Ralph Wheelock: The One and Only Founder of Medfield

He is considered to be the “Founder of Medfield.” He was the leading force behind the movement to break away from Dedham and move westward to form the new town of Medfield. He was one of the first 13 settlers to come to this new town on the banks of the Charles River and he was given the very first house lot in town. Today, his name is known by every school child in Medfield because his name is on one of our school buildings. His name, of course, is Ralph Wheelock.

 The Ralph Wheelock School on Elm Street is actually the second town school to bear the name “Ralph Wheelock.” The first Ralph Wheelock School was located in the area of 25 Pleasant Street and ran back into Miller Street. It was first built in 1859 and was called the Centre School. In1897, it was officially named in honor of Ralph Wheelock. 

It burnt to the ground in 1940. The current Ralph Wheelock School was built in 1969 and again the Wheelock name was given the honor of being placed on a town school. What exactly do we know about this Ralph Wheelock that the town has twice named a school after? Who was this first settler of Medfield?

 Ralph Wheelock was born in Shropshire, England in 1600 and was educated at Cambridge University, where he graduated in 1626. At that time, Cambridge was the center of the dissenting religious movement that gave rise to Puritanism. The persecution of those with Puritan beliefs ran high during this period, which undoubtedly motivated Rev. Wheelock to participate in "The Great Migration" which brought many new immigrants to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Upwards of 30,000  came to New England during the peak years of the migration between 1630 and 1640  Wheelock came to America in 1637 with his wife Rebecca and his daughter. Ralph and Rebecca would go on to have eight additional children here in the New World.

He settled first in Watertown and in 1638 moved to the other side of the Charles River and was active in the formation of the town of Dedham. There, he became the first teacher of the first free school in Massachusetts that was supported by town taxes; thus making him the first public school teacher in America. In 1649 he was the leader of a group of Dedham men looking to establish a new town on the banks of the Charles River. In May, 1651, the town of Medfield was granted the full powers of an independent town by the General Court of Massachusetts. In this year, Rev. Ralph Wheelock and his family moved to Medfield, where he lived the remaining 32 years of his life. 

Though others participated in the establishment of the Town of Medfield, the Rev. Ralph Wheelock is considered to be its primary founder. It is almost certain that Rev. Wheelock wrote the document called "The Agreement" or “Covenant” which, for a time, every new settler of Medfield had to sign. "The Agreement" stated that those who signed were to abide by the town ordinances and laws, maintain orderly conduct, and resolve differences between themselves peaceably. Wheelock was the first to sign the document.

He was given the first house lot in town, located at the intersection of Main and North Streets. He was elected to the first Medfield Board of Selectmen and he subsequently served on that board in 1652-1654, and again in 1659. He was Representative to the General Court and held almost every office of importance in the town. He was a man of unusual learning for those days and was one of a very few to whom the title “Mister” was given.

 It was, however, because he was Medfield’s first schoolmaster that the schools were named in his honor. Town records show that “Mr. Wheelock was employed to keep school for such of the youth as should come to him to learn to read and write, for the salary of ten shillings a week.” He taught school in Medfield for eight years, until the time he was elected representative. Rev. Wheelock held the position of Representative to the General Court in the years 1653, 1663, 1664, 1666, and 1667.

 In 1653 he took up a collection for Harvard College, the first college in America.  Fundraising for Harvard was a regular event, being a primary source of revenue for the young institution. Ralph Wheelock died here in Medfield on January 11, 1683 in his 84th year.