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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 Sudbury 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.
For more about the map see: https://jch.com/history/250/RoutesToConcordApril191775/
