Natick (/ˈneɪtɪk/ NAY-tik) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. 10 miles (16 km) west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. Massachusetts's center of population was in Natick at the censuses of 2000–2020, most recently in the vicinity of Hunters Lane.
Charles Aubrey Eaton (March 29, 1868 – January 23, 1953) was a Canadian-born American Baptist clergyman, journalist, and Republican politician who represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1925 to 1953. His district, which centered on Somerset County, was numbered as the 4th district from 1925 to 1933 and the 5th district from 1933 to 1953. He was a leading voice in the Republican Party on foreign policy, chairing both the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Herter Committee and signing the United Nations Charter.
As a pastor, Eaton led Baptist congregations at Natick, Massachusetts (1893–95), Bloor Street, Toronto (1895–1901), Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio (1901–09), and Madison Avenue, New York City (1909–16). John D. Rockefeller and his family were among Eaton's Cleveland congregation, and Rockefeller was a powerful supporter of Eaton and his nephew, Cyrus S. Eaton.
Middlesex County is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 20th most populous county in the United States. This makes the county the most populous county on the East Coast outside of New York or Florida. Middlesex County is one of two U.S. counties (along with Santa Clara County, California) to be amongst the top 25 counties with the highest household income and the 25 most populated counties. It is included in the Census Bureau's Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA–NH Metropolitan Statistical Area. As part of the 2020 United States census, the Commonwealth's mean center of population for that year was geo-centered in Middlesex County, in the town of Natick (this is not to be confused with the geographic center of Massachusetts, which is in Rutland, Worcester County).
On July 11, 1997, Massachusetts abolished the executive government of Middlesex County primarily due to the county's insolvency. Middlesex County continues to exist as a geographic boundary and is used primarily as district jurisdictions within the court system and for other administrative purposes; for example, as an election district. The National Weather Service weather alerts (such as severe thunderstorm warning) continue to localize based on Massachusetts's counties.