Farewell to the South Natick Dam: Honoring the Place That Shaped My Years

For almost 40 years, I’ve called South Natick home. While it’s never been the place where I’ve felt deeply rooted, it’s where I raised my children, built our businesses, and lived a full chapter of life.

Now, as I begin to explore the rich history that surrounds us, there’s no better place to start than the South Natick Dam.

This dam has been a quiet, constant landmark for as long as we’ve lived here. We’ve taken countless photos of its rushing waters, walked our dogs to its banks, launched our canoe from its edge, and watched the seasons shift through the branches of the willows Emmy so beautifully captured with her lens.

But soon, that view will be only a memory.

Our town has voted to remove the dam—a decision made for reasons I do not fully agree with. And yet, I know change is coming. This familiar place, where water has flowed and families have gathered, will one day be gone.

So I begin this journey, of exploring the history of South Natick, with the dam as my starting point. As we look forward to what this landscape will become, I want to honor what it has been. Because even in a place where I never quite felt rooted, the memories made along this river have shaped a life I’ll always cherish.