About the Exhibit

Many visitors to The Wayside Inn have heard of Jerusha Howe, the “Belle of Sudbury.” Stories abound of her beauty and poise, her broken heart, and the strange occurrences in her former suite of rooms, #9 and #10, where her ghostly apparition is said to haunt Longfellow’s Wayside Inn. This exhibit goes beyond the narrative of the “Belle.” Through new research, The Wayside Inn Foundation showcases the real Jerusha Howe – sister, daughter, hostess, musician, artist, writer, family historian, benefactor to the poor – the individual. Through letters, historic records, journals, and artifacts found in The Wayside Inn’s collection and from other archives, the goal is to tell more completely who Jerusha was during her lifetime with research data that compliments the legendary tales of her imagined existence.