entering natick sign

entering natick sign

Natick Report

More than you really want to know about Natick, Mass.

  • Subscribe to daily email
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Summer Camp
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters to the editor
  • Redhawks sports schedule & results
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Events
  • Kids
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Top 10 things to do
  • The Swellesley Report
  • Beyond Natick
  • History
  • Government
  • Seniors
  • Support independent journalism
  • Natick Nest articles
  • Fire & police scanner
  • Town Election 2023


Natick history: The Charles River

April 25, 2022 by Admin Leave a Comment

Special to Natick Report from the Natick Historical Society

Some stretches of the Charles River in South Natick still look much the way they did when the “Praying Indians” and Rev. John Eliot did their first walk-around at the site and decided to build a town in 1651.

This waterway was a source of food for the Algonquian Indians, and they quickly built a bridge (now the Pleasant Street bridge) to connect their farms on either shore. The river was a well-traveled route to Boston and other towns along its 80-mile course. In time the mills of Thomas Sawin (1657-1727) and other water-powered enterprises were built along the northern bank.

Two iconic features of the river are visible to motorists on Eliot Street (Route 16) and, of course, to hardy river travelers in kayaks and canoes. A stunning red Japanese-style footbridge crosses the Charles on private property upstream from the Pleasant Street bridge, and a picturesque white statue of the Virgin Mary stands on a rock on the south shore a short distance upstream from the footbridge. We have Daniel Sargent and his wife, Louise Coolidge Sargent, to thank for both of them.

south natick red bridge

 

Daniel Sargent (1890-1987), the uncle of former Massachusetts Gov. Francis Sargent, was a World War I veteran who taught history and the history of English literature at Harvard. He and Louise bought riverfront property in South Natick for a summer home (it became their permanent home), and later purchased land directly across the river. To connect their two properties, they built the private footbridge on the foundations of a dam that Thomas Sawin had dismantled in 1723.

Near the bridge, on a rocky formation at the water’s edge, the statute of the Virgin Mary in prayer keeps watch over the Charles. It was Louise Sargent’s idea to erect the statue there in 1929. The Sargents believed it symbolizes “the desire to overcome evil, with the snake beneath her feet.” The statue was carved from Indiana limestone by John Howard Benson (1901-1956) of Rhode Island, whose other projects included many notable works in the early 1900s.

The words carved at the base of the statue are “Apparverunt in terra nostra flores.” This can be translated as “flowers shall appear on our earth.” Sargent planted several varieties of rhododendron along the river bank, just upstream from the footbridge. These bloom at different times in different colors, so that the floral display continues throughout the late spring and early summer in an annual celebration of the statue’s inscription.

MaryStatue_NatickHistSoc

 

The historic Charles River in South Natick has always been a distinctive part of the local landscape. The native trees and bushes on its banks in Natick are not particularly unusual, but without question they looked about the same 365 years ago, especially along the sector of the Charles where both banks lie within the Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary.


Story and image courtesy of the Natick Historical Society

Natick History Museum: 58 Eliot Street (Route 16), Natick

(508) 647-4841


Subscribe to our Natick Report daily email

Filed Under: History, Outdoors

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Advertisements





Tip us off!

Please send news tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com

If you’d like to contribute $ to support our independent journalism venture, please do….

Advertisements

Categories

  • Animals
  • Art
  • Bacon Free Library
  • Beyond Natick
  • Books
  • Boston Marathon
  • Business
  • Camps
  • Charity/Fundraising
  • Charles River dam
  • Community
  • Construction
  • COVID-19
  • Education
  • Election
  • Embracing diversity
  • Entertainment
  • Environment
  • Fashion
  • Firefighters
  • Food
  • Gardens
  • Government
  • Health
  • History
  • Holidays
  • Kids
  • Letters to the editor
  • Media
  • Military
  • Morse Institute Library
  • Music
  • Natick Election 2022
  • Natick Historical Society
  • Natick History Museum
  • Natick Nest
  • Natick track
  • Neighbors
  • Obituaries & remembrances
  • Opinion
  • Outdoors
  • Parents
  • Police & crime
  • Real estate
  • Recycling Center
  • Religion
  • Restaurants
  • Schools
  • Seniors
  • Shopping
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Theater
  • Town election 2021
  • Town Election 2023
  • Transportation
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Vacation
  • Veterans
  • Volunteering
  • Voting
  • Weather
lion publishers
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Get our email newsletter

* indicates required
Our newsletter is free, though we gladly accept contributions to support our work.

Most Read Posts

  • '60 Minutes' segment on Natick couple's harassment by eBay execs airing Sunday, March 26
  • One high school student’s push to save Natick ballroom hidden in plain sight
  • Natick business buzz: Mr. Nice Dog coming to Rte. 9; Dairy Queen is back; The Hive readies to reveal
  • Sign up now for summer camp in Natick (and beyond)
  • Natick's Wilson Middle school enriched with cafeteria composting program

Click image to read The Swellesley Report

The Swellesley Report

Upcoming Events

Apr 1
11:30 am - 1:30 pm

Fair in the Square, Wellesley

Apr 11
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Online meeting to address flooding in Natick

Apr 29
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Metrowest Rocks concert to benefit Actor’s Company of Natick

May 20
10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Supercar show

View Calendar

Pages

  • Letters to the editor on Natick Report
  • Guidelines for Natick Report letters to the editor
  • Natick election 2023—guidelines for promoting candidates and ballot questions
  • Natick’s 2023 Boston Marathon charity runners
  • Natick, Massachusetts libraries
  • Comment Policy
  • Bacon Free Library in Natick, hours for winter 2023
  • Morse Institute Library in Natick—hours for winter 2023
  • Resources for seniors in Natick, Mass.
  • Natick Report corrections policy
  • Scenic Roads in Natick
  • Where to stay in Natick, Mass. (hotels, inns)
  • Private Schools in Natick (and beyond)
  • Natick Summer Camps (and beyond)
  • Where to eat in Natick, Mass: more that 70 dining options
  • Natick, Mass., history
  • Natick government
  • Natick No-Nos
  • Embracing diversity in Natick
  • Where to worship in Natick
  • Kid stuff (sports, clubs, activities in Natick, Mass.)
  • Contribute to Natick Report
  • Natick Little Free Libraries
  • Natick public schools
  • Where to sled in Natick, Mass.
  • Natick COVID-19 & vaccine news
  • Natick’s zip code & post offices
  • Natick charitable and community action groups
  • Top 10 things to do in Natick, Mass.
  • Natick Arts/Entertainment
  • About Natick Report
  • Advertise on Natick Report
  • Natick rules: Chickens yes, roosters no
  • Natick Election 2023, political candidates advertising
  • Natick election 2022—candidate interviews

© 2023 Natick Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login