The Goodnow Library, c1888Etching by J. S. Conant, from Alfred S. Hudson, History of Sudbury, 1889
Research
Our Collections Online Collections Database Harry Rice Native American Collection George Moore Civil War Collection Hattie J. Goodnow Photographs Collection Doing Research at SHS Links and ResourcesOur Collections
The Sudbury Historical Society's collections include material from the earliest days of the Sudbury Plantation continuing to the major expansion of the town in the 1960's.
A few of our special collections can be previewed using the links to the left.
You can also search our online collection database, which currently lists about 850 of our items can be found here.
Recent Acquisition: Samuel Noyes Made Federal Slant-Lid Desk
"Samuel Noyes Made Federal Desk, c. 1810Collection of the Sudbury Historical Society, Inc.
Federal cherry and inlaid slant lid desk. String inlay with fitted interior. Four graduated drawers with original brass pressed hardware. Spade feet with cut out apron. Height 45 in; Width 38 in; Depth 20 in.
Signed in graphite on inside of bottom board, with maker's name (Samuel Noyes), locale (Sudbury) and date (18??). Samuel Stone Noyes (also spelled Noyse, 1786-1833 is Sudbury’s only known colonial era cabinetmaker. His shop was originally in what is now Wayland near the four arch bridge. He later built a home (probably around 1812, it's still standing) at 83 Old Sudbury Road with the workshop behind it.
Recent Acquisition: Isaac Maynard's Brass Step-down Bullet and Shot Mold
Isaac Maynard's Brass Step-down Bullet and Shot Mold, c. 1777Collection of the Sudbury Historical Society, Inc.
Brass mold marked on one side "ISAAC MAYNARD" and on the other "SUDBURY 1777". The inside of the mold has cavities for casting small shot through musket-size ball, edges of mold marked with the weight of each ball per hundred. Handles are made of cherry wood. Overall length of mold 11 3/4 inches.
Isaac Maynard was born October 27, 1747 in Sudbury, Massachusetts. He is listed on the rolls of Captain John Nixon's company of Minutemen in 1775, as well as Captain Asahel Wheeler's company rolls. Maynard died June 25, 1797. Among the many items listed in the probate inventory of his personal estate taken after his death is "Gun & Bayonett 10/, Bullett and Shott moulds 1/" (Middlesex County, Massachusetts Probate File Papers, 1648-1871, Case No. 14842, p. 1220). Maynard is buried in the Old Revolutionary Cemetery in Sudbury, Massachusetts.