Medfield, Massachusetts

Medfield is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, an affluent community about 17 miles southwest of Boston. Medfield (New Dedham) was originally a part of Dedham, incorporated in 1636. Medfield was first settled in 1649, mainly by people who relocated from Dedham. The first 13 house lots were laid out in June 1650. In May 1651, the town was incorporated by an act of the Massachusetts General Court.

Medfield’s Free Public Library began in 1873. The public library is located on Main Street. In the late 18th century, some of the residents formed a subscription library, called the Medfield Social Library.

Points of interest in Medfield include: Rocky Woods (a 491-acre reservation in the northeast part of town), Noon Hill (at 370 feet, the highest point in Medfield), Peak House (burned down during King Philip’s War in 1676 and then re-built in 1680), The Dwight-Derby House (one of only several dozen documented 17th century houses still standing), Hinkley Pond (named after Vietnam fatality Stephen Hinkley, a native of Medfield), Lowell Mason Museum and Music Center (birthplace of Lowell Mason and a rare example of First Period American architecture and construction), Kingsbury Pond (named after Amos Clark Kingsbury, who fought in almost every major battle in France during World War I) and Metacomet Park (named after King Philip, chief of the Wampanoag Indians and their leader in the King Philip War).