Wayside Inn - History

History

The inn is also known as Longfellow's Wayside Inn, a name given to the inn to capitalize on the popularity of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn, a book of poems published in 1863. Longfellow visited the Wayside Inn in 1862, when it was called the How Tavern. In his book Tales of a Wayside Inn, Longfellow republished his poem "Paul Revere's Ride" as "The Landlord's Tale".

Henry Ford built a replica and fully working grist mill and a white non-denominational church, named after his mother, Mary, and mother in law, Martha. Lesser 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 at its task because the feeding brook provided insufficient volume and the ground was too porous to allow for a pond to grow behind the stone structure.

In the grounds of the church stands a one-room schoolhouse that was moved there 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", though little historical evidence exists to support his belief.

Current innkeeper, John Cowden, Jr., has purchased and renovated the newly-named Wayside Carriage House Inn in Sudbury. It is less than one mile from the original Wayside Inn and features 46 guest rooms, two spas, a fitness center, a function room, a full service bar, complimentary continental breakfast, and a shuttle to bring guests to Longfellow's Wayside Inn.