Waban, Massachusetts facts for kids
This article is about the village Waban in the city of Newton, Massachusetts. For the 17th century Native American leader, see Waban. For the MBTA transit station, see Waban station. For the US Navy ship, see USS Waban (1880).
Origin of name
Waban was named for Waban, the first Massachusett Indian converted to Christianity, in 1646. Although Waban lived in Nonantum, a hill in the northeasternmost part of Newton, the area around the present village of Waban was a favored hunting ground. Dr. Lawrence Strong, in his history of the town, wrote:
My father, William Chamberlain Strong, was very active in securing the right-of-way for the Boston and Albany Railroad at the time the Newton Circuit Road was built. The location of a station here marked a potential village, and a name was required. My father had previously lived on Nonantum Hill in Brighton, where Waban, the Chief of the Indian tribe Nonantum, had his wigwam, and where Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians, preached. A memorial marks this spot today. So the name "Waban" for the new village easily suggested itself to my father. I am told Waban, or Wabanoki, means "east" in the Indian tongue. The spelling of the name cannot be held to coincide with its pronunciation. I believe the pronunciation is correct and the correct spelling would be either Wauban or more probably Waughban.
Poor farm
An area near where the shopping area of Waban now stands was originally the site of a working farm for the indigent.
Notable people
- Harry C. Bentley (1877-1967) founder of Bentley University, had Master Builder Charles Train build the house at 1700 Beacon Street and lived there with his wife, Belle.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), resided on Woodward Street in 1833-34
- Atul Gawande, surgeon, writer, global and public health advocate
- Roger Kellaway (born 1939), Grammy-winning pianist, composer
- Jack Lemmon, born in an elevator at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Waban
- Robert Morse, Tony award-winning actor
- Ric Ocasek, music producer and vocalist for The Cars. Resident of Waban during the 1980s
- Fritz Richmond, folk musician, played jug and washtub bass in the Jim Kweskin Jug Band
- Henry Lawrence Southwick (1908-1932), author, actor and 3rd President of Emerson College
- William Chamberlain Strong (1823 -1913), horticulturalist, civic leader, developer
- Cass Sunstein, legal scholar, author, and federal agency leader
- Jason Varitek, catcher, Boston Red Sox, 2004 and 2007 World Series Champion
- Ben Wanger (born 1997), American-Israeli baseball pitcher, Team Israel
