Walk Natick Center with local historian Terri Evans and learn how the railroad and the shoe industry transformed 19th-century Natick. Hear stories from the 1874 fire and discover how arts and culture inspire the “heart of Natick” today.

$10 per person. Children under 12 are free. Tours are capped at 12 people. Get your tickets on Eventbrite!

Join us for a virtual discussion of The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and the Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History by Karen Valby.

Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library. 

For details on how to attend this virtual meeting via Zoom, please contact director@natickhistoricalsociety.org

The Zoom link to the discussion will be sent upon request. 

This event is canceled due to the current lapse in appropriations from the federal government for the National Park Service.

**Please check out our event on 17th-century Natick Saturday, October 18 .

This year marks the 350th anniversary of King Philip’s War. The Natick Historical Society and the Bacon Free Library are hosting Shawn Quigley from the National Park Service who will speak about how Deer Island in Boston Harbor served as an internment camp for Native Americans during King Philip’s War. This program will explore the historic use of the Boston Harbor Islands, their role as an internment camp for Native Americans from Praying Towns, and stories of survival and reliance from those imprisoned on Deer Island. 

This program will take place at the Natick Historical Society on the lower level of the Bacon Free  Library. 

Please register in advance for this program, since seating is limited. If you are unable to attend, please let us know so we may offer your seat to the next person on our list.

Registration opens 3 weeks prior to the event. Click here to register.

*The Natick Historical Society and Bacon Free Library are working hard to fund a robust series of programs remembering King Philip’s War 350 years after it began. (The closure of the Institute of Museum and Library Services in March 2025 has impacted our plans.) Check back soon for more programs.

Walk Natick Center with local historian Terri Evans and learn how the railroad and the shoe industry transformed 19th-century Natick. Hear stories from the 1874 fire and discover how arts and culture inspire the “heart of Natick” today.

$10 per person. Children under 12 are free. Tours are capped at 12 people. Get your tickets on Eventbrite!

Join local historian Terri Evans for a stroll through the heart of South Natick. The tour highlights Natick’s early history as a “Praying Town” and the 19th-century residents who inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Oldtown Folks.

Tours last 60 minutes and are capped at 12 people. Tickets are $10 per person and children under 12 are free. Get your tickets on Eventbrite!

Please meet at the entrance to the Bacon Free Library/Natick History Museum, 58 Eliot Street.

If you are interested in booking a private walking tour of South Natick, click here.

Join us for a virtual discussion of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library. 

For details on how to attend this virtual meeting via Zoom, please contact director@natickhistoricalsociety.org

The Zoom link to the discussion will be sent upon request. 

Join us for a virtual discussion of Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt’s Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olsen.

Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library. 

Order your copy HERE.

For details on how to attend this virtual meeting via Zoom, please contact director@natickhistoricalsociety.org

The Zoom link to the discussion will be sent at a later date. 

Thanks to an outpouring of community support, we have more than thirty readers signed up. The reader sign-up is now closed. If you would like to be an alternate reader, please send an email to: director@natickhistoricalsociety.org

The Natick Historical Society and Natick is United will co-host a community reading of Frederick Douglass’ powerful 1852 speech, “What to a Slave is the 4th of July?” at 10:30 AM on Natick Common. Historian and Natick resident, Brenna Greer, will offer an introduction to the speech and facilitate dialogue afterwards.

The afternoon continues with Natick Center Cultural District’s Juneteenth event on Natick Common from 12:00 – 3:00 PM. There will be delicious food, fun activities, and musical performances by Drum Nomads and Squeezebox Stompers. All are welcome! More details coming soon.

ASL Interpreting Services will be available during the event.

NCCD invites BIPOC business owners and non-profits supporting these initiatives to create memorable cultural experiences and/or provide information to the community. Please email Heather Rockwood at executivedirector@natickcenter.org to inquire.

Join us for a virtual discussion of Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes of the 312 Days that Changed Politics Forever by Chris Wallace.

Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library. 

Order your copy HERE.

For details on how to attend this virtual meeting via Zoom, please contact director@natickhistoricalsociety.org

The Zoom link to the discussion will be sent at a later date. 

Join local historian Terri Evans for a stroll through the heart of South Natick. The tour highlights Natick’s early history as a “Praying Town” and the 19th-century residents who inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Oldtown Folks.

Tours last 60 minutes and are capped at 12 people. Please click HERE to purchase tickets. Tickets are $10 per person and children under 12 are free.

Please meet at the entrance to the Bacon Free Library/Natick History Museum, 58 Eliot Street.

If you are interested in booking a private walking tour of South Natick, click here.

Join us for History Happenings at the Natick Historical Society!

Bring a friend, sip historical mocktails, and learn a bit about Natick history. We'll gather, talk, and enjoy a "pop-up" Antiques Road Show from appraiser Ken Van Blarcom. Ken will dig into a couple of Natick's Revolutionary-era artifacts. Do you have an 18th-century artifact at home? Bring it along and gain a few insights from Ken.

This event is free. Get your tickets here.

See you there!

Walk Natick Center with local historian Terri Evans and learn how the railroad and the shoe industry transformed 19th-century Natick. Hear stories from the 1874 fire and discover how arts and culture inspire the “heart of Natick” today.

Please meet at the entrance to Natick's Town Hall at the corner of Park Street.

Tours last 60 minutes and are capped at 12 people. Tickets are $10 per person. Children under 12 are free. Purchase tickets here.

All are welcome to join local tour guide Vincent Vittoria for a walking tour of Natick's historic Walnut Hill neighborhood. Come learn about the people, historic mansions, and other stories that give Walnut Hill such a fascinating history.

The tour will meet downtown by Moran Park (right beside the Eastern Bank on South Ave by the T tracks, with the World War II memorial). It will last about 90 minutes.

This tour is capped at 20 people. Tickets are $10 per person and children under 12 are free. Please purchase tickets in advance HERE.

Caesar and John Ferrit: Meet Two of Natick's Black Patriots

Did you know that two of Natick’s residents who fired on British soldiers along the Battle Road in Lexington were of African and Indigenous Caribbean heritage?

Join Sean D. Osborne, public historian and producer of the Black Patriots of Lexington YouTube series and Dr. Zine Magubane, PhD, Boston College historical sociology professor, discuss Caesar & John Ferrit.

This event is free and open to all, but please register HERE in advance.

It is sponsored the Natick Historical Society with support from the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington and Tricons 2 Red Tails.

*Please note that this event will be held in Sherrill Hall at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Natick Center.

Join us for a virtual discussion of The Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in WWII by Vicki Croke.

Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library. 

Order your copy HERE.

For details on how to attend this virtual meeting via Zoom, please contact director@natickhistoricalsociety.org

The Zoom link to the discussion will be sent at a later date. 

Join local historian Terri Evans for a stroll through the heart of South Natick. The tour highlights Natick’s early history as a “Praying Town” and the 19th-century residents who inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Oldtown Folks.

Tours last 60 minutes and are capped at 12 people. Please click HERE to purchase tickets. Tickets are $10 per person and children under 12 are free.

Please meet at the entrance to the Bacon Free Library/Natick History Museum, 58 Eliot Street.

If you are interested in booking a private walking tour of South Natick, click here.

Walk Natick Center with local historian Terri Evans and learn how the railroad and the shoe industry transformed 19th-century Natick. Hear stories from the 1874 fire and discover how arts and culture inspire the “heart of Natick” today.

Please meet at the entrance to Natick's Town Hall at the corner of Park Street.

Tours last 60 minutes and are capped at 12 people. Tickets are $10 per person. Children under 12 are free. Purchase tickets here.

Join us to explore the Natick Historical Society’s new exhibit, Natick in a Time of Revolution, featuring artifacts and documents from Natick during the American Revolution. Enjoy revolutionary songs for all ages, performed by historian and musician, Diane Taraz. The exhibit and songs will be in the Morse Room at the Morse Institute Library.

Register for this FREE event here.

This event is part of a collaborative series titled The American Revolution in Our Hometowns, presented in partnership with the Framingham History Center, Holliston Historical Commission, Needham History Center & Museum, Sherborn Historical Society, and Wellesley Historical Society.

For a complete list of local events on the American Revolution, click here.

This event has been made possible by support from the Natick Cultural Council, which receives funds through the Mass Cultural Council. Collaboration with our partner, the Morse Institute Library, has helped make the exhibit Natick in a Time of Revolution possible.

Thank you!

Join us for a Museum Open House on Saturday, April 12, from 2 to 4 p.m. We'll display some of our finest revolutionary-era collections, including documents and artifacts.

Some of these collections will be displayed at the Morse Institute Library beginning Sunday, April 27. Be sure to check out that exhibit opening and celebration here. Before we install that display, you'll have a chance to see these collections up close. Bring your questions!

Please register here in advance.

Join us for a virtual discussion of The Cause: The American Revolution and its Discontents by Joseph J. Ellis.

Copies of the book will be available at the Bacon Free Library. 

Order your copy HERE.

For details on how to attend this virtual meeting via Zoom, please contact director@natickhistoricalsociety.org

The Zoom link to the discussion will be sent at a later date. 

Join local historian Terri Evans for a stroll through the heart of South Natick. The tour highlights Natick’s early history as a “Praying Town” and the 19th-century residents who inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Oldtown Folks.

Tours last 60 minutes and are capped at 12 people. Please click HERE to purchase tickets. Tickets are $10 per person and children under 12 are free.

Please meet at the entrance to the Bacon Free Library/Natick History Museum, 58 Eliot Street.

If you are interested in booking a private walking tour of South Natick, click here.

Walk Natick Center with local historian Terri Evans and learn how the railroad and the shoe industry transformed 19th-century Natick. Hear stories from the 1874 fire and discover how arts and culture inspire the “heart of Natick” today.

Please meet at the entrance to Natick's Town Hall at the corner of Park Street.

Tours last 60 minutes and are capped at 12 people. Tickets are $10 per person. Children under 12 are free. Purchase tickets here.

POSTPONED - This event is postponed and we will share the new date as soon as possible.

Join Jennifer Richards, Archivist and Research Manager of the Natick Historical Society, as she celebrates the remarkable women of Natick from the WWI era. Jen will spotlight Mary Johnson Cuttell (1885-1955), a courageous WWI nurse who served on the front lines, and Marion Louise Pooke (1883-1975), an inspiring artist who joined the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918.

This engaging event will take place at Natick’s Community Senior Center and is FREE and open to the public—no reservations are needed.

Come honor these extraordinary women and their contributions to our nation's history!

Join us for an Open House at the Natick History Museum featuring Grandmother's Mincemeat. Taste a sample of mincemeat and browse "Grandmother's" artifacts from our collections. Bring your memories of Grandmother's Mincemeat to share with us, too!

This event is FREE and open to the public. Please register here in advance.

Harrison L. Whipple (1857-1908) established the Whipple Company in Natick in 1899 to produce and distribute Grandmother's Mincemeat and related products, like Grandmother's Marmalade. Whipple marketed these products with images of his grandmother, Mrs. Sophia Tuttle. The company thrived for over a century and was sold in December 2023.

2025 Annual Meeting

Join us at the Natick Historical Society for our 2025 Annual Meeting.

• Browse vintage Natick postcards, new accessions, and exhibits

• Celebrate 15 years of service for Terri Evans and 6 years for Vincent Vittoria

• Chat with staff and board members

• Review of the NHS in 2024

The museum will open at 1:30 and all are welcome to enjoy light refreshments and chat with board members and staff. The meeting will begin at 2:00pm.

Check out the agenda here.

Please register through our Eventbrite page.

*NHS supporters are eligible to vote on a slate of candidates.

A century ago, Valentine's Day cards were characterized by intricate lacework, multiple layers, and elaborate designs created using various methods.

Join us at the Natick Historical Society to create your own vintage-inspired Valentines!

Click here to register.

Join us for a Museum Open House: Postcard Memories at the Natick Historical Society. Check out selected postcards from our Collections. Learn how to date your vintage postcards. See Local History Exhibits. Sip mulled cider. Nibble some cookies. Have fun!

Click here to register.