Wayland Town Crier 7/30/10: 'Wayland A to Z': 'T' is for 'Taverns'. Local taverns were the centers of a town’s social and political life during the 17th century. The original Sudbury settlement had many taverns. The first was established in 1653 by Jonathan Parmenter, who petitioned the General Court to open an ordinary on his land along the road leading from the early town center on Old Sudbury Road to the mill on Mill Pond. It was not only a resting place for travelers, but served as the local meeting place where farmers socialized and townsmen met to decide the future of the community.