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Natick

Natick, Massachusetts
Town
Natick center
Natick center
Official seal of Natick, Massachusetts
Seal
Nickname(s): Home of Champions
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°17′00″N 71°21′00″W / 42.28333°N 71.35000°W / 42.28333; -71.35000Coordinates: 42°17′00″N 71°21′00″W / 42.28333°N 71.35000°W / 42.28333; -71.35000
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Middlesex
Settled 1652
Incorporated 1781
Government
 • Type Representative town meeting
Area
 • Total 16.1 sq mi (41.6 km2)
 • Land 15.1 sq mi (39.1 km2)
 • Water 1.0 sq mi (2.5 km2)
Elevation 181 ft (55 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 32,786
 • Density 2,171.3/sq mi (838.5/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 01760
Area code(s) 508 / 774 / 617
FIPS code 25-43895
GNIS feature ID 0619407
Website www.natickma.gov

Natick /ˈntk/ is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Natick is located near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 32,786 at the 2010 census. Only 10 miles (16 km) west from Boston, Natick is considered part of the Greater Boston area. The center of population of Massachusetts in 2000 was located in Natick. A 2014 census shows Natick's population was 34,230. This means between 2010 and 2014 Natick grew 3.6%, making it one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the Boston area.

The name Natick comes from the language of the Massachusett Native American tribe and is commonly considered to mean place of hills. However, a more accurate translation may be place of (our) searching, named to celebrate John Eliot's successful search for a location for his Praying Indian settlement.

Natick was first settled in 1652 by John Eliot, a Puritan missionary born in Widford, Hertfordshire, England who received a commission and funds from England's Long Parliament to settle the Massachusett Indians on both sides of the Charles River, on land deeded from the settlement at Dedham. They were called Praying Indians – Natick was the first and for a long time served as the center of Eliot's network of praying towns. While the towns were largely self-governing under Indian leaders, the praying Indians were subject to rules governing conformity to English Puritan culture (in practice Natick, like the other praying towns, evidenced a combination of traditional and English culture and practices). Eliot and Praying Indian translators printed America's first written Bible in the Algonquian language.


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