Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch (1865 – 1945) is known for his successful operation of Millwood Farm and his commitment to advancing agriculture in Massachusetts. He was born in Southborough, Massachusetts where he attended St. Mark’s School. He continued his education at the Institute of Technology (M.I.T. today) when it was located in Boston. Upon graduation in 1887, he worked as an investment banker at Lee Higginson & Company in Boston. In 1890, he married Margaret Manning Choate and bought a home on Edmands Road in Framingham, around the corner from his parents’ home. The couple called their home “The Lilacs” after the many large lilac bushes in the front yard.
When his father died in 1891, Nathaniel left his job in Boston to run his father’s farm, Millwood Farm, with his brother John P. Bowditch. At the time, Millwood Farm was one of the largest farms in the state. Nathaniel had learned to farm while working with his father throughout his teen years. With their combination of practical experience and technical training, Nathaniel and John made Millwood Farm one of the most successful farms in Massachusetts. Nathaniel paid attention to the health of his cows. He tested them for tuberculosis, a lung disease, fed and exercised them regularly, gave them clean water to drink, and kept the large barns clean. The farm hands wore protective clothing and had to wash their hands before milking the cows. Once the milking was finished, the milk was immediately chilled and then bottled into sterilized bottles for shipment.
Nathaniel was not only a farmer, he was also very active in local and state agricultural organizations. He helped found the Middlesex County Extension Service and Farm Bureau in 1917, and served as its president. He was a trustee for the Massachusetts State College at Amherst (UMass Amherst today) for forty-nine years and was a member of the 4-H National Committee. As a member of the Framingham Park Commission, he helped to establish a system of parks and playgrounds throughout town. He was a trustee of Framingham Union Hospital and Vice President of the Framingham Community Chest. As the town’s Tree Warden for twenty years, he oversaw the planting and protection of trees in Framingham.
Nathaniel was also directly involved in local recreational activities. His father, E. F. Bowditch had started a private hunt club on his Millwood Farm in 1866, where horsemen could ride over fields and fences following a pack of dogs in pursuit of foxes (or a foxlike lure). When his father died, the club ceased operation. Nathaniel restarted it a few years later. Nathaniel, his brother John P., and Robert Forbes Perkins ran the club as an informal hunt club until 1922. At this time, the club was incorporated, and by 1925 it was recognized the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association. The Millwood Hunt Club was the first organized hunt club in New England. When it was disbanded in 1969, it had been in operation for 103 years.
In 1946, a year after Mr. Bowditch died, the town re-named the Fair Grounds on Union Avenue Bowditch Field in his honor. Framingham originally purchased Bowditch Field from the South Middlesex Agricultural Society in 1917; in 1936, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) built the grandstand, sidewalks, tennis courts and sewers at the field. In 2009, the field and facilities were renovated again. Bowditch Field is not only a place for Framingham residents to recreate and exercise, but also has been used by the Lion Tamers, a semi-pro football team (1920s), the Boston Braves, an professional baseball team (1936), the local high schools for football games and graduation ceremonies, and the Boston Renegades, a professional women’s soccer team (1997-2008).
Facts
Parents: Ebenezer Francis (E. F.) Bowditch and Elizabeth Fessenden (Perry) Bowditch
Nathaniel died April 4, 1945 in his home in Framingham after a long illness and is buried in the Old South Burial Ground.
The house at Millwood Farm still stands and is currently home to the Sudbury Valley School on the corner of Winch and Millwood Streets.
Siblings: Anne Redman Bowditch, 1871- ; Ebenezer Francis Bowditch, 1874-1875; Elizabeth Francis Bowditch, 1881- ; John Perry Bowditch, 1883-
Nathaniel and Margaret Bowditch did not have any children.
Bibliography
Herring, Stephen W. Framingham, an American Town. The Framingham Historical Society, The Framingham Tercentennial Commission, 2000.
Marlowe, George F. “Story of Millwood Farm.” Framingham News, 15 Apr. 1947.
“Memorial Forum to Honor Late Nathaniel I. Bowditch. “ Framingham News, 12 Nov. 1946.
“Millwood Farm.” June 1900. A newspaper clipping found in the Framingham History Center General Resource File. Newspaper not identified.
“Mr. Bowditch Died Today in His 80th Year.” Framingham Evening News, 4 Apr. 1945.
“N.I. Bowditch, 79, Scientific Farmer.” The New York Times, 4 Apr. 1945.
Pyemont, Ruth N. Memories of Millwood Hunt. Framingham Centre, 196? (on file at the Framingham History Center.
Ryan, Christopher. “Bowditch Field.” cryan.com 14 Sept. 2016, http://www.cryan.com/daily/20160914.jsp Accessed 06 June 2017.
Ulrich, Ron. “Bowditch, Ebenezer Francis (5 NOV 1841-30 DEC 1891)” Welcome to the ULRICH Family Tree Links 18 May 2011, http://www.ronulrich.com/rfuged/fam02008.htm Accessed 06 June 2017.