Day 9: Heading for Sudbury

Today's two-mile trek takes me from The Local, in Wayland, to Sudbury, at a residence located at the corner of King Philip's Road and US-20.

The Local, Wayland, to Sudbury

Along the way, I cross over the Sudbury River, a name the town of Sudbury shares, and pass by many businesses located along the Boston Post Road/US-20. This is quite a bit different from the mostly residential stretch of road that was Weston.

Sudbury River at Wayland

The Sudbury River is an interesting river in that it flows northeast from Westborough to Concord, from an elevation of 327 feet down to 100 feet. For more information, see the Wikipedia article: Sudbury River. It's apparently a scenic river in spots, and provides recreational opportunities such as canoeing and kayaking.

Sudbury was established around the same time as Weston and Wayland, in 1638. As I mentioned in the post about Wayland, the town split into the two sections, West and East, in 1780. But in the 1630s, there was mainly wilderness beyond the western and northern borders of the town. According to a Sudbury history website, the original settlers were on good terms with the local indigenous people.

Sudbury Fight Marker

That must have changed in the decades following, as Sudbury was one of the towns involved in King Philip's War. "The Sudbury Fight," as it came to be called, was on April 21, 1676. At right is a photo of the sign that marks the spot near where the fighting took place.

You can read an interesting account of Sudbury's part in King Philip's War in this blog: Things Have Changed. Below is an excerpt:

"The Sudbury Fight was a tactical victory for King Philip's warriors. They had successfully conducted three ambushes - on Cowell and Wadsworth's commands as well as on the Concord men, and destroyed much of Sudbury west of the river. Fifty two militia were dead, while Indian losses may have been as few as four to six. Why the withdrawal occurred remains unknown, but King Philip never resumed the offensive, the initiative quickly moved to the colonials, and the war was over by the end of the year."

So that's why I thought the house at  #4 King Philip Road would be a good stopping place. It was built in 1729 and is currently occupied. I couldn't find a picture of it, but you can get a glimpse of the house from the Google Street View photo, below.

4 King Philip Road

Well that's for this day's "walk" and two hours of practice. Tomorrow's journey will take me to some other interesting sights in Sudbury, I'm sure.