1, 1837, 250,650 pairs were made, valued at $213,053: employing 452 hands. This town was incorporated in 1781. Population, 1830, 890; 1837, 1,221. It lies 16 miles W.S.W. from Boston and 12 S. from Concord.
    The New England Gazetteer containing descriptions of all the states, counties and towns in New England: also descriptions of the principal mountains, rivers lakes, capes, bays, harbors, islands and fashionable resorts within that territory. Alphabetically arranged. By John Hayward, author of the Columbian Traveller, Religious Creeds, &c. &c. Boston: John Hayward. Boyd & White, Concord, N.H. 1839
  • 1845 - NATICK. [Pop. 1,285. Inc. 1781.]
    Natick is one of the few towns of Massachusetts that retain their original Indian names. The word Natick is said to mean 'The Hill Country.'

    Natick is well watered by Charles River and several ponds, of which Long Pond is the largest, and which will probably be selected to supply Boston with fresh water.

    The first regular church of converted Indians, was formed here by the apostle Eliot, in 1660, after an unsuccessful attempt at Nonantum Hill, in Newton.

    It was into the language of the Natick Indians, that the venerable Eliot translated the whole Bible, which was printed at the college press at Cambridge, in 1663 ; but not an Indian is left to read the work that cost so much labor, nor to speak a word of what has become a dead language.

    Shoes, to a large amount, are manufactured here.

    Distance from Concord, 12 miles ; from Boston, 16
    An Elementary Geography for Massachusetts Children by William Bentley Fowle and Asa Fitz, 1845
  • 1848 - Natick
    This township was originally granted by the general court to the Indians, as a place for a permanent residence. It was incorporated into an English district in 1761, and into a town in 1781, by the name of Natick, a word in the Indian language, signifying “the place of hills.” It is watered by Charles river, and contains numerous fish ponds. There are two villages, which are upwards of a mile apart. North Natick is a village newly erected; it consists of about 30 houses, two churches, 1 Congregational, and 1 Methodist. The Boston and Worcester railroad passes through this village. South Natick is the ancient village; it consists of about 20 dwelling houses and a Unitarian church. Population, 1,221. Distance from Concord, 12 miles, 9 from Dedham, and 16 from Boston. In 1837, there were 250,650 pairs of shoes manufactured here, valued at $213,052 50; males employed, 263; females, 189.

    The first Indian church in New England was formed here, in 1660. The indians were first brought... Read MORE...

  • 1854 - Natick
    Natick, a post-township in Middlesex co., Mass., on the Boston and Worcester railroad, 17 miles W. S. W. from Boston. Pop., 2744.
    A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.
  • Natick Massachusetts, 1890
    Natick is a large and flourishing town in the southerly part of Middlesex County, noted chiefly for its shoe manufacture. The Boston and Albany Railroad crosses the town, having its chief station in Natick village, at the centre, 17 miles from Boston. From this point a branch road extends to Saxonville, on the Sudbury River, in Framingham. The large angles of the town lie at its north, south and west. The assessed area is 8,309 acres. Wayland bounds it on the north, Needham on the east, Sherborn on the southwest, and Framingham on the northwest.

    The most commanding eminence is Pegan Hill, at the southeast, 408 feet in height. Others are Tom's Hill in the west, and Fisk's and Broad hills near the centre, — from which may he had fine views of the principal village and of Lake Cochituate. This beautiful expanse of water extends from the central part of the town northward along the borders of Framingham and Wayland. Eastward, just over the border, are the Wellesley ponds. There are... Read MORE...

  • 1895 - Natick
    Na'tick, a post-town of Middlesex co., Mass., on the Boston & Worcester Railroad, at the junction of the Saxonville Branch, 18 miles W.S.W. of Boston. It is at the S. end of Cochituate Lake. It contains 10 churches, 2 public libraries, a high school, a national bank, a savings bank, 3 newspaper offices, and extensive manufactories of boots and shoes and base-balls, and is drained by an excellent drainage system. It contains Felchville and South Natick. Pop. in 1880, 8479; in 1890, 9118.
    Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott
  • 1906
    Natick, a post-town of Middlesex co., Mass. on the Boston and Albany R., 17 miles WSW. of Boston. It is at the S. end of Cochituate Lake. It has public libraries (Morse Institute, Bacon Public Library), the Walnut Hill School, and extensive manufactories of boots and shoes, base-balls, wooden-ware, clothing, etc. Pop. in 1900, 9488.
    Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns ... in Every Portion of the Globe Publisher J.B. Lippincott Company, 1906

Discover Your Roots: Natick Ancestry

Ancestors Who Were Born or Died in Natick, Massachusetts, USA

We currently have information about ancestors who were born or died in Natick.

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male ancestorSamuel MORSE (19 December 1750, Natick, Massachusetts, USA - 17 April 1830, Needham, Massachusetts, USA)
female ancestorSybil JENNINGS (28 October 1752, Natick, Massachusetts, USA - 20 June 1821, Natick, Massachusetts, USA)
male ancestorGeorge MORSE (1789, Natick, Massachusetts, USA - , )
male ancestorMartin MORSE (18 May 1793, Natick, Massachusetts, USA - 30 April 1872, Newton, Massachusetts, USA)
female ancestorAbagail B. PERRY (1805, Natick, Massachusetts, USA - 12 March 1879, Holliston, Massachusetts, USA (Metcalf))
male ancestorFrancis C. MOORE (1821, Natick, Massachusetts, USA - 19 January 1868, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA)
female ancestorLucinda C PERKINS (1830, Bristol, Maine, USA (New Harbor) - 01 December 1851, Natick, Massachusetts, USA)
female ancestorMary TYER (24 August 1838, London, England - 22 October 1909, Natick, Massachusetts, USA)
female ancestorAnnie Mary CURWIN (February 1852, Natick, Massachusetts, USA - 18 May 1909, Webster, Massachusetts, USA)
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Updated: 4/27/2023 11:16:37 AM

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