Colonial settlement came late to Waban. As late as 1874, the area was mostly farmland, with fewer than 20 families holding ownership of all the land in Waban. At the heart of the village were four large farms—one of them the Newton City Poor Farm—which met at the intersection of the present Beacon and Woodward Streets.

In the mid-1880s, the expanding Boston and Albany Railroad brought rapid development to the area. The Highland Branch was completed in May 1886, connecting Newton Highlands, Eliot, and Waban stations with the Boston and Albany line via a connection at Riverside. Investors purchased large tracts of land nearby, laying out new streets and house lots. Daily commuter trains linking the village to downtown Boston soon brought an influx of businessmen, professionals and tradespeople to settle in Waban. 

In 1889, residents formed the Waban Improvement Society, with William C. Strong as president. Over the next several decades, the Society played a major role in Waban’s development, pushing for major improvements such as gas lines, street repairs, and wooden sidewalks and sponsoring social functions like the annual Fourth of July celebration and parade. The Society also secured financing for a new building, Waban Hall, to house a general store and post office and to serve as temporary quarters for Waban’s first school and library. The Waban Improvement Society remains active today.

For more information, see the Waban History Signs page.