Security You Can Trust
Welcome to American Alarms’ business and home security page for Medfield, Massachusetts. This informational page provides important crime data along with additional information for those living in or considering moving to Medfield.
According to the FBI Crime Database for Massachusetts’ 279 cities and towns, Medfield was ranked 262nd in “Most Property Damage per 100,000” in 2013 improving from 253rd in 2012. However, it was 237th for “Most Burglaries per 100,000” declining from 257th in 2012.
Based in New England since 1971, we’ve worked in the Medfield area for decades. We know the landscape and we have good relationships with local police and fire officials. Our team of employees (200 strong and growing) live in the communities we serve, this means our customers are our neighbors.
Medfield was originally part of the territory that included Dedham and several other towns. Dedham was incorporated in 1636. Medfield was first known as Dedham Village. In November, 1649, Dedham held a town meeting and its members approved parceling out an area for a new town. This was done in the early spring of 1650. The 13 original settlers paid fifty pounds to the inhabitants of Dedham for the land.
Ralph Wheelock, a graduate of Cambridge University, considered the founder of Medfield, as well as Thomas Wright and Robert Hinsdale settled in the new territory. Medfield was incorporated as the 43rd town in Massachusetts on June 2, 1651. It was believed to have been named after Metfield, England.
In 1800, the population of the town reached 745 and small industries sprouted up. Straw manufacturing began in the town in 1801 when Johnson Mason and George Ellis began manufacturing straw bonnets in what later became known as the Lowell Mason house.
The manufacture of hats became the principal industry of the town until well into the 1950s. At one point, the E.V. Mitchell Hat Factory was the second largest straw and felt hat factory in the country, employing over 1,000 workers, more than the entire population of the town. Workers came from as far away as Maine and Canada to work at the North Street plant.
Even before the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1920, Medfield encouraged women to vote. In fact, in 1900, seven women paid a poll tax and qualified to vote in local elections. As early as 1881, women voted for the school committee. When the state constitution was amended to conform to federal law, 48 of the 381 votes were cast by women.
The Dwight-Derby House on Frairy Street was constructed in 1697. It had been thought that the house was built in 1651, but scientific evidence ultimately established that this house was not built until 1697. However, it is still one of only several dozen documented 17th-century houses still standing. The town bought the house in 1996, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
The Peak House—located on Main Street—was originally built in 1651 by Benjamin Clark. It was destroyed in a fire when the Native Americans attacked the town during King Philip’s War in 1676. The Peak House was rebuilt in 1680. It was turned over to the Medfield Historical Society in 1924 and restored to its original Colonial look. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its steep roof has the highest pitch on record in Massachusetts for a 17th-century house.
The Lowell Mason Museum and Music Center on Green Street was the birthplace of Lowell Mason, a leading figure in American church music. The building is a rare example of First Period American architecture and construction. Portions of the house date to 1651. A community effort saved the home from demolition. It was relocated to Green Street in April 2011.
Hannah Adams was born in Medfield on October 2, 1755. She was an author of books on comparative religion and early U.S. History. She was the first woman in the United States who worked professionally as a writer. She died in Brookline on December 15, 1831.
Peter McNeeley was born in Medfield on October 6, 1968. He is a former American heavyweight boxer, best known for his 1995 fight with Mike Tyson. Although McNeeley had famously vowed to wrap Tyson in a “cocoon of horror,” he lost the fight in just 83 seconds.
Lowell Mason was born in Medfield on January 8, 1792. Mason was a composer of hymns and pioneer of music education in American public schools. A street in town bears his name. His birthplace houses the Lowell Mason Museum and Music Center. Mason died in Orange, New Jersey on August 11, 1872.
Medfield, MA, United States
Sales: 781-859-2400
Security Command Center:
781-859-2700
FAX: 781-648-0199
Technical Support: 781-859-2600
Accounting: 781-859-2500
Human Resources: 781-859-2300
Advanced Signal: 781-963-2024
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Electronic Alarms, RI: 401-737-2221
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