Events Calendar

The Sudbury Historical Society (SHS) hosts programs throughout the year, with new ones continually added to the schedule. Fees and locations vary depending on the event with discounts provided for members. Most programs are free to members and take place at the Sudbury History Center and Museum.

To purchase tickets for Sudbury Historical Society events on Eventbrite please visit our Sudbury Historical Society's page.

Next Events

Saturday, October 17th 1:00PM - 3:00PM

Second Annual Appraisal Day

Join us for our second annual Sudbury Appraisal Day on Saturday, October 17th, from 1:00-3:00pm! Bring your antiques to the museum be appraised by experts from Sudbury-based Tremont Auctions. No jewelry or furniture. All proceeds benefit the Sudbury Historical Society.

Pay at the door or in advance on our Eventbrite page here.

Saturday, October 24th 4:00PM

Musicians of the Old Post Road
Playing It Forward

The Musicians of the Old Post Road are coming to the First Parish of Sudbury on October 24th! Be sure to use the Sudbury Historical Society discount. The concert will include a trio sonata by Zachow, an aria by Smith, selections by Kirnberger and Goldberg, a flute sonata by Amalia, an aria by Porpora, an an aria by Martines. Featuring guest soprano Corrine Byrne.

Visit www.oldpostroad.org for tickets.

Wednesday, November 11th 10:00 AM

Sudbury Road Race

Join us for our annual Sudbury Road Race, which includes a 5-kilometer race and a 1-mile fun run, on Veteran’s Day on Wednesday, November 11, 2026! All ages welcome. Both races begin and end at Curtis Middle School in Sudbury. Registration and additional information available at SudburyRoadRace.com! Veterans race for free and Sudbury Historical Society (SHS) members receive a considerable discount. Proceeds from the race benefit our nonprofit organization.

To register or more information see our event page: SudburyRoadRace.com.

Online Exhibit

Recent Events

Thursday, September 17th 6:30PM

Parmenter Family of Sudbury: From English Origins to the Revolution

Join us on September 17th for a lecture on the early history of the Parmenter Family of Sudbury by descendant Ralph Parmenter Bennett!

In 1639, Deacon John Parmenter courageously voyaged across the Atlantic from England with his wife and two children and was one of the original proprietors of Sudbury, Massachusetts. His descendants made important contributions to the town since its incorporation, valiantly fought in the American Revolutionary War, and the name is still proudly carried to this day.

Ralph Parmenter Bennett, one of these descendants, is an authority on the family genealogy and history and has published extensively researched articles on the Parmenters in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. In this talk, he will discuss highlights from their English origins, their settling in Sudbury, and their participation in the Revolution in this celebratory year of America250.

To attend, register on our Eventbrite page here: eventbrite.

Thursday, July 16th 6:30 PM

Prepared for War Sudbury and the Massachusetts Militia on the Eve of Lexington and Concord

Join us on at the Sudbury History Center and Museum on July 16th for a fascinating evening lecture on Sudbury and the Massachusetts Militia on the eve of Lexington and Concord!

In October 1774, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress ordered towns across the Colony to prepare for war with England. In response, the Colony entered a wartime phase that included creating minute companies, stockpiling arms, ammunition, and equipment, and establishing a defense network ready to mobilize if the redcoats marched from Boston into the countryside.

Join historian Alexander Cain as he discusses the Colony's response to the British threat of war and examines the Massachusetts militia and minuteman system, with an emphasis on Sudbury on the eve of Lexington and Concord.

Thursday, June 18th 6:30 PM

Annual Meeting with Lecture The Rice Family During the American Revolution

Join us at the Sudbury History Center and Museum for a fascinating lecture by Jane H. Sciacca on the Rice Family During the Revolution on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary Annual Meeting of the Sudbury Historical Society (SHS)!

The events leading up to and finally culminating in the American Revolution were turbulent ones for the Rice Family and other inhabitants of colonial Sudbury. It would bring about significant change for their family, as well as for the town that they first settled well over a century earlier. In this program, the decade from 1770 through 1780 will be highlighted and its profound impact on the Rice Family and Sudbury.

Jane H. Sciacca is a local historian and retired National Park Ranger, who has worked for the National Park Service as an interpreter in Boston, Cambridge, and Concord. She is the recent author of Enslavement in the Puritan Village: The Untold History of Sudbury and Wayland, Massachusetts.

Saturday, May 16th, 2026 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Sudbury 250 Day: Declaring Independence Then & Now

The Sudbury Historical Society—in partnership with Freedom's Way National Heritage Area—will present Declaring Independence: Then and Now: an award-winning performance that brings the words and ideas of 1776 to life through readings of the Declaration of Independence and first-person perspectives by reenactors.

Tailored to Sudbury and presented on the site where the Declaration of Independence was originally read to its inhabitants, this thought-provoking program depicts how communities in Massachusetts debated the idea of independence from Great Britain. We invite the audience to reflect on what independence meant then and means now.

The performance will take place on Sudbury 250 Day: a town-wide celebration in historic town center on May 16th from 10:00-3:00 pm. Enjoy militia reenactments, colonial music, a Town Crier, historic tours, food trucks, and the Knox Cannon firing, and much more.

Narrator

Andrea Roessler

Vice-President, Sudbury Historical Society

Performers

Reverend Jacob Bigelow: Benjamin Morse

Benjamin Morse of Natick will portray Reverend Jacob Bigelow, Pastor of the West Side Meetinghouse—today known as the First Parish of Sudbury—where he blessed the troops of Captain John Nixon as they were called to muster in 1775. There, Reverend Bigelow read the Declaration of Independence to the inhabitants of Sudbury for the first time on June 10, 1776.

Deacon Josiah Haynes: Hartley Johnson

Hartley Johnson of Sudbury is a direct descendant of Walter Haynes, one of the original settlers of Sudbury. Hartley will portray the eleven members of the Haynes Family, who marched to Concord and fought in the Revolutionary War.

Experience Wight Richardson: Jane Sciacca

Jane Sciacca of Wayland is an authority on Experience Wight Richardson, a Sudbury mother who feared for the well-being of her son, Josiah Richardson, Jr., as he went off to fight on that fateful day in April of 1775.

Ezekiel How: Tony Howes

Dr. Anthony Howes of Framingham is an authority on the famous How Family associated with the Wayside Inn. Dr. Howes will portray Ezekiel How, the Innkeeper and Lieutenant Colonel, who led his militia to battle in Concord on April 19, 1775.

Thankful Berry: Kathy Lague

Kathy Lague of Sudbury will portray Thankful Berry, wife of Captain John Nixon, who led his company from Nobscot to battle in Concord and, later, at Bunker Hill.

Saturday, May 2nd, 2026 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Sudbury Witness House Tour

In celebration of America250, the Sudbury Historical Society proudly presents the Sudbury Witness House Tour on Saturday, May 2nd! Experience some of the oldest homes in Sudbury that witnessed 1776: the momentous year of the ratification of the United States Declaration of Independence and one that recalls the town spirit in Sudbury through its famous 01776 zip code.

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026 1:00 - 2:00 PM

Footsteps of History: Walking Tours of Sudbury

At the Goodnow Library.

Join us on Wednesday, April 22nd, for a walk to the Wadsworth Monument in remembrance of the 350 years since the Sudbury Fight of King Philip’s War in 1676. Discussion will grapple the long-held beliefs of colonizing narratives, new ways to understand the history of the war, and how this important conflict still impacts our community today.

Brought to you by the Goodnow Library and the Sudbury Historical Society with Brittney Peauwe Wunnepog Walley, Nipmuc artist and historian. Her interdisciplinary work has been displayed at institutions such as the Concord Museum, the Mead Art Museum, and the Mystic Seaport Museum. She is a Project Assistant at the Institute for New England Native American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Board Member for Mass Humanities.

Walkers will meet in the Goodnow Library main lobby and will depart there for the monument promptly at 1:00pm. Register to attend here.