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Historical commission approves standard house marker for 71 Concord Road; extra wording on Underground Railroad left off
Summary
The Sudbury Historical Commission voted to approve a replacement historical house marker for 71 Concord Road that conforms to the commission’s standard design: name, construction date and commission credit.
The Sudbury Historical Commission voted to approve a replacement historical house marker for 71 Concord Road that conforms to the commission’s standard design template: name of the house, construction date and the Sudbury Historical Commission credit.
Commission chairman Chris Haggerty moved the measure and commissioners voted in favor; one commissioner abstained. The commission’s motion requires the property owner to apply to the Historic District Commission for a certificate of appropriateness because the new marker’s shape and size differ from the district’s standard marker.
Commissioners discussed whether to keep the existing additional wording on the owner’s sign — a line reading that the house was a “station of the Underground Railroad prior to the Civil War.” Several commissioners said the statement had been asserted by previous owners and placed on a local historical‑society tour but was not documented on the Massachusetts Historical Commission inventory (MACRIS) entry. Commissioners expressed concern about opening a precedent for nonstandard wording on house markers without documentary corroboration.
Jan Costa, commissioner, noted the district commission requires consistent sign shape and wording and that any deviation must go before the district commission. Multiple commissioners said they would welcome corroborating research. One commissioner suggested the homeowner pursue the Witness Stones Project or similar programs that provide more space and a formal process for documenting African‑American history at specific addresses.
The commission’s motion directed that the approved marker at 71 Concord Road conform to the commission’s existing template (name, date, Sudbury Historical Commission), that the homeowner be reminded they must apply to the Historic District Commission because the sign shape differs from the standard, and that staff relay the Owner’s interest in pursuing additional wording or alternative interpretive approaches such as the Witness Stones Project.
Outcome: motion approved with a recorded vote (see Actions).
