First Parish Church
In the center of Sherborn stands the First Parish in Sherborn, the town’s original church, whose history reaches back to 1685. Just eleven years after Sherborn was incorporated in 1674, the parish formally gathered, establishing the religious and civic heart of the young community.
In colonial Massachusetts, a “parish” was more than a congregation. It was the foundation of town life. The meetinghouse served not only for worship but for civic gatherings, town decisions, and the shaping of community identity. The minister was supported by local taxes, and participation in parish life was woven into the fabric of daily existence. To establish a parish was to declare that settlement had taken root.
Today, the church stands at the center of Sherborn as both a historic landmark and a living institution. Its presence connects the modern town to its earliest settlers, reminding visitors that long before suburban development, this was a gathering place of a small colonial community determined to shape both it spiritual and civic life.
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Emily the Cow
In Sherborn, this memorial stands for a cow whose life became a symbol of compassion in our time. Emily’s story belongs to the late twentieth century. After escaping from a slaughterhouse in 1995, she was taken in by the Peace Abbey, a sanctuary devoted to nonviolence, humanitarian causes and animal welfare. There she lived out the remainder of […]
Conscientious Objectors Memorial
Among the many memorials that stand throughout New England, few are as unique as this one. Rather than honoring soldiers, political leaders, or pioneers, this monument remembers men and women whose lives were devoted to a different calling, the pursuit of peace. Its inscription reads: “May honor be bestowed on these conscientious objectors who walked […]
Boggestow
Before it was called Sherborn, the area was known as Boggestow, a native place name that likely described the landscape, interpreted as “rocky” or “hilly” land. The region was inhabited by the Massachusett people, specifically bands connected to the Nipmuc and other Algonquian-speaking tribes of central Massachusetts. The Massachusett were part of a larger network of Native communities living throughout eastern and central […]
