Quick History Stops: Framingham, MA

Back in June, I visited Framingham and Sudbury in Massachusetts for a day away. During that time, I visited the Danforth Museum and took quick history stops in Framingham, including a state park, historic buildings around the original center of town, and a cemetery.

A small body of water surrounded by trees and reflecting the sky. An old stone wall in the forest A white-painted neoclassical municipal building across a parking lot.

My first stop was at Callahan State Park and Baiting-Brook Welsh managed by Sudbury Valley Trustees Reservation, a nonprofit land trust that conserves forests, wetlands, and grasslands between Worcester and Boston, totaling over 6,300 acres of land. The organization was founded in 1953, while the Baiting-Brook Welsh portion was bought by the organization in 1992. The area is named for Margaret Pearmain Welch, a Boston-based Quaker pacifist and human rights activist who donated land to the organization near the time of its inception. The Bay Circuit Trail runs through the area, connecting the Greater Boston area with over 230 miles of paths. Other historical stops on the Bay Circuit Trail appearing on the blog include Historic New England’s Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Old Bridgewater Historical Society, The Trustees of Reservation’s Appleton Farms, and Bradley Palmer State Park.

A Victorian Gothic-style stone building with a metal statue of a American Civil War soldier in front. A neoclassical style bank building with white-painted pillars and a red brick body. A colonial revival style mid 20th century red brick church building.

In the middle of Framingham is Centre Common Historic District, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990 and has its own self-guided walking tour created by the Framingham History Center (FHC). The common was established during the 1730s and is surrounded by buildings constructed throughout the 19th century. Village Hall on the Common was constructed in 1834 and now owned by FHC, which rents out rooms for special events. Nearby is Edgell Memorial Library, constructed in 1872 to honor veterans of the American Civil War and fittingly including a statue of a soldier. The library became part of FHS in 1963 after a new library opened and is recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as “one of the few remaining Victorian Gothic-style buildings in the area”. Across the road is the neoclassical NorthEast Community Bank (NECB) building. The bank was founded in 1934 in New York City but has since spread throughout New York state and a few towns in Massachusetts. The building itself was constructed in 1969, expertly designed to blend in with the older buildings, and has always served as a bank.

A colonial revival style early 20th century red brick church building. Greek Revival style, rubble stone building

Next up was Captain Eliphalet Wheeler House, a Federal style building constructed for a veteran from the War of 1812 and still privately owned. Neighboring the house was First Parish Church in Framingham Universalist Unitarian, constructed in 1927 after the previous church had burned down. This was the fifth church building for a congregation that began in 1701 and has been Unitarian since a schism in 1830. Directly across the street is nearly identical Plymouth Church in Framingham, built in 1968 to mirror its older sister. The congregation was known as Hollis Evangelical Congregational Church right after the schism. My favorite fact about the church was that The Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe was allegedly song in public for the first time at this church in 1862, as it had been the meeting place of the Framingham Anti-Slavery Society since 1837. However, larger rallies hosted by the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society were held two miles away in Harmony Grove, which is now a housing development.

Bright yellow, two-story, Federal-style house A Victorian Gothic style chapel in a cemetery A Victorian Gothic style mausoleum

The last building I visited on the Centre Common was Old Academy Building, constructed in the Greek Revival style out of rubble stone in 1837 to replace the Brick School. The building has belong to FHC since 1915, when it was known as the Framingham Historical and Natural History Society. Finally, I stopped at Edgell Grove Cemetery and Mausoleum and looked at a few houses along the way. At 33 Grove Street was a gorgeous, bright yellow, 1812 Federal style home previously restored by Colonial Revival expert Wallace Nutting. Other Nutting houses featured on the blog include his own mansion, Wentworth-Gardner House in Portsmouth, NH; the Iron Works House in Saugus, MA, now maintained by the National Park Service; and Historic New England’s Swett-Ilsley House in Newbury, MA. Unlike the museums, this own could be yours for about $790,000 at the time of writing.

A reproduction Victorian Gothic style cemetery building. A stone carved with the words Edgell Grove Cemetery and Mausoleum A two-story, red brick, federal style house

The cemetery got its name from Colonel Moses Edgell, who donated his land on Grove Street in 1846 as a burial ground. Brigadier General Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn designed the cemetery for only $5.50. During his career, he served in the War of 1812, served as the Mayor of Roxbury, wrote several books, and helped to found the Massachusetts Horticultural Society as its first president in 1829. It was opened for burials on Friday, October 13, 1848; whoever planned the event was evidently superstitious. An addition to the cemetery include the granite gate designed by Framingham resident Alexander Rice Esty and opened in 1875. His greatest achievement came a few years later when he designed the interior of the United States Library of Congress. The cemetery contains four Victorian Gothic style buildings. The Chapel and Tomb House were constructed in 1885, while the Mausoleum and an office came later. So far, over 13,000 people have been buried there, and there is room left for you, provided that you are a resident of Framingham.

Location: Framingham, MA, USA