More than 350 years ago, when a handful of men first settled the area around the Charles River that is now known as Wellesley, they were so delighted with their new town that they named it "Contentment." Although the name has changed over the centuries, the feeling of pride and satisfaction on the part of the residents toward their home still remains strong.
In the 1630s, after negotiations with Indian Chiefs Nehoiden and Maugus (whose names are still seen in town today), the first nineteen hardy pioneers paid five pounds of currency and three pounds of corn for the land which would become Wellesley. At the time, it made up part of a larger town, named Dedham. The land was good and within 75 years enough families were living in a section of Dedham so that a new town split off, named Needham. The western part of this new town, the part which was to become Wellesley, was called West Needham, and spent most of the 18th and 19th centuries as a small, quiet farming town. Men from West Needham joined their neighbors to fight and die at the beginning of the Revolutionary War at Concord on April 18, 1775, and at Gettysburg less than a century later.
In the 1820s farmers drove their produce to Faneuil Hall Market in Boston, and returned home to the popular clubs of the day: the "Newton, Needham and Natick Society for Apprehending Horse Thieves," and the Temperance Society. Then, in the 1830s, the railroad came to town, bringing Boston businessmen and the most modern way of life, forever changing the face of the quiet town.
Progress continued to come rapidly, and within a decade the most modern conveniences had replaced the kerosene lanterns, the puddled paths overgrown with grass, and the cattle and grocers' wagons which had filled the streets. The town fathers, with money, political experience and community spirit behind them, decided that Wellesley should develop as a carefully planned and lovingly nurtured new town. Whatever was best, that was what Wellesley would have. Before the turn of the century there were: railroad stations designed by H.H. Richardson and Frederick Law Olmsted, America's greatest landscape architect; the first golf course in Massachusetts; a pioneering water system; commissioners to lay out park lands; Town Improvement Societies; town playgrounds; trolley cars; excellent schools; carefully planned neighborhoods; and, most important, a sense of optimism and pride.
Through the foresight of town fathers who in 1914 made Wellesley the first town in America to adopt zoning laws, Wellesley grew into a beautiful town. By the 1920s it was recognized as one of the leading suburbs of Boston, becoming a center for shopping when Filene's department store opened its first branch.
The affluence and prosperity of the 20th century have left their mark on Wellesley, which has become a well-regarded suburb featuring a school system recognized as one of the best in the state. Although the town has always had the finest of beautiful land and homes, of schools and colleges, and every advantage of government, there are many who feel that her greatest resource has been her people.
More than 100 years ago, when the founding fathers of Wellesley adopted a design for the new town seal, they selected one made up of three symbols: arrows and tomahawks for the Indians; a book for the colleges and schools; and a flower to honor the world-renowned gardens of Hunnewell, the town benefactor. Today, the town seal has come to take on even more meaning. The reference to the Indians reminds us of the importance of understanding and appreciating the remarkable history of the town. The book emphasizes Wellesley's current dedication to education (through three colleges and an outstanding public school system) and to providing a remarkable quality of life for her residents. And, finally, the flower in the seal symbolizes the town's concern for its future. By providing new open space (particularly through the purchase of Centennial Park, the town's 100th birthday gift to itself), by recycling historic buildings instead of replacing them, and by continuing the level of pride in our town shown by Wellesley's leaders throughout the years, Wellesley's residents are pledging to future citizens gifts of immeasurable value: land, the beauty of nature, and the rare treasure of a community truly pledged to cooperation and unity.
- From www.WellesleyMA.gov. Written by Beth Hinchliffe
