Wayside Inn Historic District
Historic district in Massachusetts, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wayside Inn Historic District is a historic district on Old Boston Post Road in Sudbury, Massachusetts. The district contains the Wayside Inn, a historic landmark that is one of the oldest inns in the country, operating as Howe's Tavern in 1716.[2] The district features Greek Revival and American colonial architecture. The area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2010) |
Wayside Inn Historic District | |
 The Wayside Inn in 2007 | |
   | |
| Location | Sudbury, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°21′28″N 71°28′5″W |
| Built | 1686 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Colonial |
| NRHP reference No. | 73000307 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 23, 1973 |
Henry Ford built a replica and fully working grist mill and a white non-denominational chapel, named after his mother, Mary, and mother-in-law, Martha.[citation needed] Less well known is Ford's attempt to create a reservoir for the Wayside Inn. Across US Rte. 20 and now secluded in a wooded area behind private homes is a 30 ft. high stone dam. Dubbed by the locals as "Ford's Folly" the structure failed to retain water because the feeding brook provided insufficient volume and the ground was too porous for a pond to fill.[citation needed]
In the grounds of the chapel stands the Redstone School, a one-room schoolhouse which was moved from its original location in Sterling, Massachusetts, by Ford, who believed the building was the actual schoolhouse mentioned in Sarah Josepha Hale's poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb".[3][4]
The Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside is a 23 mile Massachusetts state park forming the northeastern border of the district; the "Wayside" name was selected as the Wayside Inn Railroad Waiting Room was a B&M station at the crossing with Dutton Road.[5][6]
The main entrance of the inn
A marker announcing George Washington's passing through in 1775
The Wayside Inn, c. 1935
The inn's grist mill
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