A Conversation with Charlotte Diamant About her Account of the South Natick Dam

Charlotte Diamant is a student at Wellesley College. A native Californian, she is currently pursuing a B.A. in Environmental Studies with particular interests in conservation, sustainability, and water policy. In her free time on campus, she enjoys walks around Lake Waban, reading, baking, and volunteering at the Natick Community Organic Farm. You can read a summary of Charlotte’s research HERE and connect with her detailed presentation HERE.

What was your original interest in the South Natick dam? Why did you choose this research topic?

I would never have embarked on this project without the encouragement of Dr. Jay Turner, one of my professors and academic advisors at Wellesley College. After attending a town meeting on the future of the South Natick Dam in 2019, Professor Turner asked the Natick Town Engineer about the possibility of conducting an extensive research project on the dam's history. After receiving some positive feedback from the Town and knowing of my interest in environmental history, he invited me to pursue the project as a semester-long independent study through the Wellesley College Environmental Studies Department. I was excited to learn more, and I started brainstorming when I returned to campus in the spring of 2020!

What was the most surprising thing you learned about the dam or Natick's history?

When I started this project, I had no idea how important the construction of the present-day dam was to Natick residents. Townspeople fought hard to build the dam, even against tremendous economic and logistical hurdles. Support for the project was so strong, in fact, that town employees offered to contribute 7.5 percent of their annual wages to the construction of the new dam at a town meeting in 1934! This may seem like a relatively unimportant anecdote, but it was shocking to me that a group of public servants—generally underpaid to begin with—would voluntarily give up such a significant portion of their income for a public works project in the midst of an economic crisis. Professor Turner even asked me to double- and triple-check the records, and he was so surprised!

Did you encounter any obstacles in conducting your research? How did you overcome the obstacles?

One of the most frustrating components of this project was researching the pre-1900 history of the dam. As I went further back in the historical record, it became increasingly difficult to keep track of important people and locations. Property lines, street names, and town boundaries changed frequently, and the spelling of both family names and key locations varied a great deal. Many of the early property owners in the Natick area had similar names—Thomas Sawin, for example, had both a son and grandson named John—which led to a lot of confusion before I was able to properly sort out the chronology. 

The best way I found to deal with this confusion was through constant cross-checking. I would focus on a particular location or person, and attempt to track that name through the historical record—with maps, property records, photographs, articles, and even family trees—making careful note of any inconsistencies or gaps. It took a lot longer, but gave me greater peace of mind!

Has this project changed your thoughts about the importance of learning local history? 

Local history doesn't happen in isolation; it is informed by broader social, ecological, political, and economic trends, all manifest in local and highly personal changes. The story of the South Natick Dam is a prime example of this: the stories of colonial New England, industrialization, and the Great Depression, among many others, are all part of the story of the dam. My research only reinforced this connection and reminded me of the importance of learning from local history, which can make seemingly unrelated history feel relevant and personal.

Did the Natick Historical Society have any unique resources you could not find or access elsewhere?

Absolutely! The Natick Historical Society was an invaluable asset in my research. Without the patient support and encouragement of the Society's staff, volunteers, and extensive historical collections, this project could never have gotten off the ground. The Natick Historical Society has a folder dedicated to the South Natick Dam, which is chock full of maps, newspaper articles, archived emails from town officials, town meeting records, public works reports, and photographs, the vast majority of which I hadn't seen anywhere else. This information was extensive and detailed—I could find records on specific local events, places, and people that I couldn't have found in a larger library, historical collection, or online database. 

If you’d like to hear more about Charlotte’s project, check out her Earth Day presentation at Wellesley College HERE.