Framingham's Town Seal

Designed in 1900 for the town's bicentennial, The Framingham Town Seal represents events, people, and places significant to the development of Framingham as a town.

The outer circle depicting braided straw signifies the fact that straw hat manufacturing started in Framingham in the 1800's and was an early, major industry in the town.

The building atop the seal is the "State Normal School", (now called Framingham State College), the first and oldest school in the country dedicated to training teachers.

"Danforth Farms" refers to the land owned by Gov. Danforth, the founder of the town, (the name "Framingham" is a derivation of "Framlingham", in England, where Danforth came from -- it is unknown why the "L" was dropped).

In the center of the seal is what appears to be a wheel. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice the spokes are actually railroad lines. This represents the importance of the six rail lines converging on South Framingham, making it a regional hub for railway transportation and freight shipping by rail. Further interpretation of the wheel is that it represents the water-wheel of John Stone's mill at Saxonville.

The shield and wreath represent Framingham's military servicemen and to honor and remember the dead.