Wayland was the first settlement of Sudbury Plantation in 1639. The Town of East Sudbury was incorporated on April 10, 1780, on land which had formerly been part of Sudbury. On March 11, 1835, East Sudbury became Wayland, a farming community, presumably in honor of Dr. Francis Wayland, who was president of Brown University and a friend of East Sudbury’s Judge Edward Mellen. Both Wayland and Mellen became benefactors of the town’s library, the first free public library in the state. Today, Wayland is truly a wonderful community and a fabulous place to call home.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.9 square miles (41.2 km²), of which, 15.2 square miles (39.4 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.7 km²) of it (4.21%) is water.
Cochituate (also part of Wayland) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Wayland. The population was 6,768 at the 2000 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 10.8 km² (4.2 mi²). 9.9 km² (3.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (7.69%) is water.