Natick Seeks Legal Advice Over Sawin House Issue

Move it? Move part of it? Or let it continue to fester in its current location.

Natick's Board of Selectmen authorized Town Administrator Martha White during its Dec. 16 meeting to seek legal advice and conduct a search on legislative issue on a possible relocation plan for South Natick's Sawin House.

After hearing arguments from numerous residents on Dec. 2 about the pros and cons of keeping the home on its South Street location in Mass Audubon’s Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary or moving it to Shaw Park in South Natick on Eliot Street, Gloff said she would like to hear of possible third options from the public before the Board took its vote.

Some residents have trumpeted a move to Shaw Park on Eliot Street, saying its mainly unused land and would be perfect considering its close proximity to the Historical Society.

Others, including descendent George Sawin, said moving the structure disconnects its history to the land and that numerous attempts to talk with Mass Audubon have gone unanswered.

Among the options he presented to the Board was to have Natick take the house and a small plot of the land by eminent domain.

Historical Society President James Morley said relocating the historic building is the only option.

"You either move it or lose it," he said. "It will disintegrate and be destroyed if it is not moved."

Gary Clayton, a vice president at Mass Audubon, said the relocation proposal to Shaw Park was best and hinted the organization could pay some of the estimated $750,000 it will take to move and assist in the upkeep of home. 

Still, others said they were against the move.

"The park is constantly used … it's been trampled all over by kids after (Sunday's) storm. The park has been there 80 years as town park, used all the time and continues to be used," said Ken Van Blarken, a resident on Eliot Street. "To disassemble the house does an injustice to the house and park itself."

The Sawins were the first European settlers in Natick. Despite the battles between with the natives and European colonists, the Sawins were invited to settle in the South Natick location.