Medfield

History

The territory that Medfield now occupies was, at the time of colonization, Neponset land. As part of the English settlement of the area, it was sold by the Neponset leader Chickatabot to William Pynchon in the late 1620s. In 1633, Chickatabot died in a smallpox epidemic that decimated nearby Neponset, Narragansett and Pequot communities. Because Chickatabot and Pynchon's deal left no written deed, the Massachusetts General Court ordered "those Indians who were present when Chickatabot sold lands to Mr. Pynchon, or who know where they were, to set out the bounds thereof". Fifty years later, Chickatabot's grandson Josias Wampatuck brought a land claim against Medfield and the other towns created within the borders of the Chickatabot purchase, for which he received payment. Of those lands, Dedham was the first town formed. The majority of present-day Medfield had been granted to Dedham in 1636, but the lands on the western bank of the Charles River had been meted out by the General Court to individuals. Edward Alleyn, for example, had been granted 300 acres in 1642. Dedham asked the General Court for some of those lands and, on October 23, 1649, the Court granted the request so long as they established a separate village there within one year. Medfield (New Dedham) was first settled in 1649, principally by people who relocated from the former town. The first 13 house lots were laid out on June 19, 1650. Dedham sent Eleazer Lusher, Joshua Fisher, Henry Phillips, John Dwight, and Daniel Fisher to map out an area three miles by four miles and the colony sent representatives to set the boundaries on the opposite side of the river. The land that Dedham contributed to the new village became Medfield, and the land the colony contributed eventually broke away to become Medway…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.6 square miles (37.8 km), of which 14.5 square miles (37.6 km) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km) (0.62%) is water. The Charles River borders almost one-third of Medfield. Medfield is surrounded by the towns Dover, Norfolk, Walpole, Millis, and Sherborn. The Charles River marks the Millis border.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  70,624
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  68,148
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  65,198
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  61,170
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  55,116
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  50,525
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  49,835
• White-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta carolinensis Latham, 1790 · Aves
  47,037

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2020-11-08
  10 km S of Bliss Corner, Massachusetts
• M 2.7 — 2018-02-15
  0 km SE of East Kingston, New Hampshire
• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.5 — 2007-10-19
  2 km WSW of Littleton Common, Massachusetts
• M 2.5 — 2005-11-17
  4 km S of Plymouth, Massachusetts