The intersection of transport links defining the center of West Newton village appears on this 1831 map. You can also see the West Parish Burying Grounds (opened in 1781), as well as the home of Seth Davis and the school that he founded.

The section of Washington Street leading through what became West Newton was first laid out in the 1690s, as European settlers arrived.  It was a rural community, with John Fuller’s 1000-acre farm alongside Cheesecake Brook.  The historic buildings that still remain are largely from the 19th and early 20th century, making this village the best-preserved of Newton’s village centers. The West Newton Village Center Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. 

The earliest structure still standing is at 424 Cherry Street, built in 1716 and known as the house and physician’s office of Dr. Samuel Warren, one of its mid-19th century owners. This structure was originally a block away on Washington Street, and built by William Williams, a cousin of the founder of Williams College. Another very early house built in 1735 was the home of Dr. Samuel Wheat at 399 Waltham Street.

The growth of the village continued with the arrival of Congregationalists, and the establishment of the Second Church in Newton in 1764, which split off from the first Congregational church in Newton Centre. An old nickname for West Newton, "Squash End", arose from the rivalry of that period between Newton Centre and West Newton. Soon thereafter the West Parish Burying Ground was established at the corner of Cherry and River Streets. Here, graves of some of the early settlers of the village are found. In 1781, the Second (or West) Parish was officially incorporated.