The Wayside Inn
On a beautiful October day (2025), I drove to Sudbury, Massachusetts. There are so many places I’ve visited without taking a photo or leaving a written memory, so this time, I set out to capture the Wayside Inn, to record its presence and share it with you.
Here in New England, we are surrounded by places that trace the very beginnings of our nation, and the Wayside Inn is one of these. Tucked along a quiet stretch of the old Boston Post Road, the Inn stands as a weathered red building with white trim and a long, sloping roof. At first glance, it might look like any other colonial tavern that survived through luck or sentiment. But this house, now known as Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, is far more than that. It is a living chapter of American history, a place where stories, travelers, and centuries still meet beneath the same sturdy timbers.
The Wayside’s story began around 1716, when David Howe received a license to keep a “house of entertainment” for travelers on the rough trail between Boston and Worcester. His inn offered food, drink, and shelter to stage drivers, merchants, and weary farmers heading to market. Over time, it became a vital stop for conversation and community and a warm hearth in the heart of colonial New England.
When David’s son, Ezekiel Howe, inherited the inn, it became a place of quiet defiance. During the American Revolution, Captain Howe led the Sudbury militia, and his men gathered here before marching to Concord on April 19, 1775.
For more than two centuries, the Inn remained in the Howe family, its walls absorbing generations of stories. By the early 1800s, when Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited, the Inn was already steeped in nostalgia. Inspired by its rustic charm, he immortalized it in his 1863 book “Tales of a Wayside Inn”, transforming this quiet roadside tavern into a symbol of New England’s endurance and character.
In the 1920s, Henry Ford discovered the inn and fell under its spell. Determined to preserve it, he purchased the property, restored it, and expanded the grounds into a small historic village. Ford’s vision was not to turn it into a museum but to keep it alive, a place where visitors could still feel the rhythm of the past beneath their feet.
Today, the Wayside Inn continues to welcome travelers much as it has for over three centuries. You can spend the night and enjoy a meal. I could still feel the hum of all who came before: the Howes, the minuteman, the poets and Henry Ford, all who left their imprint.
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