Framingham MA

Framingham was settled in 1650 along the Sudbury River and was officially incorporated as a town on June 25, 1700, with 350 founding residents and 76 families living there by that year. The town's name honors Framlingham, England, hometown of Thomas Danforth, an early landholder who accumulated over 15,000 acres in the area. Framingham grew steadily as a farming community through the 18th century, and its central location between Boston and Worcester later made it an important stop on stagecoach lines and rail routes. In 1853, Framingham became home to the first public normal school in America, which had originally been established in Lexington in 1839 and later grew into Framingham State University. After 318 years as a town, Framingham voted to become a city, with the change taking effect on January 1, 2018.