Stow, MA
Stow was incorporated in 1683, beginning as a rural farming community shaped by its fields, forests, and the Assabet River. Unlike many nearby towns that grew into centers of industry, Stow remained closely tied to the land, defined by agriculture and open space rather than mills and factories. Over time, it became a place of preservation, where the landscape itself, orchards, conservation land, and quiet roads, reflects a continuity with its earliest days. Today, Stow offers a different kind of history, one not built on rapid change, but on what has been carefully maintained, where the character of the town is still rooted in the land that first defined it.
Recent Posts
War Memorial
Standing in the center of Stow is a memorial that has grown over more than a century to tell the story of generations of local men and women who served their country. The central portion began as Stow’s memorial to those who served in World War I. According to the town’s published history, the memorial […]
First Parish Church
Standing on Stow Common, the First Parish Church has been at the heart of the community for more than three centuries. While the present church was completed in 1848 after an earlier meetinghouse was destroyed by fire, the congregation dates to 1683, the same year Stow was incorporated. In colonial Massachusetts, establishing a church and […]
Stone Shelter
Stow is a town where much of its history reveals itself through quiet structures that still stand as part of the landscape. This stone shelter, marked simply “Stow“, is one of those features that draws my attention and makes me want to learn more. In the early 20th century, Stow was connected to a much […]
Pompositticut
These Tercentenary road signs are located around Massachusetts. I look for them. This weather marker is located in Stow and holds the earliest name of the place. The sign tells us that this land was once known as Pompositticut, settled by English colonists around 1660, and later incorporated as Stow in 1683. These markers were placed along the state […]
