Nonantum
Nonantum is a village and neighborhood within the city of Newton, Massachusetts, situated west of Boston. It carries a name rooted in the Algonquian language, carries a legacy shaped by successive waves of immigration, and today retains a close-knit residential character that sets it apart from other Newton villages. Known locally as "The Lake," Nonantum occupies a distinct place in the social and cultural geography of Greater Boston, functioning as a gateway community for working-class and immigrant families across generations.
Name and Origins
The name Nonantum derives from the Algonquian word meaning "the place of rejoicing."[1] The term was historically associated with the first group of so-called "Praying Indians" — Indigenous people converted to Christianity by English Puritan missionaries in the seventeenth century — who were settled in the area.[2] The phrase reflects the spiritual significance the site held for early colonial religious efforts in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The continued use of the name has not been without controversy. Community discussions in recent years have touched on whether the name carries problematic connotations for some residents, with at least one community meeting producing debate over whether "Nonantum" should be replaced with "Algonquin."[3] Those discussions reflect the broader national conversation about place names derived from Indigenous languages and the communities they reference.
The informal nickname "The Lake" is also widely used among residents and in local discourse to refer to the neighborhood, though the origin of this secondary name is rooted in the local geography and the community identity that formed around it.[4]
Geography and Setting
Nonantum is one of the thirteen villages that make up the city of Newton, which is itself divided into distinct neighborhoods each with their own character and history. Newton borders several communities in Middlesex and Norfolk counties, and its position along the Charles River corridor has historically made it an attractive landing point for families seeking proximity to Boston without residing in the city proper.
The Lake, as the neighborhood is nicknamed, sits in a part of Newton characterized by densely packed triple-decker housing stock, modest commercial strips, and streets that have historically housed large numbers of working-class families. The landscape reflects decades of urban residential development suited to the immigrant and first-generation American communities that made Nonantum their home.
Demographics and Immigration
Nonantum has long served as a neighborhood where immigrants settle upon arriving in the greater Boston area.[5] This pattern, common to many neighborhoods in urban America, gave Nonantum a revolving identity over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as different ethnic communities arrived, established themselves, and in some cases moved on to other parts of Newton or the metropolitan region.
The neighborhood is described by the Boston Globe as a historically Italian-American village.[6] The Italian community that took root in Nonantum during the twentieth century gave the neighborhood its most enduring cultural associations, including social clubs, religious institutions, and a tight communal fabric that persisted across multiple generations of residents. This Italian-American identity became central to the public image of the neighborhood, even as newer immigrant groups arrived in subsequent decades.
The proportion of low- and moderate-income households in Nonantum is notable by Newton standards. Newton is, in general, an affluent city, and Nonantum represents a distinct socioeconomic stratum within it, functioning as one of the more affordable pockets of the otherwise high-cost municipality.[7]
Cultural Identity and Community Life
The cultural identity of Nonantum has been marked by a strong sense of place and collective memory among its residents. The neighborhood's Italian-American heritage manifested visibly in its streets, architecture, and public expressions of community pride. In a notable incident reported by the New York Times, Italian flag colors that had been displayed on a local street were removed, sparking community debate and drawing national attention to Nonantum's ethnic identity and the politics of public space.[8] The episode illustrated how deeply residents had tied their sense of belonging to visible markers of ethnic heritage in the public realm.
Community groups associated with The Lake maintain an active presence on social media, where residents organize discussions on local issues ranging from neighborhood naming debates to community events. These forums reflect a neighborhood still actively negotiating its identity in a rapidly changing metropolitan region.
Local Business and Commerce
Nonantum supports a modest local commercial scene. Among its businesses is a small sandwich shop known as the Nonantum Press Room, located in the neighborhood and offering a simple menu of salads, subs, and hot panini.[9] The shop, noted by the Boston Globe, exemplifies the kind of small, independent, neighborhood-serving establishment that characterizes the commercial life of working-class Boston-area villages. Customers can order sandwiches to go from the counter, with hot panini pressed on-site alongside cold subs and salads.
The presence of such establishments contributes to the walkable, locally oriented character of Nonantum's commercial strips, which differ markedly from the larger retail corridors found in other parts of Newton.
The Name Nonantum Beyond Newton
The name Nonantum has been adopted by other entities and places beyond the Newton neighborhood, reflecting the reach of Algonquian place names across New England.
The Nonantum Resort, Kennebunkport
In Kennebunkport, Maine, a historic inn bearing the name The Nonantum has operated since the nineteenth century. Henry Heckman of Lower Village constructed The Nonantum in 1884, opening it with 26 guest rooms and a staff of 10. The venture proved commercially successful, and Heckman had doubled the inn's size within a few years of its founding.[10] The Kennebunkport establishment shares only its name with the Newton neighborhood, but the adoption of the Algonquian word in Maine demonstrates how such terminology spread through New England hospitality and tourism culture during the late nineteenth century.
Nonantum Capital Partners
Nonantum Capital Partners is a Boston-based private equity firm whose name draws on the same Algonquian heritage. The firm was launched by former executives of Charlesbank Capital Partners and established itself as a middle-market investment company.[11] Nonantum Capital Partners closed its debut fund at a hard cap of $350 million after launching the fundraising process in January of the relevant year, according to the firm's own announcement.[12] The firm's investment activities have included backing companies such as RoadOne IntermodalLogistics.[13] While geographically and operationally separate from the Newton neighborhood, the firm's Boston base and Algonquian-derived name link it symbolically to the regional heritage the word represents.
Historical Significance
Nonantum's history spans from its Indigenous associations through colonial-era religious settlement, into the immigrant urban experience of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Each layer has left traces that are still visible in the neighborhood's demographic composition, its naming traditions, and its community debates.
The original association with Praying Indians in the seventeenth century places Nonantum at the intersection of colonial religious history and Indigenous displacement in Massachusetts. The subsequent transformation of the neighborhood into an immigrant enclave — first for communities arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe and later for more recent newcomers — mirrors patterns seen in urban neighborhoods across the Boston metropolitan area, including East Boston, Somerville, and parts of Watertown.
The Italian-American community that dominated Nonantum for much of the twentieth century imprinted on it a cultural character that became defining. The street-level social life, the parish churches, and the family-run businesses of that era helped make Nonantum one of Newton's most distinctive villages, even as broader economic and demographic shifts gradually altered its composition.