From what I could determine in Sudbury’s Annual Town Meeting records, this gasoline-powered roller was purchased in 1927 ($500 under budget). The funds were appropriated during a vote at the 1926 Annual Town Meeting so that the town could trade in their steam roller. Twenty-eight years later (1955), then Highway Surveyor, W. Gordon Hunter, submitted “Our aged roller performed nobly… and is testimonial to the advantages of buying good equipment. It has finally come to the end of the line, however, and is no longer safe to operate. The Department is asking for a new one this year. The old one was one of the first rollers ever to be powered by gasoline and should find a place in a museum of old machinery.”
In those same 1955 meeting minutes, Mr. Hunter writes “…the Highway Department has for many years refrained from asking for a badly needed new building… Several years ago, the Town acquired a location… off Old Lancaster Road… It is time to put this location to use.” In 1956, Mr. Gordon submitted the following, “The big news… was… the fine new building voted by the Town in March… The heart-felt thanks of all employees in the Department goes out to the people of the Town for this remarkable improvement in their working conditions. The less said about previous conditions the better. The department somehow survived them.”
Well, the department had a brand new building that it was very proud of… Also, apparently, there is not a “museum of old machinery” conveniently located nearby... So, as a shout-out to the early growth of the town's infrastructure during those early years, they adorned the front entryway with this welcoming monolith!
I recently met and spoke with Robert A. Noyes, another former Highway Surveyor, who told me that he was the one who drove this machine from out behind the building to its current resting spot. He also mentioned that they had to rebuild the roof, because it had collapsed. You will notice the roof is still in very good shape. He remembered fondly that his grandfather, Albert Noyes (another former Highway Surveyor), once drove the machine in the early part of the 20th century.
Permission for placement was obtained from Bill and Scott from Sudbury DPW. Please respect the machinery and any plantings at the site. Enjoy!
Congratulations to kestrel76 for the FTF!