Wayside Inn Porch Reopens For Dining In Sudbury After Decades

Originally destroyed in a fire in 1955, the historic porch was rebuilt this past year.

By Jessie Castellano, Patch Staff

May 19, 2026 3:21 pm EDT

Longfellow's Wayside Inn porch is officially open to diners for the first time since a 1955 fire destroyed the original structure, the business wrote in a social media post Tuesday. (Google Maps)

SUDBURY, MA — A piece of Sudbury's history is returning to public use this spring.

Longfellow's Wayside Inn porch is officially open to diners for the first time since a 1955 fire destroyed the original structure, the business wrote in a social media post Tuesday. The rebuilt porch was completed over the past year through an anonymous donor's gift honoring the donor's late wife, and the space is now fully screened.

The inn at 72 Wayside Inn Road traces its history to 1716, when Sudbury selectmen granted David Howe a license to host travelers. The inn was later known as Howe's Tavern and then the Red Horse Tavern after Ezekiel Howe renamed it in 1746, according to the Freedom's Way.

The Wayside Inn says it is one of the oldest inns operating in the U.S. The property also describes itself as a more than 300-year-old landmark along the Old Boston Post Road, where the How(e) family operated the inn and later became tied to the wars for independence, according to the inn's website.

The porch reopening adds another outdoor dining option at the historic property, which already offers seasonal patio dining for lunch and dinner, weather permitting.

Dining hours listed online are 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch Monday through Saturday, 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. for dinner Monday through Saturday and noon to 7:30 p.m. on Sundays.

The inn encouraged visitors to stop by for a meal during the warm-weather season and said the screened porch offers shade and protection from insects.

See Also: