In 1650 Natick was established as a Praying Town. Learn about the people, places, and events that shaped this era in Natick’s past.
17th-Century Natick
“I Heard That Word…” A Closer Look at Indigenous Experiences in Early Newton and Natick
This online resource tells about the experiences of some Native people who chose to convert to Puritanism and live in mission settlements between 1646 and 1660. The locations of two of those settlements are now parts of Newton and Natick. This resource is informed by the writings of John Eliot and other English missionaries, the testimonies of the Massachusett and Nipmuc people who lived during this time, the work of contemporary historians, and the published words of Indigenous people today who have ancestral ties to this history.
For a printable PDF of this text, click HERE.
