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History · Cochituate

Cochituate’s post office opened in 1846, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1980.

1846first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Cochituate’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Cochituate began

When was Cochituate founded?

1846

The Cochituate post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 6,126 in 19802020 census: 6,927180 years
Founding year: the first Cochituate post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cochituate’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18867 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1987. Watch Cochituate change.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Deep rootsA post office since 1846: 180 years of Cochituate.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cochituate’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cochituate’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 1887: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Cochituate on the map, 1886 to 1987

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cochituate. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cochituate on the 1886 USGS mapCochituate on the 1894 USGS mapCochituate on the 1918 USGS mapCochituate on the 1943 USGS mapCochituate on the 1950 USGS mapCochituate on the 1970 USGS mapCochituate on the 1987 USGS map1886Framingham sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cochituate.

Then & now

The same spot, 121 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Cochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 1887Cochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 188718872008
Cochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 1887Matched from the two captions
The story so far

Cochituate, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cochituate yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cochituate (; koh-CHIT-choo-it) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Wayland in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,927 at the 2020 census, out of 13,943 in the entire town of Wayland.

Its first post office opened in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 6,569 to 6,927 (+5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Cochituate, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s3 items
Cochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 18871887Cochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 1887Cochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 18871887Cochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 1887Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, by Geo. H. Walker & Co., 1889, from the Digital Commonwealth - 96 commonwealt…1889Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, by Geo. H. …Map
1890s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Lake Cochituate2011Lake CochituateCochituate, Wayland, MA 01778, USA2011Cochituate, Wayland, MA 01778, USACochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 18872008Cochituate, Mass. and North Natick, 1887
People over time

Cochituate, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,500198020002020Peak: 6,927

Between 6,046 and 6,927 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cochituate’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Cochituate

Nobody well known was born in Cochituate itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Henry David ThoreauAmerican essayist, poet, and philosopher · b. 1817
Robert F. KennedyAmerican politician and lawyer · b. 1925
Jack LemmonAmerican actor · b. 1925
M
Matt LeBlancAmerican actor · b. 1967
Steve CarellAmerican actor and comedian · b. 1962
Kenneth G. WilsonNobel prize winning US physicist · b. 1936
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Wayland6 historic placesANatick10 historic placesAFramingham16 historic placesA

Questions about Cochituate’s history

What year was Cochituate founded?

The Cochituate post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.