Boyden-Clark House // c.1725

Wrentham, Massachusetts, was originally known as Wollomonopoag, roughly translating to “place of shells” a name given by the native tribes living here, referencing to area lakes as a food source for the people living here for over 8,000 years before European settlement. The area was settled by colonists in 1635 and became part of Dedham, when it was established in 1636. In 1673, the General Court allowed for the separation of what is now Wrentham, to incorporate as its own town. The community adopted the name Wrentham after the town in Suffolk County, England, a small village of just under 1,000 residents. About 50 years after incorporating, this historic Georgian farmhouse off Cumberland Road, not far from the Rhode Island state line, was built. The Boyden-Clark House is among the few pre-Revolutionary era homes remaining in the suburban community and retains its rural character. The house is said to have been built for Thomas Boyden (1681-1771) and wife, Mary (Clark) Boyden around 1725. The Boyden’s enslaved laborers who worked the farm here for decades. The property was later owned by Stephen Clark who farmed the land and likely added the stone well in the front yard. The house retains its gambrel roof and central chimney, hallmarks of the Colonial era.