Natick ( ) is a town in

Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populous cou ...

, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Natick is part of the

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern a ...

area. Massachusetts's

center of population In demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to different geog ...

was in Natick at the censuses of 2000-2020, most recently in the vicinity of Hunters Lane.

Name

The name ''Natick'' comes from the

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

of the

Massachusett The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hil ...

Native American tribe and is commonly thought to mean "Place of Hills." A more accurate translation may be "place of ursearching," after John Eliot's successful search for a location for his Praying Indian settlement.

History

Natick was settled in 1651 by John Eliot, a Puritan missionary born in Widford, England, who received a commission and funds from England's

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septe ...

to settle the

Indians called

Praying Indians Praying Indian is a 17th-century term referring to Native Americans of New England, New York, Ontario, and Quebec who converted to Christianity either voluntarily or involuntarily. Many groups are referred to by the term, but it is more commonl ...

on both sides of the Charles River, on land deeded from the settlement at Dedham. Natick was the first of Eliot's network of praying towns and served as their center for a long time. While the towns were largely self-governing under Indian leaders, such as

Waban Waban (16041685) was a Native American of the Nipmuc group and was thought to be the first Native American convert to Christianity in Massachusetts. Life Waban was born about 1604 at Musketaquid, near the present town of Concord. While ther ...

and

Cutshamekin Cutshamekin (died in 1654) (also spelled Kitchamakin, Kuchamakin, or Cutshumaquin) was a Native American leader, who was a sachem of the Massachusett tribe based along the Neponset River and Great Blue Hill in what is now Dorchester, Massachus ...

, the praying Indians were subject to rules governing conformity to Puritan culture (in practice Natick, like the other praying towns, combined both indigenous and Puritan culture and practices). Eliot and Praying Indian translators printed America's first Algonquian language Bible. Eventually, the church in Natick was led for several decades by an indigenous pastor, Rev.

Daniel Takawambait Daniel Takawambait (c. 1652-1716) (also spelled Takawombait or Tokonwonpat or Takawambpas or Tookumwombait or Tokkohwompait or Takawombpait and sometimes Daniel of Natick) was likely the first ordained Native American Christian pastor in North Am ...

. The colonial government placed such settlements in a ring of villages around Boston as a defensive strategy. Natick was the first and best documented settlement. The land was granted by the General Court as part of the Dedham Grant. After a period of expansion and little focus on evangelism, Reverend John Robinson told the New Englanders to prioritize missionary work over growth, "the killing of those poor Indians....How happy a thing it had been if you had converted some before you had killed any." Chastened in the wake of the

Mystic Massacre The Mystic massacrealso known as the Pequot massacre and the Battle of Mystic Forttook place on May 26, 1637 during the Pequot War, when Connecticut colonizers under Captain John Mason and their Narragansett and Mohegan allies set fire to th ...

which occurred during the

Pequot War The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the colonists from the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their allies from the Narraga ...

, sincere efforts at evangelizing began. A school was set up, a government established, and the Indians were encouraged to convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. In November 1675, during

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

, the Natick Indians were sent to Deer Island. Many died of disease and cold, and those 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 to white settlers to cover debts. By 1785, most of the Natick Indians had drifted away. After King Philip's War, Elliot's and a few other missionaries' opposition to the executions and enslavement of Indians were eventually silenced by death threats. In 1775, both European and Indian citizens of Natick participated in the battles of Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill, as well as serving in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

. The names of Natick's Praying Indian soldiers are memorialized on a stone marker, along with all of Natick's Revolutionary War veterans, on a stone marker on Pond Street, near downtown Natick. The town was incorporated in 1781.

Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 ...

, a U.S. senator who became the 18th

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice p ...

(1873–1875), lived most of his life in Natick as a shoemaker and schoolteacher known as the "Natick Cobbler" 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 23 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 making lighter dress shoes. Natick was famous for its

brogan (shoes) A brogan is a heavy, ankle-high shoe or boot. History Brogan-like shoes, called "brogues" (from Old Irish "bróc" meaning "shoe"), were made and worn in Ireland and Scotland as early as the 16th century, and the shoe type probably originated in I ...

, a heavy ankle-high boot worn by soldiers in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. The wound core for a more resilient baseball was developed by John W. Walcott and combined with the figure-eight stitching devised by Colonel William A. Cutler. It was manufactured by the firm of H. Harwood & Sons in their factory, the world's first plant for the manufacture of baseballs. In 1988 H. Harwood & Sons was converted into baseball factory condominiums. In 1874, a 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 there were no deaths, the loss of property was greater in proportion to the town's wealth than the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 1 ...

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 fire was first discovered. The Central Fire Station is now the home of The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN), a private nonprofit performing arts center. In 1891, a team from the town fire department won "The World's Hook and Ladder Championship", a competition between the fire departments of four area towns. The victory gave the town its nickname "Home of Champions". Miles 8 through 12 of the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ...

run through Natick on Patriots' Day every year along Route 135/Central St., and thousands of residents and visitors line the road to watch.

Geography and climate

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has an area of , of which is land and is water. The total area is 7.04% water, including Lake Cochituate and Dug Pond. Natick borders Wellesley, Wayland,

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

, Sherborn and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maids ...

Communities and neighborhoods

Natick Center

Natick Center, also known as Downtown Natick, is at the intersection of Central Street and Main Street and serves as the town's civic and cultural hub. Many public services and public land use are downtown. Municipal buildings like the Natick Town Hall, Natick Fire Department, Natick Police Department and Morse Institute Library are there, along East Central Street. Also directly downtown is the Natick Town Common, where many town events and community activities are held. In the 1990s new downtown construction of a town hall, fire/police station, and enlargement to the library gave the downtown a fresh new look. New municipal buildings exist alongside several historic buildings and churches, the restored Central Fire House, several banks, restaurants and small businesses. In 2012 the Massachusetts Cultural Council voted unanimously to make Natick Center one of the newest state-designated cultural districts, the tenth district to win this designation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Cultural Districts Initiative is designed to help communities attract artists and cultural enterprises, encourage business and job growth, expand tourism, preserve and reuse historic buildings, enhance property values, and foster local cultural development. Natick Center Cultural District is anchored by The Center for Arts in Natick, Morse Institute Library and the Natick Common.

South Natick

South Natick, known for its scenic nature, is where the Native American settlers first arrived and began the town on the shores of the

Charles River The Charles River ( Massachusett: ''Quinobequin)'' (sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles) is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton to Boston along a highly meandering route, that doubles bac ...

. Housing developers like Martin Cerel lived in South Natick, and thus refrained from building major tract neighborhoods in this part of town. Most South Natick residents consider themselves to have a strong, separate cultural identity from the rest of Natick. It is the only community in Natick that can be separately addressed officially via the US Postal Office, and street signage such as a sign along Route 16 coming from Wellesley communicates arrival in "So. Natick."

East Natick

East Natick is a community of Natick along Oak Street and at the intersection of Oak Street and

Worcester Street Worcester Street is a street in west central Oxford, England. History The street used to be called Stockwelle Street, also running along the line of Walton Street and Little Clarendon Street, to the north of the current Worcester Street. T ...

. Notable landmarks include Jennings Pond, the Industrial Park on Oak St North, and the Lilja School. Longfellow Health Club, which features a gym, pool, and tennis courts, is in East Natick off Oak St. in the Industrial Park. The stretch of Route 9 in East Natick as one heads into Wellesley contains a multitude of ever-changing retail businesses.

West Natick

West Natick is a large section of Natick that borders the town of

. The Natick Mall, as well as the strip mall called Sherwood Plaza with its office Industrial Park behind, are considered to be the commercial hub of West Natick. In addition to its retail development, post World War II housing developments like Westfield, Pelham, and Sherwood as well as the National Guard depot and a golf course on Speen St brought many people to this part of town. There are many businesses in West Natick along West Central Street as well as another

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network i ...

Commuter Rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

station in addition to the one downtown. The area in West Natick, along Route 135 is the most densely populated section of town, with its thousands of condominiums and apartments clustered across the street from the train station.

Neighborhoods

Natick is a small town, and thus, the various sections of tract development homes are considered neighborhoods. These were houses built by several contractors in the late 1940s until the late 1950s. Listed here, are a few of these sections.

Sherwood

One of the earliest post World War II developments in West Natick, the homes are colonial in style, with street names reminiscent of the Robin Hood legend. The homes were built in 1948 and the neighborhood remains popular due to the fact that there's no through traffic, and most of the houses have been enlarged with additions.

Walnut Hill

Walnut Hill is a neighborhood north of downtown. It is known for the private boarding school

Walnut Hill School Walnut Hill School for the Arts is an independent boarding school and day school for the arts located in Natick, Massachusetts, United States. It is intended for student artists in grade 9-12. History and programs Boarding school Walnut Hill was ...

for the Arts, as well as many Victorian era houses lining Walnut and Bacon Streets.

Wethersfield

The Wethersfield area of Natick is a residential neighborhood north of Route 9. It is a typical 1950s development of Campanelli ranch houses, and remains popular with first-time home buyers due to the relatively inexpensive slab-style houses. This area includes Drury Lane and all connecting roads within the boundaries of route 9, Pine Street, and Route 27.

Oak Street

South of Route 9, this section began as a summer vacation area, with tiny cottages surrounding Jennings Pond. Over the years, some houses were enlarged, but the area remains quaint and quiet with no thru traffic. On the westerly side of South Oak is a neighborhood of Cape style houses with streets named after World War II Generals. North of Route 9, other developments of small Cape-style homes were built in the early and mid-1950s and were popular with first-time home buyers due to their affordability. As is happening throughout the region, the capes are getting large additions or replaced by much larger homes. There are two Industrial Parks along north Oak St that contain office buildings on one side of the road and larger warehouses on the eastern side.

Little South

Just south of the Natick Common, Cottage Street begins what is commonly called Little South, named so because of its proximity to South Natick. Little South nomenclature extends to the east portions of Everett Street, down to Eliot St. Homes along Cottage St. were primarily built in the early 1950s and are mostly modest and well-maintained. The best-known landmarks in Little South are a WWII monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers from Natick, and The Tobin School, a private daycare and elementary school that has two large buildings off of Cottage St. Everett St. has larger farm homes situated on generous lots. Eliot St., which runs parallel to the Charles River, has some of Natick's oldest homes. Just before South Natick begins, there is a Virgin Mary statue on a large rock on the south side of the Charles River, enveloped by pine trees.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 32,786 people, 13,080 households, and 8,528 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 2,132.9 people per square mile (823.7/km²). There were 13,368 housing units at an average density of 886.3 per square mile (342.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 7.2% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.5% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

and 2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3% 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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. Of all households, 28.3% 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, the median income for a household in the town was $61,855, and the median income for a family was $85,056. Males had a median income of $51,964 versus $41,060 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $36,358. About 1.7% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, 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 eleven most affluent towns in Massachusetts with Wayland to the north,

to the northeast, Wellesley to the east,

to the southeast, and Sherborn to the southwest.

2010 Census data

Source: * The median age of Natick according to the 2010 US census was 41.1 years. * There were 15,777 male citizens, accounting for 48.1% of the total population. * There were 17,009 female citizens, accounting for 51.9% of the population. * There were 25,233 White or Caucasian citizens, accounting for 82.2% of the population. * There were 3,714 Asian citizens, accounting for 8.3% of the population. * There were 2,282 Hispanic or Latino citizens, accounting for 5.0% of the population. * There were 2,995 Black or African American citizens, accounting for 6.6% of the population. * There were 135 Native American and Alaska Native citizens, accounting for 0.4% of the population.

Economy

Companies based in Natick include

Cognex Corporation Cognex Corporation is an American manufacturer of machine vision systems, software and sensors used in automated manufacturing to inspect and identify parts, detect defects, verify product assembly, and guide assembly robots. Cognex is headquart ...

and

MathWorks MathWorks is an American privately held corporation that specializes in mathematical computing software. Its major products include MATLAB and Simulink, which support data analysis and simulation. History The company's key product, MATLAB, wa ...

Government

Town

Natick has

representative town meeting A representative town meeting, also called "limited town meeting", is a form of municipal legislature particularly common in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and permitted in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. Representative town meetings function ...

form of government (consisting of 180 members) with a Board of Selectmen and a Town Administrator. The members of the Board and the dates their terms end are (as of March 2019): * Michael J. Hickey, Jr., Chair, 2020; * Susan Salamoff, Vice Chair, 2022; * Jonathan Freedman, Clerk, 2021; * Richard P. Jennett, Jr., 2022; * Karen Adelman-Foster, 2020. The town is part of the Massachusetts Senate's Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex district.

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. 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: Marian Ryan * Register of Deeds: Richard P. Howe, Jr. (North at Lowell), Maria C. Curtatone (South at Cambridge) * Register of Probate: Tara E. DeCristofaro * County Sheriff: Peter Koutoujian

Education

Public schools

The Natick Public School District operates the following schools: * High school: **

Natick High School Natick High School is an urban/suburban public high school serving students in grades 9 to 12 in Natick, Massachusetts, United States. The school is located on the banks of Dug Pond. Its enrollment was 1,603 students during the 2015–2016 school ...

; The High School building on the shore of Dug Pond, was opened in 2012. The new building design is based on a model approved by the state of Massachusetts. This was necessary in order to maximize state reimbursement for design and construction. It cost $80 million. The new high school is adjacent to the old high school and opened to students on August 29, 2012. Natick High's former school mascot name, the "Redmen", was changed in 2009 to the "Red and Blue", then in 2012 to the "Redhawks", also spelled "Red Hawks". * Middle schools: ** Kennedy Middle School, for which a replacement building broke ground on March 27, 2019; ** Wilson Middle School. * Elementary schools: ** Brown Elementary School; ** Lilja Elementary School; ** Memorial Elementary School; ** Bennett-Hemenway (Ben-Hem) Elementary School; ** Johnson Elementary School;

Private schools

for the Arts * The Riverbend School (formerly Eliot Montessori School) * The Tobin School * Brandon School and Residential Treatment Center, a school within a

residential treatment center A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-ditch ...

* Saint Benedict Classical Academy (formerly Saint Benedict Elementary), located in the Harriet Beecher Stowe House

Transportation

Natick Center station Natick Center station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Natick, Massachusetts served by the Framingham/Worcester Line. The station, located below grade in a wide cut adjacent to North Main Street ( Route 27), has two side platforms serving th ...

, in the downtown area, is served by the

MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 stati ...

Framingham/Worcester Line The Framingham/Worcester Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system runs west from Boston, Massachusetts to Worcester, Massachusetts through the MetroWest region, serving 17 station stops in Boston, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashlan ...

. Bus service is provided in Natick by the

MetroWest Regional Transit Authority The MetroWest Regional Transit Authority (MWRTA) is a regional public transit authority in the state of Massachusetts providing bus and paratransit service to sixteen communities in the Boston MetroWest. The MWRTA was formed in 2006 and began ser ...

Notable people

* 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, composer * Thelma Babbitt, Quaker activist for peace, environmental causes *

James Bamford James Bamford (born September 15, 1946) is an American author, journalist and documentary producer noted for his writing about United States intelligence agencies, especially the National Security Agency (NSA). ''The New York Times'' has call ...

, author, journalist who writes about the world of US intelligence agencies * John Carlson, NHL player for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

Eddie Casey Edward Lawrence Casey (May 16, 1894 – July 26, 1966) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Harvard University and was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1968. Casey was MVP of the 1920 Rose Bow ...

, former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach * Joseph M. Connolly, American police detective and politician *

Rich Costello Richard Anthony "Rich" Costello (born June 27, 1963) is a retired American professional ice hockey player. Biography As a youth, Costello played in the 1976 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Boston. ...

, retired American professional ice hockey player * David Cullen,

Artist in Residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown College (informally E-town) is a private college in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. History Founding and early years Founded in 1899, Elizabethtown College is one of many higher learning institutions founded in the 19th century by c ...

and Grammy Award-winning guitarist *

William Finn William Alan Finn (born February 28, 1952) is an American composer and lyricist. He is best known for his musicals, which include '' Falsettos'', for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, ''A New B ...

, Tony-winning composer and lyricist of musicals including

Falsettos ''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of '' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and '' Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installments in a trio o ...

and

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

Katrín Davíðsdóttir Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir (; born 10 May 1993) is an Icelandic CrossFit athlete known for her eight appearances at the CrossFit Games. She is the women's champion of the 2015 and 2016 CrossFit Games. Katrín is the second woman to repeat as ...

CrossFit CrossFit is a branded fitness regimen that involves constantly varied functional movements performed at high intensity. The method was developed by Greg Glassman, who founded CrossFit with Lauren Jenai in 2000, with CrossFit its registered trad ...

athlete *

Paul Dellegatto Paul N. Dellegatto (born Natick, Massachusetts) is an American meteorologist and television weather forecaster. He is the chief meteorologist at WTVT in Tampa, Florida. Before coming to WTVT, he became a Meteorologist for WGME-TV in Portland, Maine ...

, long time chief meteorologist at FOX 13 in Tampa. His dog "Brody" became a viral sensation during Covid * William F. Donovan, track coach at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Keene Fitzpatrick Dennis Keene Fitzpatrick (December 25, 1864 – May 22, 1944) was an American track coach, athletic trainer, professor of physical training and gymnasium director for 42 years at Yale University (1890–1891, 1896–1898), the University of Mic ...

, track coach at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

and

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

, 1890–1932 *

Darren Flutie Darren Paul Flutie (born November 18, 1966) is a former Canadian football wide receiver for the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is the Canadian Football League's fifth all-time leader in catches, behind Nik Lewis, ...

, CFL and NFL veteran who attended Natick High School before going to

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classified ...

; 2nd all-time in receptions in the CFL; CFL Hall of Famer *

Doug Flutie Douglas Richard Flutie (born October 23, 1962) is an American former football quarterback whose professional career spanned 21 seasons. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), eight seasons in the Canadian Football League (CF ...

, NFL and CFL veteran who attended high school in Natick, before going to Boston College; retired from the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

after the 2005–2006 season; resides in Natick, 50th Heisman Trophy winner; also played for many other NFL teams, including the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

Anjali Forber-Pratt Anjali Forber-Pratt (born June 22, 1984) is an American wheelchair racer who competes in sprint events at the Paralympic level. She is currently the Director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Resear ...

, wheelchair racer and Paralympian *

Alison Fraser Alison Fraser (born in Natick, Massachusetts) is an American actress, voice actress and singer who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in television and film. In concert, she has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White House ...

, Broadway performer and two-time

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

nominee grew up in Natick; graduated from Natick High School * Alan Gordon, songwriter who wrote "Happy Together" by

the Turtles ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

* Alfred S. Hartwell (1836–1912), commanded the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, sister regiment of the

54th Massachusetts Infantry The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infan ...

, during the Civil War. Led Union troops into Charleston, South Carolina when it fell and worked for the Freedman's Bureau. Moved to the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent islan ...

in 1868 and was appointed Chief Justice of the Hawaiian Supreme Court *

Tommy Heinsohn Thomas William Heinsohn (August 26, 1934 – November 9, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. He was associated with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for six decades as a player, coach and broadcast ...

, former basketball player for the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

and member of the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

Walt Hriniak Walter John Hriniak (pronounced RIN-ee-ack) (born May 22, 1943, at Natick, Massachusetts) 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 mo ...

, Major League Baseball player and batting coach *

Harold Kushner Harold Samuel Kushner (born April 3, 1935) is a prominent American rabbi and author. He is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism and served as the congregational rabbi of Temple Israel of Natick, in Natick, Massachusetts, f ...

, rabbi and author of many books, known for ''When Bad Things Happen to Good People'' * Harvey Leonard, chief meteorologist for

WCVB-TV WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue ...

Dan LaCouture Daniel Scott LaCouture (born April 18, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). LaCouture is a graduate of South Hadley High School, in South Hadley Massachusetts. Playing c ...

, grew up and went to school in Natick and played hockey for BU. Drafted into the NHL 1996; played for the Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes * Dottie Green, female

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

who played from

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

through

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

in the

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

Eddie Mahan Edward William Mahan (January 19, 1892 – July 22, 1975) was an American football player. While playing halfback for Harvard, Mahan was selected as a first-team All-American three consecutive years from 1913 to 1915. He was widely regarded as ...

, American football player *

Meg Mallon Meg Mallon (born April 14, 1963) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1987 and won 18 LPGA Tour events, including four major championships, during her career. Mallon was inducted into the World Golf Hall o ...

, professional golfer on the

LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of wee ...

Tour and twice winner of the US Women's Open * Joe McGlone, American football player * John McNamara (baseball), former manager of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Mike Murphy (trainer and coach) Michael Charles Murphy (February 26, 1860 – June 4, 1913) was an athletic trainer and coach at Yale University (1887–1889, 1892–1896, 1901–1905), Detroit Athletic Club (1889–1892), University of Michigan (1891), Villanova University (189 ...

, trainer and coach at

Don Nardo Don Nardo (born February 22, 1947) is an American historian, composer, and writer. With more than five hundred and forty published books, he is one of the most prolific authors in the United States, and one of the country's foremost writers of his ...

, historian, composer, and writer *

William Nutt William Nutt (August 5, 1836 – August 30, 1909) was a colonel in the American Civil War, a representative to the Massachusetts General Court from 1871 to 1872 and again in 1901, he was also the chairman of the board of the Natick Five Cents S ...

, 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 *

John O'Hurley John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, singer, author, game show host and television personality. He is known for his portrayal of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', and was the sixth host of the ...

, actor best known for role as J. Peterman on

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...

Al Parker Al Parker (born Andrew Robert Okun; June 25, 1952 – August 17, 1992) was a gay American porn star, producer, and director. He died from complications of AIDS at the age of 40. Early career Parker was born in Natick, Massachusetts. After arri ...

, gay porn actor, producer, and director * Rob Patterson, former guitarist for

Otep Otep is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2000. They have released two EPs, eight studio albums, and one live album. They are currently signed with Napalm Records. The band has sold over 500,000 albums worl ...

, touring guitarist for

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

, currently guitarist for

Filter (band) Filter is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Cleveland, Ohio, by singer Richard Patrick and guitarist and programmer Brian Liesegang. The band was formed when Patrick desired to start his own band after leaving Nine Inch Nails as their t ...

and once engaged to

Carmen Electra Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...

* Rene Rancourt, professional singer, sang the national anthem at all home

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

hockey games *

Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman (born May 16, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic an ...

, proto-punk rock icon and founder of

The Modern Lovers The Modern Lovers were an American rock band led by Jonathan Richman in the 1970s and 1980s. The original band existed from 1970 to 1974 but their recordings were not released until 1976 or later. It featured Richman and bassist Ernie Brooks w ...

* Jim Riley, graduated from Natick High School and went on to become drummer and band leader for the award-winning country band

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

John Sassamon John Sassamon, also known as Wussausmon (), was a Massachusett man who lived in New England during the colonial era. He converted to Christianity and became a praying Indian, helping to serve as an interpreter to New England colonists. In Januar ...

, English-speaking praying Indian who assisted

John Eliot (missionary) John Eliot ( – 21 May 1690) was a Puritan missionary to the American Indians who some called "the apostle to the Indians" and the founder of Roxbury Latin School in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1645. In 1660 he completed the enormous tas ...

as interpreter *

Phil Schiller Philip W. Schiller (born June 8, 1960) is an Apple Fellow at Apple Inc. He is a prominent figure in Apple's keynotes and has been a member of the company's executive team since Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997. In 2020 he became the first ...

, senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple Inc * Pete Smith, pitcher for Seattle Rainers and Boston Red Sox in 1961 *

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the har ...

(June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896), author and abolitionist, whose novel

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...

(1852) attacked the cruelty of slavery and received worldwide acclaim. Her novel "

Old Town Folks ''Oldtown Folks'' is an 1869 novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It is written from the first-person perspective of a young man named Horace Holyoke, who describes his youth in fictional Oldtown, Massachusetts - including humorous depictions o ...

" was written while she was living in Natick and tells the story of her husband's family * Donald Suxho, Olympic volleyball player *

Don Terry Don Terry (born Donald Prescott Loker, August 8, 1902 – October 6, 1988) was an American film actor, best known for his lead appearances in B films and serials in the 1930s and early 1940s. Perhaps his best-known role is probably playing th ...

(1902–1988), film actor *

Alexander Wheelock Thayer Alexander Wheelock Thayer (October 22, 1817 – July 15, 1897) was an American librarian and journalist who became the author of the first scholarly biography of Ludwig van Beethoven, still after many updatings regarded as a standard work of refe ...

, US consul at

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into pr ...

in 1859 and author of a biography of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

published in 1866 * Ming Tsai, American restaurateur, television personality, and celebrity chef *

Frank Varrichione Frank Joseph Varrichione (pronounced "Vair-akee-oh'-nee;" January 14, 1932 – January 6, 2018) was an American athlete. Varrichione was best remembered for being part of the 1953 University of Notre Dame football team that shared the collegiat ...

(born 1932), college All-American and five-time Pro Bowl professional football player *

, 17th-century tribal chief *

Sara Whalen Sara Eve Hess (; born April 28, 1976) is a retired American professional Olympic medalist soccer player. Whalen played for the United States Women's National Soccer Team from 1997 to 2000, won an Olympic silver medal with the team, and was a foun ...

(born 1976), Olympic soccer silver medalist * Sarita White, contestant on reality show " Survivor: Redemption Island" *

Fred Willis Fred Willis (born December 9, 1947) is a retired American football running back who played six seasons in the National Football League for the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Oilers. Early life Willis grew up in Natick, Massachusetts and attende ...

, former NFL player *

, the 18th Vice President of the United States, lived at 33 West Central Street and worked as a shoemaker at his

shoe shop Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as ''cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen an ...

at 181 West Central Street * Ida E. Woods (1870–1940), astronomer, born and died in Natick * Susan Wornick, former American television journalist and current TV host and spokesperson

Points of interest

* The

U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center The Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) Soldier Center, now CCDC SC, was formerly the United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, and is a tenant unit of the United States Army Natick Soldier Syste ...

(SSC) (Also known as The Natick Army Labs), a complex of military R&D facilities, produces military-use items such as

field ration A field ration (combat ration, ration pack, or food packet) is a type of prepackaged or canned military ration. Field rations are distinguished from garrison rations by virtue of being designed for minimal preparation in the field, as well ...

s, personal protective field equipment, and specialized uniforms. * Natick Mall is the largest shopping center in New England. First opened in 1966, it was replaced by the current building in 1994. A major renovation took place in 2007. *

corporate headquarters. *

corporate headquarters, which is split into two campuses, Lakeside and Apple Hill. The Lakeside campus was formerly the site of

Boston Scientific Boston Scientific Corporation ("BSC"), incorporated in Delaware, is a biomedical/biotechnology engineering firm and multinational manufacturer of medical devices used in interventional medical specialties, including interventional radiology, i ...

headquarters and of mini-computer manufacturer

Prime Computer Prime Computer, Inc. was a Natick, Massachusetts-based producer of minicomputers from 1972 until 1992. With the advent of PCs and the decline of the minicomputer industry, Prime was forced out of the market in the early 1990s, and by the end of ...

. Before Prime, Carling ran a Black Label brewery there. * The

is a private secondary school, offering particular emphasis in the studio and performing arts. Walnut Hill graduates more students to the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

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 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. A cinema on the restored second floor shows new releases and classic films. Artists performing at TCAN have included

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his 1971 hit song " American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minute folk rock "cultural touchstone" about the loss of innocence of the early ...

George Winston George Winston (born December 26, 1949) is an American pianist, guitarist, harmonicist, and record producer. He was born in Michigan and raised mainly in Montana ( Miles City and Billings), as well as Mississippi and Florida. He is best known fo ...

Paula Poundstone Paula Poundstone (born December 29, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, author, actor, interviewer, and commentator. Beginning in the late 1980s, she performed a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary durin ...

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. While Colvin has been a solo recording artist for decades, she is best known for her 1998 Grammy Award-winning song " Sunny Came Home". Early ...

Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as "Someday, Someway," a US top 40 hit in 1982, "Cynical Girl," and "Whenever You're on My Mind." He is ...

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...

Karla Bonoff Karla may refer to: People * Karla (name), a feminine given name * Petras Karla (1937–1969), Soviet Olympic rower Places * Karla, Kose Parish, a village in Harju County, Estonia * Karla, Rae Parish, a village in Harju County, Estonia * K ...

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

* 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 by 20-1/2 feet, and was constructed by the Worcester Lunch Car Company in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. Famous for its steamed hot dogs, Casey's originated as a horse-drawn lunch wagon that was parked on Natick Common. *

Henry Wilson Shoe Shop __NOTOC__ The Henry Wilson Shoe Shop is an historic "ten footer" building located at 181 West Central Street, Route 135 in Natick, Massachusetts, USA. Built in the 1850s, it was the shoe shop of Henry Wilson, a Senator from Massachusetts and the e ...

, 181 West Central Street, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

* The Chabad Center of Natick is a synagogue and Jewish educational center in West Natick which is dedicated to strengthening Jewish awareness in the Metrowest area. The Hebrew School for the Arts is a breakthrough in typical Hebrew school education. Located at the Chabad Center, Hebrew School for the Arts teaches traditional Judaism while integrating the modern arts of drama. * The Morse institute Library, located in Downtown Natick, is a public library which serves as a major educational resource as well as providing programs and hands-on learning opportunities for all residents of Natick and the Metrowest 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. * 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.

In popular culture

Natick was the setting for

Harriet Beecher-Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

's 1869 fictional novel '' Oldtown Folks''. The novel is based on her husband's childhood in Natick, and it accurately details town landmarks, ministers, and inhabitants despite renaming the location to Oldtown. Beecher-Stowe is best known for writing abolitionist fiction novel ''

.'' Natick appears on the ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ch ...

'' episode "

Da Boom "Da Boom" is the third and special episode of the second season of the animated comedy series '' Family Guy'' and the tenth episode of the series. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on December 26, 1999. The episode features the Gri ...

" when the family sets out to the town after Peter reveals that there is a

Twinkie A Twinkie is an American snack cake, described as "golden sponge cake with a creamy filling". It was formerly made and distributed by Hostess Brands. The brand is currently owned by Hostess Brands, Inc. (), having been formerly owned by pri ...

factory there (Natick did contain a Hostess factory until 2007 when the Natick Mall expanded into the collection). He eventually starts a town on the ruins of the community, naming it New Quahog. To solvers of crossword puzzles such as those of ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''natick'' (as coined by Michael Sharp, alias Rex Parker) refers to any square a solver cannot fill in correctly without guessing because the solver does not know either entry that passes through it (and there are at least two letters that are reasonable guesses). Such entries are generally proper nouns. Scenes included in the 2013 American drama film

Labor Day (film) ''Labor Day'' is a 2013 American drama film written and directed by Jason Reitman, based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Joyce Maynard. The film stars Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin and was co-produced by Paramount Pictures and Indian Pain ...

starring

Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Known for her work in independent films, particularly period dramas, and for her portrayals of headstrong and complicated women, she has received numerous accolades, inc ...

Josh Brolin Joshua James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as ''The Goonies'' (1985), '' Mimic'' (1997), '' Hollow Man'' (2000), '' Grindhouse'' (2007), '' No Country for Old Men'' (2007), '' American Gan ...

and

Tobey Maguire Tobias Vincent Maguire (born June 27, 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for playing the title character from Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), a role he later reprised in '' Spider-Man: No Way Hom ...

were filmed in Natick, at locations including The Center for Arts in Natick and Park Street Ice Cream. Natick appears in the 2015 video game ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for PlayStation 4, ...

'', which is set in the greater Boston area (referred to in the game as The Commonwealth). Part of South Natick made an appearance in the Oscar-nominated movie ''

Knives Out ''Knives Out'' is a 2019 American mystery film written, directed, and co-produced by Rian Johnson. It follows a master detective, Benoit Blanc, investigating the death of the patriarch of a wealthy, dysfunctional family. The film stars an ensem ...

''. While filming on location, the project had the code name "Morning Bell". Other scenes were shot in surrounding towns such as Wellesley, Framingham, and Waltham. In April 2019 Chris Evans was in Natick filming an upcoming TV series, '' Defending Jacob''. The production was seen filming on the Natick Common, Park Street, and at Park Street Ice Cream. The ice cream shop was temporarily converted into "K.D. Scoops" for the filming. Many Natick residents crowded around in hopes of getting a glimpse of Evans. Photos were taken of him and his co-star sitting on a bench on the commons as well as inside and outside Park Street Ice Cream. ''Defending Jacob'' released on

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...

on April 24, 2020.
/ref> The characters in the 2021 visual novel ''Emily is Away <3'' by Kyle Seeley live in Natick and attend Natick High School.

References

External links

Natick official website
{{Authority control MetroWest Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts