|
Before the first settlers
arrived in the area in 1636, the Algonquin Indians living there called
the area Tiot.
In 1635, the area was part of
the Massachusetts Bay Colony. There were rumors that an Indian war was
pending and that the coastal communities were in danger of attack. For
this reason and to relieve growing population pressure on the coast,
the Massachusetts General Court established the inland communities of
Concord and Dedham between the coastal communities and the Indians in
the west.
Dedham was settled in the summer
of 1636 when about 30 families traveled up the Charles River to today’s
Ames Street, near the Dedham Community House and the Allin
Congregational Church in Dedham Square. Settlers had asked that the
name “Contentment” be given to the town. But on September 7, 1636, when
the town was incorporated, the General Court named the town, Dedham. It
was named for Dedham in Essex County, England. The community
established a town meeting form of government which elected selectman
to handle most of the town’s affairs.
The original grant of land that
became Dedham stretched from Boston’s border to Rhode Island. As Dedham
grew in the 1600’s and residents moved away from the center of town,
new towns were established, starting with Medfield in 1651 and Needham
in 1711. Other towns would follow giving Dedham the designation “Mother
of Towns”.
During the Revolutionary War in
1775 and 1776, the majority of men that were able served in the Siege
of Boston.
When Norfolk County was
established in 1793, Dedham became the county seat or shire town.
In the early 1800’s, turnpikes
were built linking Boston, Providence and Hartford, making Dedham a
major thoroughfare. A number of inns and taverns were established in
Dedham to serve travelers on these roads. In the 1830’s, the railroad
came town.
Mother Brook, a canal that was
dug in the 1630’s to connect the Charles River to the Eastbrook,
provided water power that was needed for various industries during the
1800’s. Gradually, these industries closed down due to economic
pressures by the end of World War I. At the same time, agricultural
areas gave way to economic and residential development.
|
