Fairbanks House
Dedham, MA, is a beautiful colonial town about 20 miles southwest of Boston. Considered part of the greater Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area, this is quintessential New England, the seat of American history, with rolling green hills, roomy clapboard houses, and an uncompromising sense of community.
Residents of Dedham enjoy a higher per capita income in both the state and the nation, as well as higher land values. Crime is extremely low, while air and water quality are high. Education is of paramount importance here, especially since 
Dedham was the first town in America to open a publicly funded school. There are over 100 centers of higher learning nearby, including divinity schools, Northeastern University, Berklee School of Music, and of course Harvard.
Properties in Dedham range from condos to colonial estates on sizeable lots, with mature trees and nearby ponds. New construction is welcome, with architecture that keeps with the historic tone of the community. Because of the town’s commitment to heritage, there are many finely preserved buildings that are listed with the National Historic Registry, especially in Dedham’s town center.
TRANSPORTATION
Located on the main artery of Hwys 95 and 93, Dedham is easily linked to Boston, Cambridge, and other centers of employment and culture. Amtrak also services Dedham, and Logan International Airport is only 14 miles away.
HISTORY
A link to their early American roots is important to Dedham town folks. Our Historical Society maintains a valuable archive of letters, diaries, and drawings that paint a vivid picture of life in 17th century New England, when Dedham was a farming and milling community, specializing in everything from their now-famous pottery, to wool and grains.
Dedham, named after Dedham, Essex in England, was settled in 1635 by Irish, Italian, and English immigrants from Roxbury and Watertown. The town was incorporated in 1636, and is the county seat of Norfolk County.
Dedham is home to the Fairbanks House, the oldest surviving timber frame house in the United States, scientifically dated to 1637. On January 1, 1643, by unanimous vote, Dedham authorized the first U.S. taxpayer-funded public school; "the seed of American education." Its first teacher, Rev. Ralph Wheelock, was paid 20 pounds annually to instruct the youth of the community. Descendants of these students would become presidents of Dartmouth College, Yale University and Harvard University.
Other Dedham firsts include the first man-made canal in North America, Mother Brook, which links the Charles River to the Neponset River. Although they are both slow moving rivers, they are at different elevations. When Mother Brook connected them, the difference in elevation made the current swift enough to power several local mills.
In 1818, though citizens were still at this time taxed for the support of ministers and other "public teachers of religion", Dedham set an important precedent towards the separation of church and state by selecting a different minister than that chosen by the church, a right of selection that was confirmed by the Supreme Judicial Court….Dedham pottery is a cherished class of antiques, characterized by a distinctive crackle glaze, blue-and-white color scheme, and a frequent motif of rabbits and other animals.
[History courtesy of Wikipedia.org]
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