Timeline

1600s- From its earliest settlement by English colonists in the 1600s through the first half of the 1900s, Stow was first and foremost a farming community. In 1686, its population of 37 settlers occupied a dozen or so farms. By 1870 the town had 150 farms, focused mostly on beef, milk and hay production, and counting 600 cows. By 1900 it had fewer farms, but some 1,000 cows.
1660- Stow’s first settler was Matthew Boon, who established a farm in 1660 near Boon Pond – today, the much-enlarged Lake Boon. Legend has it that Boon acquired his land by trading a jackknife to the Nipmuc People, who had occupied the region for many years. A second family, John and Elizabeth Kettell, settled on the western side of today’s Stow a few years later. Other farmers were eyeing the land, obtaining a grant from Massachusetts Bay Colony for a settlement known as Pompositticut Plantation (Pompositticut is a Native American word said to mean “land of many hills”).
1683- Over the years, the society has helped in the planning of the Stow West School restoration and the formation of the Stow Minuteman Company. It has focused on special events including art shows, farm shows, dedications, tours and, of course, Spring fest, the town-wide celebration of the incorporation of Stow in 1683.
1775- In the period leading up to April 19, 1775, colonists, fearing a British move to seize arms stored in Concord, moved a portion of them to Stow. Cannon were hidden in the woods surrounding the Lower Common, gunpowder and other armaments in the Meeting House and a small powderhouse on Pilot Grove Hill. Stow citizens made up several companies of Minutemen, training on the Lower Common and ready to move out on short notice.
1812- Sawmills, grist mills and cider mills came to Stow almost from its beginning. Textile mills came as early as 1812, when several entrepreneurs established the Rock Bottom Cotton and Woolen Company (the community name Rock Bottom came from someone shouting that a laborer digging a hole had “hit rock bottom!”).
1848- The Rock Bottom mill operation had gone through several owners when it was acquired by businessmen Benjamin Gleason and Samuel Dale in 1848. Rebuilt following a fire in 1852, the business prospered, doing especially well during the Civil War manufacturing cloth for clothing and blankets for the Union Army. Eventually, the Gleason family bought out the Dales and the company continued under Gleason ownership well into the 20^th Century.
1900s- As the 20^th Century began, some Stow farmers turned to orchards, raising apples and other fruits. More than a dozen commercial orchards operated in the town. Today, five working apple orchards operate in Stow, emphasizing the “pick-your-own” experience that, on some fall days, draws as many as 10,000 apple-seekers from throughout New England.
1920s- The Assabet Lodge was established on While Pond Road in the early 20^th Century, Assabet Lodge was a resort featuring tiny cabins, boating and fishing, and a nine-hole golf course. By the 1950s, most of the resort had disappeared – but the nine-hole course remained as Stowaway Golf Course.
1926- Robert H. Hawkins is the first African American to build, own, and operate a golf course in Massachusetts. Originally named Mapledale Country Club, Robert H. Hawkins purchased the Randall Estate and would host the first three UGA Open Championship golf tournaments in 1926, 1927, and 1928 before closing in 1929 under the weight of the Great Depression.
1933- But overall, farming declined. By 1933, the number of farms was down to 22. By 1974, only two dairy farms remained. By 1983, dairy farms were completely gone. And commercial poultry farming disappeared.
1940s- If there were justice, the butternut squash would be known as the Stow Butternut Squash, since it was developed by Stow farmer Charles Leggett at his property on Gleasondale Road in the 1940s. Leggett was looking for a squash that was more tender than a Hubbard and more efficient to ship than a Gooseneck. After he introduced it to scientists as the Waltham Field Station (who acknowledged his role) it was tagged as the Waltham Butternut. But it’s really the Stow Butternut Squash.
1961- Following its founding in 1961, the Society emphasized development of research papers about Stow. In monthly meetings Society members presented “white papers” on topics ranging from the backgrounds of historic building like Whitman’s Tavern (now a residence at Honey Pot Hill Orchard) to memoirs about living and growing up in Stow to the devastating effects of the Hurricane of 1938.
2000- During World War II, a portion of Stow on its eastern side became part of an military ammunition storage depot. In 2000, after service as an annex to the U.S. Army’s Fort Devens, it was turned over to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and now is the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.
2011- To mark the Society’s 50^th anniversary in 2011, the Society sealed the Stow Time Capsule, to be opened on its 100^th anniversary in 2061. contents include “letters to the future” and artifacts as diverse as newspapers, photographs of 2011 Stow, books, brochures, Stow restaurant menus, golf course scorecards and labels from the town’s famed apple orchards.