A small rural community of about 6,500 people, Stow is set within a landscape of rolling hills and rustic country lanes. Before its incorporation in 1683, Stow was called Pompositticut (meaning “land of many hills”) Plantation.

Stow’s early development, centered on what is now the area known as Lower Village, included a traditional town common framed by a meeting house and burying ground. This later shifted to the west to what is now the Upper Village.

Deeply engaged in Revolutionary activities, 81 soldiers from Stow participated in the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. Many went on to fight at Bunker Hill and the Battle of Saratoga.

While retaining its countrified character, today Stow balances business and industrial uses with commercial working farms. More than 2,700 acres of Stow are preserved as open space, including the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.