natick at night: music, dance & silent film in 1920s Natick

In the 1920s, Natick was a small town dependent on farming and small-scale industry, but it boasted two modern entertainment venues: the Riverside Ballroom and the Natick Theatre. This exhibit features seven broadsides from these venues that give us a glimpse into how Natick celebrated the “roaring” twenties.

You can check out the broadsides in the Natick History Museum and explore more content online, including links to silent films and Foxtrots!

“To have and to hold… forever”: 18TH-CENTURY land documents in Natick

This virtual exhibit showcases 18th-century land deeds and documents from the collections of the Natick Historical Society and the Morse Institute Library. Acquired by the two institutions throughout the twentieth century, the deeds provide insight into eighteenth-century Natick's physical layout and the community’s complex social and political dynamics.

You can now see four documents featured in this exhibit in person at the Natick History Museum.

Natick High School: Heart of the community

“If walls could talk, the Natick High School building that endured from 1856 until 1954 would have many stories to tell. It witnessed the enlightenment of young minds, brilliant teaching, the solidifying of lifelong friendships and romances, athletic triumphs and defeats, enriching extracurriculars, and some of the most formative years of students' lives over many generations. It also witnessed challenging times, most notably two world wars in which some of its students left and returned as forever-changed men and women. Some never came home again…”

To learn more and connect with the history of Natick High School over time, visit the museum to view over two dozen artifacts in person and check out our online content.

NATICK’S CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

What is a cabinet of curiosities? Dating back to the 1500s, wealthy merchants, princes, and naturalists collected and displayed objects they called “wonders” or “curiosities.” These displays exhibited the collector’s wealth, power, taste, and knowledge. Collectors highlighted objects they considered rare or bizarre, often representing people and places they viewed as foreign, exotic, or historic.

The founders of the Natick Historical Society established a museum to preserve artifacts and promote knowledge rather than a curiosity cabinet. However, the breadth and diversity of the Society’s early collections reflect the spirit of a curiosity cabinet.

Get curious. Explore and see what you can discover in our Cabinet of Curiosities. *Please note that the Malangan Mask, once featured in this exhibit has now been deaccessioned and is in the process of repatriation.

a glimpse of the past through rare books

Though published in Cambridge and Boston, some rare books in the NHS collections shed light on Natick's Indigenous and Puritan roots. The oldest of these books, published in 1685, is a Bible translated into Algonquian languages by local Indigenous translators, James Printer (Nipmuc) and Job Nesuton (Massachusett), who worked with Puritan missionary John Eliot.

Across the Centuries: Looking at Local Objects

The objects in this exhibit connect us with people who have lived in the Natick area across the centuries, beginning more than 5,000 years ago.

When considered carefully, objects can reveal intimate details of people’s lives, from the mundane to the extraordinary. When you visit this exhibit, look closely for a worn edge, some tarnish, or a tear to give you a sense of how an object was handled. If there are few signs of use, perhaps the object was a cherished heirloom or held value of another kind.

Online resource: “I heard that word…”: A closer look at Indigenous experiences in early Newton & 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.

Check it out HERE.

ONLINE EXHIBIT: COLLECTING HOUSEHOLD TREASURES FROM THE PAST

Natick High School students Jake, Jimmy, and Max Kilroy are passionate about local history and artifact hunting in Natick. They’ve shared some of their favorite finds in this online exhibit with the Natick Historical Society. Check it out here.