The geometric pattern at the bottom of the mural is inspired by a patchwork quilt. Quilts have played an important role in Massachusetts since at least the early 1700s. Before the Revolutionary War, wealthy families imported fabrics from Europe to make quilts, while rural families relied on homemade thread and fabric. This all changed with manufacturing advancements in the late 18th century. Inventions like the power loom and cotton gin made quilt-making more affordable, accessible, and efficient for women of all walks of life. By the mid-1800s, New England was the epicenter of this industrial boom, with textile factories employing thousands of women to make colorful print fabrics. 

During this period, women’s clothing styles also changed and dresses were no longer made from the entire width of manufactured fabric. This left behind small scraps of fabric, leading to the rise of patchwork and block quilts. More complex designs became popular, which were then spread across the country in the “ladies” section of newspapers and farmers journals. As factory-made textiles continued to become commonplace throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, quilting gradually shifted from an everyday necessity into the creative hobby and artform we know today.

Within the quilt squares are symbols inspired by those on traditional Nipmuc splint baskets, which were made for a variety of purposes such as storage or carrying water. Before Stow was established as a colonial settlement, it was home to indigenous peoples including the Nipmuc, who lived in parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The Nipmuc were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers who moved seasonally, hunting, fishing, and growing crops such as corn, beans, and squash. The Nipmuc knew the area as Pompositticut. Land was gradually ceded to surrounding towns, leaving behind the area we now recognize as present-day Stow. 

In the late 17th century, King Philip’s War erupted amid increasing English settlement and the loss of Native land. The Nipmuc were among the Indigenous peoples involved in the conflict, although different Nipmuc communities supported both the Native resistance and the English colonists. Regardless of which side they supported, the war had devastating consequences for Indigenous people and marked a major turning point in the balance of power and control of land in the region.

The Minuteman Airfield was established in 1966 when Paul McPherson purchased a 1700 ft grass landing strip off of Boxboro Rd. Together with his son Don, he installed modern facilities such as a paved runway, a building to house airport operations, new gas pumps, and tie-downs for up to fifty planes. Paul’s wife and daughter also opened a small coffee shop called “Peg’s Place” on the property. It was later run as “Nancy’s Airfield Cafe" by Don's wife before it was sold and transformed into “Fourth and Field” by restaurateur Melissa Simon.

Over the years, additional improvements have been made including adding more storage and maintenance hangars, extending the existing runway, and adding a second runway. Today, the airfield property also hosts a flight school and airplane mechanic school, further amplifying its impact on the local aviation community.

The original Stow Town Hall was constructed in 1848 by carpenter Micah Smith for $2,559.73, worth about $108,000 today. It was designed in the Greek Revival Style, featuring a boxy white structure, pointed roof, and tall columns. For many years, the Town Hall served as the center of social life in Stow, hosting functions such as dances and civic events, in addition to government operations. In 1989, a new Town Building was established across the street to hold more offices and meeting spaces, supporting Stow’s evolution from a farming town into a suburban community.

Like many other New England towns, Stow’s government is based on the Town Meeting model where residents gather at least once a year to vote on agenda items such as the municipal budget and town bylaws and elect certain government officials. A five person Select Board serves as the town’s executive branch and usually meets bi-weekly. They appoint people to non-elected town positions, issue town meeting warrants, and approve permits, among other duties. The Town Administrator handles the day-to-day operations of the town and assists the Select Board in coordinating with other town and local agencies.

In 1851, a prominent naturalist, poet, and art collector named John Witt Randall donated $25,000 to the town of Stow in addition to 700 books from his personal collection. After his death, his sister Belinda directed that those funds be used to build a library in Randall’s name. A permanent trust fund of $12,500 was also established with money from Randall’s estate, which is still used to support the library today. Over the years, the Randall Library has been renovated and expanded multiple times. The Whitney family donated the Whitney Room in 1920 out of their wills and a significant addition was added in 1975 to expand the existing building’s basement into more space for . Recently, a significant renovation was completed which replaced the 1975 addition with new spaces for books and programming, while maintaining the original historical building.

In order for Stow to be incorporated as a town in the late 17th century, it was legally required to have an established church and orthodox minister. The first meetinghouse in Stow was built near the lower village cemetery around 1683. It was called the First Parish, simply because it was the first church established in the town, also known as a parish. During this time period, meetinghouses hosted both religious services and town meetings. Over the years, a series of several progressively larger and more elaborate meetinghouses were built, with the fourth constructed on the site of the present-day church. 

In the 1830s, Massachusetts voted to separate the church and state, setting the stage for the First Parish to convert to Unitarianism. Despite these changes, the building was still used for town meetings until the Town Hall was built in 1848 and remained town property until 1906. A new church was built on the same site after a fire destroyed the old one in 1847. Several additions and renovations have been conducted over the years to incorporate more meeting spaces, add rooms for religious education, and preserve the historical building. In 2026, the First Parish Church of Stow and Acton was merged with the Unitarian Church of Marlborough and Hudson and is now known as the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in the Assabet Valley.

Stow has always been an agricultural community and consisted of close to a dozen small family farms in 1686. However, with the dawn of the railroad in the mid-19th century, Stow's farms became less profitable. Many farmers changed what they were growing to more competitive products that could be easily transported by train to Boston. By 1870, Stow was home to over 150 farms focused on raising cows for dairy and cultivating hay. Poultry farming also became popular through the mid-20th century. However, all these agricultural specialties eventually declined and by 1983 all commercial poultry and dairy farms had closed. Today, Stow’s remaining produce farms sell the majority of their crops at their own farmstands instead of exporting them for wholesale.

Aside from commercial agriculture, Stow is also famous for the invention of the butternut squash. In the 1940s, Charles Leggett crossed a Gooseneck with other varieties of squash to produce a compact squash with easy-to-prepare flesh. Leggett brought his invention to the Waltham Field Station where Robert E. Young eventually developed the Waltham Butternut Squash. It was said that the squash was “smooth as butter and sweet as a nut,” leading to its name.

The first documented instance of apples being grown in Stow comes from Abijah Warren, who wrote about planting apples at his Pilot Grove Farm in April 1794. Cider mills began to operate from small groves of trees in Stow as early as the late 1800s, with large orchards starting to exist after the turn of the century. At one point, there were over a dozen working orchards operating in Stow. Some of these orchards included Fruit Acres, which had over 4,000 trees on their property until they closed in the 1970s, and Carver Hill Orchard, which cultivates over 80 acres in Stow. 

While commercial farming operations still play a role in Stow, the focus shifted to apple-based tourism in the 1920s, with Shelburne Farms being considered the first pick-your-own orchard in Eastern Massachusetts. Orchards, such as Honey Pot, have evolved to offer many fall-themed activities, including hayrides and corn mazes. These attractions help lure tourists from suburban areas looking for a fun way to spend a fall weekend.

*Visit this research paper to learn more about the history of apple orchards in Stow.

Leading up to the Revolutionary War, a portion of colonial arms were stored in Stow, including in a small powderhouse on what came to be known as Pilot Grove Hill. In 1782, Abijah Warren purchased the land and it was eventually named “Pilot Grove” because the pine trees at the top of the hill were visible to ship pilots sailing into Boston Harbor. 

The Warren family’s farm at the base of Pilot Grove grew squash and asparagus for sale in Boston and later raised cows for dairy, before becoming the active sheep farm that it is today. Unfortunately, the pine trees of Pilot Grove were destroyed by hurricanes in 1938 and 1944 and the hill is now home to an apartment complex.

Lake Boon is named after Stow’s first settler Matthew Boon who traded with local Nipmuc people for land and founded a farm by the then-pond in 1660. In the mid-1800s, the pond expanded into a lake after a dam was constructed to create a water reserve for Maynard’s mills. 

With the construction of a railroad line from Boston next to it, Lake Boon became a vacation spot for middle-class families. Cottages, social clubs, a store, hotel, and church were constructed to support this tourism. A boat called The Princess even carried vacationers from their docks to Lake Boon Station to ride into Boston for work each morning before returning in the evening. However, Lake Boon eventually declined as a resort destination after World War II and now supports many year-round homes.

In 1925, entrepreneur Robert H. Hawkins purchased 196 acres of land in Stow and built a nine-hole golf course, which he named Mapledale Country Club. Mapledale was one of the first Black-owned and operated golf courses in the country, and the first in Massachusetts. Hawkins helped form the United Golfer’s Association as a rival to the segregated PGA and Mapledale hosted the first three Negro National Open Golf Championships, which were open to both black and white players. He was forced to sell the club during the Great Depression and the course eventually became Stow Acres Country Club. Today, Stow is home to four golf courses, including Stow Acres’s North and South Courses, Butternut Farm Golf Club, and Wedgewood Pines Country Club.

In 1812, a group of businessmen founded the Rock Bottom Cotton and Woolen Company along the Assabett River in Stow. In 1848, it was purchased by Benjamin Gleason and Samuel Dale. The mill thrived during this period and manufactured cloth Union Army uniforms and blankets during the Civil War. In 1898, the community was renamed to Gleasondale to honor its owners. Downstream from Gleasondale, a larger manufacturing community was founded which eventually became the town of Maynard. Many of the original Gleason mill structures are still standing today and it now functions as an industrial park.

Over the years, nearly 1,600 acres of land have been set aside by the town of Stow as protected land. The Stow Conservation Commission was established in 1963 to preserve this land and establish regulations for its use. Many properties including Flagg Hill, Marble Hill, and the Town Forest have parking and marked trails for hiking, mountain biking, snowshoeing, and other activities. Part of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge is also situated within Stow’s borders, which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.