250 Years Ago, Concord Road did not lead to Concord; it only led to Nine Acre Corner. The bridge over the Sudbury River would not be constructed until 1802. The attached map shows the likely routes taken by the six companies of the Subdury Minute and Militia as far as we know today.
The map also shows where each captain lived at the time. We can assume that Captain Nixon and the West Side Minute Company would have assembled on the common in front of the West Side Meetinghouse, as would Captain Stone and the South Militia. Once assembled, Lieutenant Colonel Ezekiel How would lead them north to be joined by Captain Haynes of the North Militia along the way. They planned to cross Concord's South Bridge, but somewhere near the location of Emerson Hospital today, they were intercepted by Colonel Barrett's son. They were redirected to cross the Assabet River into what is now West Concord, and then proceed north to Barrett's farm to join the militia from other towns that were assembling.
Captain Cudworth and the East Side Minute Company, along with Captain Smith and the East Militia, would assemble at Sudbury's East Side Meetinghouse, which is now Wayland's Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse. They would then march north through Lincoln to Concord. It is unclear if Captain Loker and his troup of horse went to the east or the west.
The locations of the houses of the captans was taken from a map created for the Bicentennial for the 1975 brochure (page 14) of the Sudbury Companies of Militia & Minute. It seems odd to me that the map says "Drawn by Minutemen George D. Max & Ira Amesbury" and yet it is Copyright Forrest D. Bradshaw.
The rest of the images are about cleaning up the 1844 map to create a nice base map for Map of Sudbury in 1776. I made one by stitching the 1796 Mosman maps. He create the map for Sudbury and East Sudury. They split in 1780 and the name Wayland was adopted in 1835. The problem is the Commonwealth directed town to show teh county roads, not all roads, so, there are many roads that are not there. As part of the clean up, I removed the Rte 20 causeway and Heath's bridge.
The top let image is from the Borden 1844 map at New York Public. The middle map is the base map. The left map shows the revolutionary technology that made this map the most accurate map of its time.
The middle row shows (left) patching the fold above Concord with bits from David Rumsey Map Collection and a few other changes. The proper title is: Topographical map of Massachusetts: compiled from astronomical, trigonometrical, and various local surveys, Simeon Borden, 1844.
 The original image from NYPL. |
 Base map used for Routes map |
 The 1844 Borden map was composed of the towm maps from 1830. It took 14 years to develop the tech ! ! ! Borden 1844 map at New York Public More Notes |
 Added bits from Rumsey copy and lightened. |
 Remove railroads and large O & U |
 Remove Sudbury/Wayland boundary and some roads not on 1795 maps |
 1775Routes_Borden1844_1776_WestBcrop.jpg |
 1775Routes_Borden1844_1776crop.jpg |
Annotated image says: HEATH'S BRIDGE Formerly known as Potter's Bridge, Nine Acre Corner Bridge, and Hubbard's Bridge
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Middlesex County at a meeting of the commissioners of highways for Sedd County in the record day of October 1827 present Caleb Beridge, Esquire, chairman and Toby eXquire, blah blah blah on the petition of Joseph Davies, and others first presented to the honorable court of sessions for Said county at Cambridge on the first Tuesday of January 1825 in the course of law transferred to said commissioners, January 4 a new highway from the line of Northborough and the county of Worchester through the towns of Marborough Sudbury, East Sudbury, Weston, Waltham and Watertown to the Place where the Watertown Turnpike commences”
2025-04-10 jch jch.com/history/250/RoutesToConcordApril191775K
