Enslavement in the Puritan Village: The Untold History of Sudbury and Wayland, Massachusetts
By Jane H. Sciacca
Foreword by Rachael Robinson
Colonial Sudbury, Massachusetts, was designated the Puritan Village by author Sumner Chilton Powell in his 1964 Pulitzer Prize–winning history of the founding of this quintessential New England town in 1638. Yet this quiet rural village also had a darker history that is often overlooked. Sudbury’s Puritan inhabitants, including some of the most prominent citizens in town, held and sold enslaved Black people throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Stories gleaned from preserved records highlight the lives of men, women and children held in bondage, including a court case involving an enslaved boy repeatedly beaten and left scarred by his master less than thirty years after the town’s founding, as well as the bill of sale of Phebey, age two, to a woman in another town. Local author Jane Sciacca uncovers the hidden side of suffering in this New England town.
Available: Locally at The Wayland Depot or Sudbury Historical Socieity or on Amazon.com

by Helen F. Emery (1981)
A chronological history of the town from 1638 to 1980, written by a local historian and scholar.
$ 20.00
Available: Wayland Historical Society, Wayland Depot

Edited by Barbara Robinson (Paperback)
The story of Wayland’s first three centuries told through three historical tours.
$ 10.00
Available: Wayland Historical Society, Wayland Depot
Click here for a free PDF version.

Wayland A to Z (2004)
by Evelyn Wolfson, Dick Hoyt (Paperback)
THE book to own if you can have only one Wayland history – full of meticulously researched stories and details about the town of Wayland, MA
$ 10.00
Available: Wayland Historical Society, Wayland Depot

by Evelyn Wolfson (Paperback)
A multitude of photos accompanies visionaries who have influenced both Wayland and the country, along with current town folks who continue in their footsteps.
$18.67
Available: Amazon, Arcadia Publishing, Wayland Depot.

by George K Lewis (Paperback)
Beautifully written memoir of a very active and observant boy who grew up to be a professor of geography at Boston University and local historian.
$ 10.00
Available: Wayland Historical Society, Wayland Depot
This is Wayland 375th anniversary year’s celebratory recipe book, written for town residents (including those from centuries past). Linking the 17th to 21st centuries with popular foods, drinks, and “this and that” (i.e. boiled hot soap or teething cookies), this book contains more than 250 recipes.
$ 15.00
Available: Wayland Historical Society, Wayland Depot
Unframed 18 x 24” copy of map made by James Sumner Draper (1811-1896) of what he thought Wayland was like in 1775/6. The original is owned by the Wayland Historical Society. There was no Boston Post Road, (Route 20), west of the First Parish Church in Wayland Center, nor did Commonwealth Avenue, (Route 30), go west of the School Street intersection in Cochituate.
$ 10.00
Available: Wayland Historical Society, Wayland Depot

DVD: by Zander Cowen and Jacob Sussman
Our most ambitious work, Five Miles Astride the River is a 20-minute film exploring the development of our hometown, Wayland, Massachusetts. Showcasing the village’s evolution over 375 years of history, the film explores three distinct eras of American life and illustrates how the town’s past has shaped its present.
$15.00
Available: Pelham Island Pictures, Wayland Depot

by George Lewis (Paperback)
More than 200 photographs, selected primarily from the extensive collection of the Wayland Historical Society, of farmers, factory workers, trolleys, and schools help to tell the unique and fascinating history of Wayland’s two separate neighborhoods, Wayland Center and Cochituate Village.
$21.89
Available: Amazon, Arcadia Publishing, Wayland Depot

by Sumner Chilton Powell
A detailed account of the early government and social organization of the town of Sudbury, Massachusetts, present- day Wayland.
$ 20.84
Available: Amazon.com
Rev250 Logo Contest
Calling all Wayland residents! As America gears up for its 250th anniversary, the Wayland Museum & Wayland Rev250 Committee invites you to design a logo to celebrate this milestone. Your design should include "Wayland" and either "250" or "Rev250" and be suitable...
The Traveling Case Clock
Another grandfather clock creates an interesting chapter in the history of the Grout-Heard House, home of the Wayland Museum. It was a gift from Mabel Small Draper (1887-1970), a founder of the Wayland Historical Society who negotiated with Raytheon Corporation to...
Holiday Open House 2024
Our 2024 open house was a great success.Thanks to all that were able to join us. Wayland Student Press Network reporter Ainsley Jay covers the open house.
History of Maps in Wayland
On October 9th WM&HS and the Wayland Free Public Library co-sponsored a talk about The History of Maps in Wayland, presented by Town Surveyor Tom Lashmit. Tom’s talk filled the library’s Raytheon Room and attracted about 60 people on Zoom. Tom described many of...
Welcoming Our Executive Director
The Wayland Museum & Historical Society is excited and pleased to announce the selection of Scarlett V. Hoey as our first Executive Director. Scarlett brings a great deal of relevant experience and natural creativity to this new position. Her professional...
Postcards from Cochituate
"Postcards from Cochituate” with Sheila Carel Forty people gathered at the Community Methodist Church on Thursday evening for Sheila Carel’s presentation "Postcards from Cochituate”. Along with those in person another 35 people joined in remotely to enjoy Sheila’s...
Greenways
Wednesday, June 26, 2024 Retired Historical Society President Gretchen Schuler presented the history Greenways, home of Frank Cabot Paine and his wife Virginia from 1926 to 1988, for the public open house at the Residence at the Paine Estate.A History of Greenways I...
Lydia Maria Child Award
Retired Historical Society President Gretchen Schuler is this year’s winner of the Lydia Marie Child Award. The award, which was presented on June 26, is given annually in recognition of active volunteer leadership in the betterment of Wayland’s quality of life or in...
Strategic Plan 2024
Summary The Wayland Museum & Historical Society (WM&HS) at the Grout-Heard House Museum (GHHM) has been an integral part of the Wayland community and central to documenting and honoring Wayland’s history for the past 70 years. The aim of the following...
Tom Largy
Tom Largy: A Half-Century of Casting Lines and Serving the Public in Waylandby Brian E. Moore I was strolling along Pelham Island Road recently enjoying the view of Heard Pond when I came across a familiar sight: Tom Largy fishing. As I approached him, I asked Largy...