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Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,934. The town, located in
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...
's MetroWest region, has a colonial history.


History

Incorporated in 1639, the boundaries of Sudbury included (by 1653) what is now Wayland (which split off in 1780, initially as East Sudbury), and parts of present day Framingham, Marlborough, Stow and Maynard (the latter town splitting off in 1871).
Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian languages, Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the f ...
Indians lived in what is now Sudbury, including Tantamous, a medicine man, and his son Peter Jethro, who deeded a large parcel of land to Sudbury for settlement in 1684.Gutteridge, William H. (1921)
''A Brief History of the Town of Maynard, Massachusetts''
Maynard, MA: Town of Maynard, p. 13-16
The original town center and meetinghouse were located near the Sudbury River at what is now known as Wayland's North Cemetery. For the residents on the west side of the river, it was a treacherous passage in the winter and attendance at both worship services and Town Meetings was compulsory. In 1723 the West Parish meetinghouse was built west of the river at an area known as Rocky Plains (presently the Town Center). It served as a place for both worship and Town Meetings. The church and town separated in 1836 and a new Town House was built in 1846. Since then, the Sudbury Center Historic District has changed little, with the exception of the Town Hall, built in 1932 to replace the Town House, which burnt down in 1930. Sudbury also contributed the most militia during
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...
and was the site of the well-known attack on Sudbury. Ephraim Curtis was a successful leader of the militia of West Sudbury and would lend his name to the town's junior high school. Sudbury militiamen participated in the
battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...
in 1775, where they sniped at
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
troops returning to
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. One of Sudbury's historic landmarks, the Wayside Inn, claims to be the country's oldest operating inn, built and run by the Howe family for many generations. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote '' Tales of a Wayside Inn'', a book of poems published in 1863. In the book, the poem ''The Landlord's Tale'' was the source of the immortal phrase "listen my children and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere." Henry Ford bought the inn in 1923, restored it and donated it to a charitable foundation which continues to run it as an operating inn to this day. Ford also built a boys' school on the property, as well as a grist mill, and the Martha-Mary Chapel. He brought in the Redstone Schoolhouse from Sterling, which was reputed to be the school in Sarah Josepha Hale's nursery rhyme '' Mary Had a Little Lamb''. However, Giuseppi Cavicchio's refusal to sell his water rights scuttled Henry Ford's plans to build an auto parts factory at the site of Charles O. Parmenter's mill in South Sudbury. In August 1925, a Sudbury farm was the scene of a riot between local members of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
and Irish-American youths from the area. Five people were wounded by gunshots, and the State Police arrested over 100 Klansmen.
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
officials cracked down on the group's meetings thereafter, and the Klan died out in the area. In the period after World War II, Sudbury experienced rapid growth in population and industry. Defense contractor Raytheon was a significant employer, operating a large research facility in Sudbury from 1958 until 2016. Another major employer in that period was
Sperry Rand Sperry Corporation was a major American equipment and electronics company whose existence spanned more than seven decades of the 20th century. Sperry ceased to exist in 1986 following a prolonged hostile takeover bid engineered by Burroughs ...
. In the 1970s, the town was home to many of the engineers working in the minicomputer revolution at
Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president until ...
in nearby Maynard. Sudbury was also one of the largest carnation-growing towns, with many greenhouse operations. From 1960–1969, Sudbury challenged and prevailed against a proposal by Boston Edison Company that would have installed overhead transmission lines through what is now Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. Ultimately, the line was instead buried under streets to Maynard. From 2017–2023, Sudbury challenged a proposal by Eversource to install buried transmission lines under the former Massachusetts Central Railroad right of way from Sudbury to Hudson now owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. None of these lawsuits were found to have merit, and the buried transmission lines were installed by 2024, which also subsidized the majority of the cost and construction of a section of the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside, which was paved in 2025. Residentially, Sudbury's zoning bylaws helped the town maintain a more rural character through the 1970s and 1980s when developments of single-family Colonials and large
Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
s established it as an affluent location. Economic growth was restricted to the town's main thoroughfare, US Route 20. Significant tracts of open space—including much wetland—were preserved in the northern half of town and along the Hop Brook corridor flowing from the Wayside Inn Historic District in the southwest part of town through the King Philip Historic District (the site of a conflict in
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...
) and into the Sudbury River at the southeast border with Wayland. A significant portion of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge (opened in 2005) is located in Sudbury.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.06%, is water. The highest point in Sudbury is on the north slope of Nobscot Hill, and the highest summit is Tippling Rock. In 1650, the town included Sudbury as well as most of Wayland and Maynard.


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 16,841 people, 5,504 households, and 4,749 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 5,590 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.23%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.80%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.03% Native American, 3.72% Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.23% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.24% of the population. An update in the town's census recorded the population at 18,192 as of October 6, 2015. There were 5,504 households, out of which 51.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 78.5% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 13.7% were non-families. 11.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02 and the average family size was 3.28. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.5% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $151,041, and the median income for a family was $222,008. Males had a median income of $148,593 versus $47,500 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $75,865. About 2.1% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.


Arts and culture

The First Parish of Sudbury gathered in 1640 east of the Sudbury River (present day Wayland). "East parish" (now First Parish of Wayland) moved its present site and "West parish" moved to the present site, called Rocky Plains (now Sudbury town center), upon Rev. Israel Loring first preaching there May 6, 1722. The historic meeting house was built in 1797, replacing the original 1723 structure. First Parish became Unitarian in the local schism of 1837 and is now Unitarian Universalist.


Government


State and federal government

On the federal level, Precincts 1A, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Sudbury are part of Massachusetts's 5th congressional district, represented by Katherine Clark. Precinct 1 is part of Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district, represented by Lori Trahan. The state's senior ( Class I) member of the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
is Elizabeth Warren. The junior ( Class II) senator is Ed Markey.


Education

Sudbury students in kindergarten through eighth grade attend Sudbury Public Schools, with high school students attending schools in the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School District, which was established in 1954, integrating the former Sudbury High School with that of the nearby town of Lincoln. In June 2002, the towns of Lincoln and Sudbury began a $74 million project to build a new high school near the site of the original building. The shared Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LSRHS) is in Sudbury. There are four elementary schools in Sudbury and one middle school. The four elementary schools are: * Josiah Haynes Elementary School * Israel Loring Elementary School * General John Nixon Elementary School * Peter Noyes Elementary School The middle school is: * Ephraim Curtis Middle School Sudbury has two former elementary schools that were converted to other uses: * Fairbank Elementary School is now a community center, and the central office for the school district. * Horse Pond Elementary School is now a Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory.


Notable people

* Horace Abbott, iron manufacturer * George Hunt Barton, geologist, arctic explorer, and college professor. Founding president of the Boston Children's Museum * Edith Nason Buckingham, zoologist, dog breeder, chicken farmer * Anthony W. Case, astrophysicist * Sarah Cloyce, Salem witch trials survivor; relocated to Sudbury after permanently leaving Salem * Ralph Adams Cram, architect, resided in Sudbury on Concord Road and built his family a private chapel which is now owned and operated by Saint Elizabeth's Episcopal Church * Coco Crisp, lived here during some of his time with the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
* Matthew B. J. Delaney, author * Dennis Eckersley, baseball Hall of Famer, lived on Morse Road before his years with the Boston Red Sox and on Plympton Road during and after his years with the Red Sox * Chris Evans, actor * Scott Evans, actor * Henry Ford, founder of the
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
, lived in Sudbury during parts of the 1920s and 1930s * ,
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
theater director who settled in the United States in 1979 and died in Sudbury in 1989 * Mike Gordon, bassist for Phish * Robert L. Gordon III, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense * Michelle Gorgone, Olympic snowboarder * Edward Hallowell, psychiatrist, author, and specialist on ADHD * Eddie House, NBA champion with the
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
* Stephen Huneck, artist and writer * Tyler Jewell, Olympic snowboarder * Michael Kolowich, documentary filmmaker and technology entrepreneur * William K. Lietzau Director of the US Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency * Tony Massarotti, sports reporter for
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
* John Nixon, General in the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
during the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
* Shaquille O'Neal, four-time NBA champion, 2000 NBA MVP, fifteen-time NBA All-Star, rapper, actor, and current Inside the NBA analyst lived in Sudbury for a brief time * Samuel Parris, Salem Witch Trials judge and Puritan minister, later preached in Wayland, which was then a part of Sudbury * Paula Poundstone, comedian who grew up in Sudbury * Edmund Rice, co-founder and early resident of the town from 1638–1656 * Ashley Richardson (also known as Ashley Montana), model * Babe Ruth, baseball Hall of Famer. While with the Red Sox, he and his wife rented a small house next to Willis Pond, Sudbury, for the 1917–1918 off-season * Matt Savage, musician * Simon Shnapir, Olympic medalist pair skater * Fred Smerlas, five-time NFL Pro Bowler * Jarrod Shoemaker, Olympian and Triathlete * Jeremy Strong, actor and
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
winner for his role on '' Succession'' * Callie Thorne, actress ('' Rescue Me'') * Amy Wilensky, writer of memoirs, grew up in Sudbury


Notes


References


''1871 Atlas of Massachusetts''.
by Wall & Gra
Map of Massachusetts.Map of Middlesex County.

''History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts'', Volume 1 (A–H) Volume 2 (L–W)
compiled by Samuel Adams Drake, published 1879 and 1880. 572 and 505 pages
Sudbury article
by Rev. George A. Oviatt in volume 2 pages 357–381.


External links

*
Sudbury Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts MetroWest Towns in Massachusetts Populated places established in 1638 1638 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony