A History of Natick Town Seals

On May 31st, 1670, nearly twenty years after Natick was established as a Praying Town in 1651, residents petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for a town brand. Their goal was to distinguish their animals, especially swine, from those in neighboring communities. In England, courts commonly granted brand marks that reflected the first letter of a town’s name. However, the Massachusetts General Court designated a wholly different symbol for Natick: a bow and arrow. At the time, Natick was home to Algonquian-speaking people from the Massachusett, Nipmuck, and Wampanoag Tribes. The bow and arrow symbol indicated that, despite twenty years of acculturation, English education, and conversion among its residents, the court viewed Natick as distinct from other English towns. (1)

Massachusetts incorporated Natick as a town in 1781—by then, English colonists outnumbered Native residents. Over a century later, the 1876 Town Report featured an official seal for the first time. Simple in its design, the seal did not include an image and referred only to Natick’s date of incorporation (February 19th, 1781). It was not until 1899 that the Massachusetts General Court passed legislation requiring every city/town government to have a seal on all official documents. The town of Natick did not immediately pursue a redesign under the new law, and the 1876 redesign remained in use. (2)

The state’s legislation drew increased attention to town seals, however, and two years later, The Natick Bulletin lamented how plain Natick’s seal was compared to neighboring towns. In 1901, The Bulletin organized a schoolchildren competition to design a new seal worthy of the town’s long history. The competition organizers explained that a town seal: (3)

“should be emblematic. The design should not be merely artistic but full of meaning… Geographical features of towns are often represented, and if the scene is well chosen, favorable impressions of the town are gained by outsiders.”

Edith P. Roberts’ first place design (left, NHS Collections), Poster for Natick’s 250th Anniversary in 1901 (right, NHS Collections)

The winner of the 1901 competition was to be given a complete set of Longfellow’s poems bound in calf leather. Many submissions were sent in, and from those, the judges ranked their three favorite designs that would receive prizes for their work: in first place: Edith P. Roberts, in second: Marion Pooke, and in third: Sarah F. Whitney. There was controversy, however, when it was revealed that the winning design was copied from a poster publicizing Natick’s 250th anniversary (1901). As a result of this scandal, the town seal was never officially changed, and the 1876 seal remained in use. (4)

When the town began preparations for its 300th birthday in 1951, the Anniversary Committee adopted an official emblem to publicize all tercentennial events. George T. Hutchings, manager at Newton Memorial Art Company and Natick resident, designed the image. Town departments, civic organizations, and local businesses were encouraged to promote the events using the 300th-anniversary emblem on their stationery and advertising. Many local businesses adopted the suggestion and included Hutchings’ design in their advertisements. A town publication, the Natick List of Residents, also included the emblem on its 1951 cover—prior and subsequent covers featured the 1876 town seal. Although Hutchings’ design was created specifically for the tercentennial celebration and not intended to serve as a town seal, it would become the basis for a new town seal thirty years later. (5)

On October 16, 1980, in the fourth session of Special Town Meeting No. 3, the Town Clerk proposed an article to replace Natick’s town seal (the 1876 seal) with a new seal based on Hutchings’ 1951 design. The proposed new seal would be nearly identical to the 1951 design, except that the years “1651-1951” would be removed from the top scroll. Town Meeting passed the article, and Hutchings’ 1951 design appeared as Natick’s official seal on town publications by 1982. (6)

1951 Tercentennial Program cover featuring Hutchings’ design in background (left, Morse Institute Library Collections), 1951 newspaper ad featuring Hutchings’ design (center, NHS Collections), 1982 Annual Town Report featuring new official seal based on Hutchings’ 1951 design (right, NHS Collections)

By:

Niki Lefebvre, Executive Director
Rachel Speyer Besancon, Researcher