 In 1662 Danforth began to acquire land to the west of Boston by way of land grants by the Great and General Court } after general surveys conducted by Edmund Rice at the behest of the Court . Originally known as " Danforth 's Farm " , he began to refer to the estate as " Framingham " in the 1670s in honor of his birthplace . Although Danforth continued to reside in Cambridge , he developed these lands , which came to number 15 @,@ 000 acres ( 61 km2 ) , by issuing 999 year leases rather than selling parcels . By the 1690s a number of somewhat discontiguous communities existed on the land , which petitioned the state for incorporation . Objections were made to the earliest petition ( of 1692 ) by Danforth , since it did not include all of his lands , and a number of subsequent petitions were objected to by neighboring communities . It was not until 1700 , after Danforth had died , that the town of Framingham was granted a charter . The town 's seal contains the words " Danforth 's Farm " in commemoration of this heritage . 
