Books available about the History of Sudbury
Books on Sudbury History
| History of Sudbury Massachusetts 1638-1889 | Alfred S. Hudson | 1889 | Town of Sudbury | |||
| A Brief History of the Towne of Sudbury in Mass 1639-1939 | Federal Writers* | 1987 | Sudbury Historical Society | |||
| Sudbury 1890-1989: 100 Years in the Life of a Town | Curtis F. Garfield | 1998 | Porcupine Enterprises | |||
| Sudbury: A Pictorial History | Laura Scott | 1989 | Donning Co | |||
| Annals of Sudbury Wayland and Maynard | Alfred S. Hudson | 1891 | Town of Sudbury | |||
| Old Sudbury | Pinkham Press | 1929 | Pinkham Press | |||
| Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town | Sumner Chilton Powell | 1963 | Wesleyan University Press | |||
| We Shall Not Tamely Give It Up | John C. Powers | 1988 | Privately Printed |
Web sites focused on Sudbury History
Sudbury Archives” The Sudbury Archives Project began in November, 1991 as an effort to create a thorough index and database of the large collection of pre-1850 documents within the town of Sudbury, Massachusetts. The database includes the extensive records of the Town Clerk’s Office in Sudbury, unique for its unbroken series of Town Meeting Records from 1639 to the present day, in addition to documents from the archival collections of the Goodnow Library, Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, the Sudbury Historical Society, and the Wayland Historical Society.”
“Currently, the database includes approximately 15,000 records dating from 1639 to 1850. Each record is searchable by title, date, subject, personal name, location of original, document category and record number, and many include editorial or historical annotations. Many records also contain scanned images or transcriptions of the original documents.”
The Goodnow Library has a room devoted to local history. More info:
Local History Resource Page
The Sudbury Historical Society has a great Links & Resources page.
Many fascinating documents can be found on the site of the Historical Commission tasked with the preservation, protection and development of the historical or archaeological assets of the Town and the Historic Districts Commission, with the mission to preserve and protect buildings, places and other areas, especially, the four historic districts in Sudbury.
Books about the History of Sudbury created by Curt Garfield, Town Historian, 1991-2011.
Sudbury, 1890-1989, 100 Years in the Life of a Town
This 256-page book, available in hardbound and trade paperback editions, covers the period from Sudbury’s 250th birthday in 1889 to its 350th in 1989. Some significant events during that time include the Ku Klux Klan rally in August of 1925; Sudbury’s bid (or non-bid) to become the site for the headquarters of the United Nations and Giuseppi Cavicchio’s refusal to sell his water rights which scuttled Henry Ford’s plans to build an auto parts factory at the site of Charles O. Parmenter’s mill in South Sudbury.
The book is illustrated with prints from Sudbury Town Report covers from the 40s, 50s and 60s and contains several period maps.
The book’s index contains 650 names of people who have lived in town and contributed to its history. It will be available at Bearly Read Books, the Paper Store, the Wayside Inn Gift Shop and other local outlets. Casebound editions are $25 plus tax and trade paperbacks $12 plus tax. Books are also available from Porcupine Enterprises, 106 Woodside Road, Sudbury, MA 01776. Please include $3.20 postage for each book ordered.
Other Titles from Porcupine Enterprises:
As Ancient is This Hostelry, The Story of the Wayside Inn.
This 351-page trade paperback is the definitive history of Longfellow’s Wayside Inn. Written by husband and wife team of Alison Ridley and Sudbury Town Historian Curtis F. Garfield, the book is illustrated by noted muralist Robert Roy Evans. It retails at the Wayside Inn gift shop for $17. Autographed copies from Porcupine Enterprises are available for $15 plus $3.20 postage.
Henry Ford’s Boys.
This is the story of Henry Ford’s Wayside Inn School for Boys, a unique experiment in education that lasted from 1927 to 1947. More than 200 boys earned their high school diplomas, learned a trade and went on to live successful lives.
Besides a narrative history of the school and its activities, the book contains lengthy excerpts from the Boys Schools Diaries which were kept and sent to Dearborn for Mr. Ford’s examination. It also details the visits of Mr. Ford and guests including Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone and includes an index listing most of the boys who matriculated there. Available from the Wayside Inn gift shop and Bearly Read Books for $10 or Porcupine Enterprises for $10 plus $3.20 postage for each book ordered.