Westwood City Map Poster

About Westwood

It is part of Greater Boston, and many residents commute to jobs in Boston. Westwood was first settled in 1635 as a part of Dedham, Massachusetts. It was officially incorporated on June 28, 1874 when the area separated from Dedham due to the growing population and need for more space. The town's name comes from its location west of downtown Boston (as opposed to Eastwood). In 1888 Westwood changed its government form from Town Meeting-Selectmen to Representative Town Meeting-Town Manager under the leadership of Samuel Cate Prescott who served as both First Selectman and Town Manager until his death in 1921 at age 78 years old.[3] He also founded Prescott Memorial Hospital which opened on January 1, 1901 with 12 beds.[4] Today it has over 200 beds[5]. His son John W. Prescott succeeded him as Second Selectman serving until his death at age 62 years old on October 17th 1929.[6] The current town manager is Robert J LaFortune Jr..[7][8][9][10].