Faulkner Mills
Faulkner Mills
The Faulkner Mills stand on the east bank of the Concord River at the North Billerica falls, across the mill pond from the Talbot Mills. The brick woolen mill that survives was largely rebuilt around 1880, but the site has been worked by water power since the eighteenth century, and the deeds trace it from a five-acre lot of Rogers family land to a woolen business that one family ran for more than a century.
In 1708 the town granted Christopher Osgood Jr. of Andover the neck of land on the west side of the river "with the stream at the falls", on condition that he build and keep a grist mill there. The east bank was Rogers land: the town had granted Thomas Rogers three acres between Roger Toothaker's house and the river in 1678. On July 29, 1745 Thomas Rogers sold Osgood five acres of "Swamp and upland ... on the northeastwardly side of Concord River over against said Osgood's Mills", bounded by "a great Rock with stones upon it" and "the ditch wherein the water used to run from the Saw mill", with a quarter of Rogers's sawmill. Two years later, on April 21, 1747, Osgood sold four acres and a riverside strip to Joseph Ruggles, a clothworker, with "liberty of drawing water out of the said Christopher Osgood's mill pond ... for ... a fulling mill whenever the water runs over the said Christopher Osgood's Mill Dam". Ruggles could build "no other mill there but a fulling mill", with "but one good wheel and stocks".
Ruggles fulled cloth here for 37 years. In 1784 he sold the lot and the water privilege to Timothy Sprague, clothier, whose rights were now measured against the dam of Thomas Richardson, owner of the grist mill. Sprague added 24 acres of the old Thomas Rogers homestead farm "near the Fulling mill" in 1785 and bought a stronger water right from Richardson in 1791. On April 16, 1799 he sold everything to the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal, whose canal drew its water from the same mill pond: 24 acres "together with the barn fulling mill, mills, dye house, all the presses, dye kittels and potts, shears and all the clothiers fullers and dyers apparatus", for $2,200.
Francis Faulkner, son of Col. Francis Faulkner of Acton, came to Billerica on April 10, 1811 and began making woolen goods in the canal company's fulling mill, one of the first woolen manufactures in New England. He was a tenant for fourteen years. On May 4, 1825 the canal proprietors sold him "three certain lots ... near the Canal Mills so called" for $2,500: the fulling mill lot, "about twenty one acres" running down the river, and a two-acre lot on the road to the meeting house, with water from "one half of the creek leading from the mill pond to the Fulling mill", to be shut off whenever the pond fell three quarters of an inch below the top of the dam, on pain of "one dollar for every half hour". He paid with a $3,000 mortgage to Harvard College, discharged in 1845. By September 1825, when he deeded a house lot to his son James R. Faulkner, the lot already ran "to the road thirty three feet from the end of the wood house annexed with the brick Factory of said Francis Faulkner". In 1831 he bought the "Little Factory" across the road from the guardians of the Mears children, and in 1836 the "Blacksmith Forge & Iron works" by the bridge.
The business was run as Francis Faulkner and Son. In 1835 Francis sold James R. "one undivided third part of a Woolen Brick Factory" and its water privilege. After Francis died on Feb. 12, 1843 his will put his share in trust, and his heirs passed it back and forth through the 1840s: to his widow Ann in 1843 and back in 1846, then by the executors to Luther W. Faulkner, who sold half of it to his brother Charles Faulkner of Boston. A family division of 1854 left James R. and Charles holding the whole, two thirds and one third. In 1857 they settled the water question with Charles P. Talbot and Thomas Talbot, who had bought the canal's main mill rights on the other bank: the Faulkners released the mill with its old water rights for $20,000 and took it back the same week for $5,500 with a fixed right to draw up to 57.3 cubic feet of water a second "through the Canal or creek so called". That deed governed the mill's water for the next 140 years.
James R. Faulkner died in 1877. In 1880 Charles Faulkner, his own third and as executor of his brother's will the other two thirds, conveyed the 29.55-acre property, "with all the machinery, tools and fixtures in the buildings", to the new Faulkner Manufacturing Company, on a plan by R. A. Hall. Hazen (1883) describes the firm, still known as J. R. Faulkner and Co., with eight sets of cards, seventy-two hands and Richard Faulkner, the founder's grandson, as agent. The present three-story brick mill with its stair and cistern tower dates from this rebuilding. Across the street the Faulkner daughters gave their parents' homestead in trust in 1903 for the Faulkner Kindergarten.
In 1914 the Faulkner Manufacturing Company sold its plant, lots 1, 2, 3 and 5 on a new Smith and Brooks plan, with "all its trade-marks and trade names", to Daniel W. Farnsworth of Montclair, New Jersey, who conveyed it in January 1915 to the North Billerica Company. That company made woolen cloth here for most of the twentieth century; in 1920 the plant had eight sets of cards and fifty broad looms, and it was still running when MACRIS recorded it in the 1970s. Renamed Faulkner Mills, Inc., it conveyed the mill to Faulkner Realty, Inc. in 1992, which sold the mill lot to Faulkner Mills Acquisition Corp. in 1995 and the inlet canal parcel in 2000. The parking lot across Faulkner Street was sold separately in 2001. The mill now houses small businesses and the Middlesex Canal Museum.
The MACRIS inventory form dates the business to 1811 and the oldest building to the 1830s or 1840s. The deeds show that Faulkner owned nothing here until 1825, and that a brick factory was already standing on the lot by September of that year.
References
- MACRIS BIL.77
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), pp. 317-321: Osgood's 1708 grant, the Ruggles fulling-mill privilege, the Canal Company, Francis Faulkner (1811) and the Talbots
- MACRIS BIL.E and NR nomination 83003996, Billerica Mills Historic District (1983): Faulkner mill history, 1825 purchase, 1914 sale
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1745 | Deed | Thomas Rogers of Billerica, husbandman | Christopher Osgood of Billerica, miller | 1745 Thomas Rogers sells the east-bank land "over against said Osgood's Mills" | 44/717 (South) |
Billerica town book 4, pages 467-469. For 100 pounds old tenor, "a certain Tract of Swamp and upland ... lying on the northeastwardly side of Concord River over against said Osgood's Mills containing by estimation five acres", from the end of the lane along the highway "towards the Bridge" to "a great Rock with stones upon it", then to "a flat Rock" and "the mouth of the ditch wherein the water used to run from the Saw mill standing on the aforesaid Rogers land", along "the pond hole so called" to the river, and south by "Doctor Roger Toothacher"; with "one quarter part of a Sawmill standing on said Rogers's own land". Dated July 29, 1745. This is the east-bank land Hazen guessed Osgood "probably acquired by purchase": two years later Osgood sold the same rocks, ditch and frontage to Joseph Ruggles for the fulling mill.
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| September 26, 1748 | Deed | Christopher Osgood of Billerica, miller | Joseph Ruggles of Billerica, clothworker | 1747 Osgood sells the fulling mill site and water privilege to Joseph Ruggles | 48/59 (South) |
Billerica town book 5, pages 201-204. For 100 pounds, "two certain peices or parcells of land": about 4 acres between the highway and the mill pond, bounded by "the lands of Doctor Toothaker" and the "mill pond and ditch", and about 10 rods on the river west of the highway between "a great rock", a flat rock and a white oak stump; with "a full privilege and liberty of drawing water out of the said Christopher Osgood's mill pond ... for the use employ and benefit of a fulling mill whenever the water runs over the said Christopher Osgood's Mill Dam", Osgood keeping up the dam and the sluice, and Ruggles "to build no other mill there but a fulling mill", with "but one good wheel and stocks", and to offer the property back to Osgood before any sale. Dated April 21, 1747. The beginning of the fulling-mill privilege on the east bank that became the Faulkner mill.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| May 2, 1785 | Deed | Joseph Ruggles of Billerica, clothier (wife Sarah releasing dower) | Timothy Sprague of Billerica, clothier | 1784 Joseph Ruggles sells the fulling mill privilege to Timothy Sprague | 88/447 (South) |
Billerica town book 7, pages 474-476. For 200 pounds, "two certain parcels of land": about 4 acres between the highway and the mill pond, bounded by land "formerly belonging to Doctor Toothaker" and "an old Ditch", and about 10 rods "lying Westerly of the highway ... on the River" between a flat rock and a white oak stump; with "a full Priviledge & liberty of drawing water out of the said mill pond (which is now the property of Thomas Richardson) ... for the Use Employ & Benefit of a Fulling mill whenever the water runs over the said Thomas Richardson's mill dam", Richardson to keep up the dam and the sluice, and Sprague "to build no other mill there but a fulling mill". Dated Aug 26, 1784. The fulling-mill privilege of Hazen's 1747 Osgood-Ruggles sale, which Francis Faulkner leased in 1811 and bought in 1825.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| August 20, 1792 | Executor's Deed | Shemuel Griffin of Andover, executor of the will of Thomas Rogers of Billerica | Timothy Sprague of Billerica, clothier | 1785 the 24 acres from the Thomas Rogers homestead farm to Timothy Sprague | 108/210 (South) |
Billerica town book 8, pages 325-327. Under an order of the Court of Common Pleas (March 1785) to sell for debts and legacies, for 58 pounds 10s, "twenty four Acres more or less of the Homestead Farm of said Thomas Rogers deceased lying by the Road that leads from Tewksbury to Chelmsford and is the Westerly part of said Farm", from the rail fence "near the house of the abovesaid Timothy Sprague" north to Isaac Kidder, west to Concord River and down the river "near the Fulling mill" to the road, "leaving to the abovesaid Timothy Sprague the full of his former purchase of Joseph Ruggles". Dated April 26, 1785, recorded 1792. The 24 acres that became Faulkner's "about twenty one acres" in 1825 and the mill lot of today.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| August 20, 1792 | Deed | Thomas Richardson of Billerica, gentleman (wife Judith releasing dower) | Timothy Sprague of Billerica, clothier | 1791 water right for the fulling mill from Thomas Richardson | 108/212 (South) |
Billerica town book 8, pages 328-330. For 100 pounds, "forever certain and full Liberty to draw Water out of the mill Pond as the Ditch is cut sufficient for the Use of his fulling mill at all times forever hereafter whenever the Water runs over said Richardson's mill Dam", Richardson to shut his mill gates one by one down to his grist mill when it does not, and Sprague to shut his gate when the pond falls below the top of the dam; Richardson to keep up the dam, Sprague "to build no other mill upon said Stream but a Fulling Mill" and free to deepen and clean the ditch. Dated Sept 10, 1791. The water right later recited in the canal's 1825 deed to Faulkner.
Title passed to:
Related:
|
|||||
| April 17, 1799 | Deed | Timothy Sprague of Billerica, clothier (wife Azubah releasing dower) | The Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal | 1799 Timothy Sprague sells the fulling mill and 24 acres to the canal | 132/218 (South) |
Billerica town book 9, pages 439-441. For $2,200, "two lotts of land": about 24 acres "bounded easterly by land of Thomas Richardson Northerly by land of John Rogers westerly and southerly by Concord river and the road", except a small triangle near the bridge sold earlier to Richardson, "together with the barn fulling mill, mills, dye house, all the presses, dye kittels and potts, shears and all the clothiers fullers and dyers apparatus and machines (excepting Mr. Barrett's right in a pair of shears)", with all his rights in "the waters dams sleuceways water courses"; and about 4 acres "with a dwelling house thereon" on "the road leading from Andover to Chelmsford by the Canal mills", by William Rogers, the mill pond and the "old ditch". The fulling mill the canal later leased to Francis Faulkner and sold to him in 1825 with "about twenty one acres".
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| April 30, 1799 | Release | Thomas Richardson of Billerica, innholder | The Corporation of the Middlesex Canal | 1799 Richardson release of the Sprague triangle and the Carlton mill estate | 132/237 (South) |
Billerica town book 9, pages 441-442. Reciting that he had "heretofore sold to the use of the Middlesex Canal Corporation an estate and mills on Osgood falls late the estate of John Carlton", for $1 he releases a small triangle "lying on an island near which I had purchased of Timothy Sprague" and all his right in "the said Carlton estate joining to the same mills and falls", keeping a wood lot and meadow of the Carlton estate to the west. Dated April 20, 1799, four days after the Sprague deed; it tidied the canal's title at the falls on both sides.
Related:
|
|||||
| May 5, 1825 | Deed | The Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal, by Benjamin Guild, President | Francis Faulkner of Billerica, clothier | 1825 Middlesex Canal sells the fulling mill and 21 acres to Francis Faulkner | 260/48 (South) |
Billerica town book 12, pages 407-412. For $2,500, "three certain lots or parcels of land ... on the Northerly side of Concord River and near the Canal Mills so called": 2 acres 27 rods by William Rogers on "the road leading from the Canal Mills by said Rogers house to Billerica meeting house"; "about twenty one acres" from "the creek or water course to the fulling mill" along "the little Bason so called" and down the river to John Rogers and Thomas Richardson; and the fulling mill lot, "with the privilege of keeping and maintaining the building of said Mill over said creek", the creek itself reserved. With "the privilege of using the water which passes through one half of the creek leading from the mill pond to the Fulling mill ... for the purpose of working said mill and Factory", but never when the pond is 3/4 inch below the top of the dam, on pain of "one dollar for every half hour said gates remain open". The canal reserved its water, a way across, and the right to repurchase within a year.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| May 5, 1825 | Mortgage | Francis Faulkner of Billerica, Esq. (wife Ann releasing dower) | The President and Fellows of Harvard College | 1825 Harvard College mortgage, discharged 1845 | 260/53 (South) |
Billerica town book 12, pages 413-415. For $3,000, payable in a year with semiannual interest, the three tracts "near the canal mills, so called and on the Northeast side of Concord river, with all the buildings thereon": the 2 acre 27 rod lot by William Rogers, the 21 acres on the creek and river, and the fulling mill lot, "the same premises which were conveyed to me by the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal by their deed dated this fourth day of May instant". Discharged by Harvard College (Samuel A. Eliot, Treasurer) May 15, 1845.
Title from:
|
|||||
| October 26, 1825 | Deed | Francis Faulkner of Billerica, Esquire (wife Ann releasing dower) | His son James R. Faulkner (James Robbins Faulkner) of Billerica, gentleman | 1825 J. R. Faulkner homestead lot beside "the brick Factory" | 262/441 (South) |
Billerica town book 12, pages 438-439. For $100, "a lot of land situate in Billerica near the canal mills (so called)" around James R. Faulkner's dwelling house and wood house, 30 ft from William Richardson's land, running "to the road thirty three feet from the end of the wood house annexed with the brick Factory of said Francis Faulkner"; Francis reserved a way in front of the house "but not within thirty feet of said dwelling house". Dated Sept 24, 1825: the brick factory was already standing. This is the J. R. Faulkner homestead later given in trust for the Faulkner Kindergarten (1903), from which the mill office lot (lot 5) was cut in 1914.
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| October 26, 1825 | Mortgage | James R. Faulkner (James Robbins Faulkner) of Billerica, gentleman | Ann Faulkner of Billerica, wife of Francis Faulkner | 1825 mortgage of the homestead lot to Ann Faulkner | 262/442 (South) |
Billerica town book 12, pages 440-441. Mortgage of "a lot of land situated in Billerica near the canal Mills (so called) it being the same land this day purchased of said Francis Faulkner ... together with the dwelling house on said land", to secure $1,155 in one year. Dated Sept 24, 1825.
Title from:
|
|||||
| 1831 | Guardians' Deed | Nathaniel Stearns and John Baldwin, guardians of Edwin, Charles, Lucy Ann, Nathan and Elbert Mears, minor children of Nathan Mears | Francis Faulkner of Billerica, Esquire | 1831 the Little Factory (wooden woolen factory) lot | 305/44 (South) |
Billerica town book 11, pages 529-532. Under a special Resolve of the General Court (January 1829), for $1,042, the minors' land "at the Canal Mills so called ... with the building thereon, called the Little Factory or Woolen Factory": about 20 square rods from the stone abutment of "the second bridge over Concord River North of the Grist Mills", by "a large rock in the falls", along "the Fulling Mill Creek, so called" to the road "leading to the Canal Mills ... from Tewksbury". With a gateway 16 by 18 inches to draw water "to turn the water wheel for the works in said Little Factory" when water runs over the canal proprietors' dam; reserving a 4 ft way to the minors' sawmill, the floating of logs from "the Great Mill pond", and water for "the Blacksmith Forge and Iron Works", conveyed the same day to James Rice. The wooden factory lot "nearly opposite" the brick mill in later deeds, today the canal side of Faulkner Street.
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| December 5, 1836 | Deed | Francis Faulkner of Billerica, Esquire (wife Ann releasing dower) | His son James R. Faulkner (James Robbins Faulkner) of Billerica, gentleman | 1835 Francis Faulkner sells a third of the brick woolen factory to his son | 358/312 (South) |
Billerica town book 15, pages 308-310. For $3,000, "one undivided third part of a Woolen Brick Factory situated in the Northerly part of said Billerica with one undivided third part of a lot of land adjoining the same", from the road in front of the factory at the corner of James R. Faulkner's house lot to "a little bason so called in Concord River" and "said Factory Creek", with a third of "the water privilege ... contained in the deed given by the Corporation of the Middlesex Canal to Francis Faulkner dated May 4 A.D. 1825"; a third of "a Wooden frame factory ... nearly opposite said Brick Factory" (Stearns and Baldwin, guardians, 1831); a third of the "Forge building, forge, trip hammers and gearing and Coal house" near the bridge (Kneeland, guardian, 1836); and a third of two house lots. Acknowledged Oct 15, 1835, recorded Dec 5, 1836. The earliest deed naming the brick woolen mill.
Title from:
Title passed to:
Related:
|
|||||
| 1836 | Guardian's Deed | Abner Kneeland of Boston, guardian of James Jr., Dorcas I., Dolly L. and Hannah L. Rice, minor children of James Rice | Francis Faulkner of Billerica, Esquire | 1836 the Blacksmith Forge and Iron Works lot at auction | 353/514 (South) |
Billerica town book 15, pages 258-261. Sold at public auction on the premises May 24, 1836, under a Suffolk probate license, for $2,275, "a certain tract of land ... at the Canal Mills so called, called & known by the name of the Blacksmith Forge & Iron works, with the buildings thereon", by "the first bridge over Concord River, north of the Grist mills" and the river, with water "from the basin between said Forge Shop and said Faulkner's Fulling mill & Factory" through two gateways "to turn the water wheel that carries the forge hammer", whenever water runs over the canal proprietors' dam, subject to the rights of Nathaniel Stearns's saw mill and of Faulkner's own "Little Factory". Also about an acre "late the Homestead of the said James Rice ... called the Fessenden place".
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| May 16, 1843 | Will | Estate of Francis Faulkner of Billerica, Esquire (died Feb. 12, 1843) | His widow Ann Faulkner for life, then his children; sons James R. Faulkner and Charles Faulkner, executors and trustees | 1843 will of Francis Faulkner: his share of the mill in trust | Probate #31567 |
Will of May 2, 1840, proved May 16, 1843. All property to his wife for life, "in trust, to my Executors ... with power to sell or let at their discretion, all my Interest owned in conection with James R Faulkner and known as the property of Francis Faulkner & Son", the income to the widow and the property then "divided among my children". The inventory of April 26, 1843 lists his house, outbuildings and five acres, 20 acres of pasture and 5 of meadow ($3,023) and adds "Interest in the concern of F. Faulkner and Sons not known". His two thirds of the mill passed through this will to the 1846-1854 family deeds.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| June 21, 1843 | Quitclaim Deed | The children of Francis Faulkner (James R., William E., Luther W., George, Dwight F., Charles and Winthrop Faulkner, and Ann wife of Calvin Rogers) and the widow and children of Francis Faulkner Jr. of Keene, N.H. | Ann Faulkner of Billerica, widow of Francis Faulkner | 1843 heirs release Francis Faulkner's estate to his widow | 430/57 (South) |
Billerica town book 17, pages 495-497. For $1, a release to the widow of "all the real and personal property of every description, which were of Francis Faulkner late of said Billerica Decd. and ... to which we ... may be entitled under the will of said Francis Faulkner and also ... as the heirs and next of kin", the sons' wives releasing dower. Dated May 24, 1843, eight days after the will was proved; it put all of Francis Faulkner's estate, including his share of the mill, in his widow's hands.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| August 19, 1846 | Quitclaim Deed | Ann Faulkner of Billerica, widow of Francis Faulkner | The heirs of Francis Faulkner (James R., William E., Luther W., George, Dwight F., Charles and Winthrop Faulkner, Calvin Rogers, and Eliza, Charles S. and Elizabeth Faulkner of Keene) | 1846 widow reconveys the estate to the heirs | 492/98 (South) |
Billerica town book 20, pages 213-214. For $1, the widow releases back to the family "all my right title & interest in & to all the real & personal property of every description which was conveyed to me by deed dated the twenty fourth day of May ... 1843" (Book 430 Page 57). Dated June 30, 1846; it returned Francis Faulkner's estate, including his share of the mill, to his heirs in common, ahead of the 1846-1854 buyouts by Charles and James R. Faulkner.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| August 19, 1846 | Executors' Deed | James R. Faulkner and Charles Faulkner, executors of the will of Francis Faulkner | Luther W. Faulkner of Billerica, manufacturer | 1846 executors sell Francis Faulkner's two thirds of the mill to Luther W. Faulkner | 492/99 (South) |
Billerica town book 18, pages 201-205. For $1,000, under the power of sale in the will, Francis Faulkner's "two undivided third parts of all the real estate, buildings, fixtures & machinery late the property of the copartnership of Francis Faulkner & son": the lot "with a Brick Factory thereon standing" by "a little basin so called in Concord River" and "said Factory Creek", with its share of the water rights of the 1825 canal deed and of "all the fixtures, machinery & tools"; the wooden factory "nearly opposite" (1831); "the Blacksmiths forge and Iron works" (1836); and two house lots, one near "the cove so called" (Jacob Butters, 1833, Book 336 Page 401). Dated July 1, 1846. The next day Luther passed half of it to Charles Faulkner.
Title from:
Title passed to:
Related:
|
|||||
| August 19, 1846 | Deed | Luther W. Faulkner of Billerica, manufacturer (wife Martha M. releasing dower) | Charles Faulkner of Boston, merchant | 1846 Luther W. Faulkner to Charles Faulkner, one third | 492/103 (South) |
Billerica town book 18, pages 205-209. For $1,000, "one undivided third part of the several parcels of real estate ... with the buildings, fixtures & machinery thereon, the same being one of the two undivided third parts of all the real estate, buildings, fixtures & machinery late the property of the copartnership of Francis Faulkner & son", conveyed to him by the executors the day before: the brick factory and its water rights under the 1825 canal deed, the wooden factory, the forge and iron works, and two house lots. Dated July 2, 1846.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| August 19, 1846 | Mortgage | Charles Faulkner of Boston, merchant | James R. Faulkner, executor of the will of Francis Faulkner | 1846 Charles Faulkner's mortgage of his third to the estate | 492/106 (South) |
Billerica town book 18, pages 209-210. For $8,000, Charles Faulkner's new "one undivided third part of the several parcels of real estate ... with the buildings, fixtures & machinery thereon", one of the two thirds "late the property of the copartnership of Francis Faulkner & son", to his brother as executor of their father's will; indexed as a mortgage of "several lots with water power", later discharged. It secured the price of the share Charles took in the 1846 reorganization of the mill.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| February 14, 1854 | Quitclaim Deed | The heirs at law of Francis Faulkner (James R., Dwight F., Charles, George, Winthrop and Luther W. Faulkner, Calvin and Ann F. Rogers, and the Keene heirs) | Lois R. Faulkner, Lydia H. Faulkner and William E. Faulkner of Billerica, a third each | 1854 heirs divide the 1825 purchase: the 2 acre lot by the mill (store and counting room reserved) | 668/420 (South) |
Billerica town book 21, pages 186-189. For $3,000, the 2 acre 27 rod lot by William Rogers "on the road leading from the canal mills by said Rogers house to Billerica Meeting house", reaching to a stake "twenty six feet easterly of a line drawn in the direction of the easterly end of the Fullings Mill", with the buildings, "the same piece ... first described in the deed of the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal to Francis Faulkner dated May 4th A.D. 1825". James R. and Charles Faulkner reserved "the right to use one corner of said premises for the purpose of keeping a store and counting room thereon as the buildings at present used for those purposes now stand". Dated Jan 2, 1854.
Title from:
|
|||||
| February 14, 1854 | Quitclaim Deed | The other heirs at law of Francis Faulkner (Dwight F., George, Winthrop, Luther W., Lois R., Lydia H. and William E. Faulkner, Calvin and Ann F. Rogers, and the Keene heirs) | James R. Faulkner of Billerica, manufacturer (two thirds), and Charles Faulkner of Boston, merchant (one third) | 1854 heirs release the 15 acres behind the mill to James R. and Charles Faulkner | 668/424 (South) |
Billerica town book 21, pages 191-193. For $600, land "at the canal mills so called" bounded by land of James R. and Charles Faulkner and of William E. Faulkner, by Herman Rogers, by Concord River on two sides, and by "land of said James R. Faulkner where he now lives, consisting of plain land and containing about fifteen acres": the rest of the 21 acres of the 1825 canal purchase, behind the mill. Dated Jan 2, 1854. With it James R. and Charles Faulkner held the whole mill property, two thirds and one third, the shares of the later 1857 and 1880 deeds.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| May 9, 1857 | Quitclaim Deed | James R. Faulkner of Billerica, manufacturer, and Charles Faulkner of Boston, merchant (wives Catharine and Annie S. releasing dower) | Charles P. Talbot of Lowell and Thomas Talbot of Billerica, merchants | 1857 Faulkners release the mill and its old water rights to the Talbots | 9/359 |
For $20,000, the lot "with a brick Factory and buildings thereon standing" in front of the road at the corner of James R. Faulkner's house lot, down to "a little Basin, so called, in Concord River" and "the south side of said Factory Creek", "together with all the Water rights and privileges ... set forth in the Deed of the Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal to the said Francis Faulkner bearing date on the fourth day of May A.D. 1825 ... book 260, page 248"; the wooden factory lot "nearly opposite the brick factory" (Stearns and Baldwin, guardians, to Francis Faulkner, 1831, Book 305 Page 44); and "the Blacksmiths Forge and Iron works" near the bridge (Abner Kneeland, guardian, 1836, Book 353 Page 514), each with its water rights. Signed April 1, 1857, recorded with the Talbots' reconveyance (Book 9 Page 378), which returned the land with a fixed share of the water.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| May 9, 1857 | Quitclaim Deed | Charles P. Talbot of Lowell and Thomas Talbot of Billerica, merchants (wives Harriet E. and Isabella W. releasing dower) | James R. Faulkner of Billerica, manufacturer (two thirds), and Charles Faulkner of Boston, merchant (one third) | 1857 Talbots convey the brick factory and water right to the Faulkners | 9/378 |
For $5,500: the lot "with a brick Factory and buildings thereon standing" in front of the road "at the corner of James R. Faulkner's house lot", running back 300 ft and down 140 ft to "a little Basin so called in Concord River" and along "the South side of sd. Factory Creek"; the lot "with a Wooden Factory thereon standing situate nearly opposite", conveyed to Francis Faulkner by the guardians Nathaniel Stearns and John Baldwin in 1831 (Book 305 Page 44); the "Blacksmith Forge and Iron Works" near the bridge, conveyed to Francis Faulkner by Abner Kneeland, guardian, in 1836 (Book 353 Page 514), both "without the water rights"; and 79.5 sq rods on "the Road leading from Tewksbury to the Canal Mills" (Sprake Livingston plan, 1844). With a defined water right: up to 57.3 cubic feet a second "through the Canal or creek so called" on two wheels whenever the pond stands above a bolt in a rock, the Talbots keeping the dam, the head gates and the rest of the water. The deed that fixed the Faulkner mill's water rights for the next century.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| December 2, 1880 | Deed | Charles Faulkner of Boston (wife Annie S. Faulkner releasing dower) | The Faulkner Manufacturing Company | 1880 Charles Faulkner's third to the new corporation | 143/22 |
For $25,000, "one undivided third part of the lot of land with the buildings thereon", lot 1 on R. A. Hall's October 1880 "plan of the property of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company", with "all the water rights, water privileges, rights of flowage", especially the rights in the 1857 Talbot deed (Book 9 Page 378), and "all the machinery, tools and fixtures in the buildings", plus one third of lots 2 and 3 and of three other lots on the roads to Billerica Centre and Tewksbury. Charles Faulkner's own third, conveyed the same day as the executor's deed for the other two thirds.
Title from:
Title passed to:
Related:
|
|||||
| December 2, 1880 | Executor's Deed | Charles Faulkner of Boston, executor of and trustee under the will of James R. Faulkner | The Faulkner Manufacturing Company | 1880 J. R. Faulkner estate's two thirds to the new corporation | 143/23 |
For $50,000, "two undivided third parts of all that lot of land with the buildings thereon": lot 1 of 29.55 acres from "the stone pier of the bridge across Concord River" across "the little basin, so-called", along the river about 1,540 ft to Jones and Foster, by the Boston and Lowell Rail Road and the schoolhouse lot back to the road to Billerica Centre, with the water rights, flowage, the 1857 Talbot rights (Book 9 Page 378) and "all the machinery, tools and fixtures in the buildings"; lot 2 "with the building thereon ... on the east end of the dam south of the County road", bounded 10 ft from the canal wall; and two thirds of five more lots, including land "on what was formerly the Middlesex Canal" (Sage plan 1838, Book 18 Page 374; Calvin Rogers to James R. and Charles Faulkner, 1859, Book 20 Page 390) and an acre by the old William Rogers house on "the road ... to the Canal Mills".
Title from:
Title passed to:
Related:
|
|||||
| September 17, 1914 | Trust Deed | Anne R. Faulkner, daughter of James R. Faulkner | James Faulkner Preston, Mary E. F. Gould and Harriet B. Rogers, Trustees of the James R. Faulkner and Catharine R. Faulkner Kindergarten for North Billerica | Faulkner homestead trust; source of the mill office lot (lot 5) | 526/146 |
Quitclaim in trust of the James R. Faulkner homestead, "bounded easterly by the Road leading to Billerica Centre so-called, and northerly, westerly and southerly by land now of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company", being "the same premises which were conveyed by Francis Faulkner, my grandfather, to said James R. Faulkner, my father, by deed dated September 24, 1825 ... libro 262, page 441; and including the former dwelling house or homestead". Gift of Abby L., Emily F. and Anne R. Faulkner as a memorial of their parents, for a kindergarten for the children of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company's employees and the working people of North Billerica. Dated March 17, 1903, recorded 1914. Lot 5 of the mill plant was later cut from this homestead.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| July 15, 1914 | Quitclaim Deed | The Faulkner Manufacturing Company, by George M. Preston, President and Treasurer | Daniel W. Farnsworth of Montclair, New Jersey | 1914 Faulkner Manufacturing Company sells the plant (lots 1-3) | 525/238 |
"Three certain parcels of land with the buildings thereon" at North Billerica, lots 1, 2 and 3 on the "Plan of the Manufacturing Plant of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company" (Smith and Brooks, June 18, 1914, Plan Book 31 Plan 91): the mill lot of about 125,513 sq ft on Faulkner Street and the Concord River, the triangle west of "the canal, formerly known as the creek", and the lot east of it, with the water rights of the 1857 Talbot deed (Book 9 Page 378), a 20 ft private way to Carleton Street, and "all the machinery, tools, and equipment ... and all its trade-marks and trade names". Title: "a portion of the same conveyed to the Faulkner Manufacturing Company by Charles Faulkner as Executor and Trustee and in his own right by two deeds, both dated November 22, 1880", Book 143 Pages 22 and 23. Signed July 9, 1914, after directors' votes authorizing an agreement with Farnsworth.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| September 17, 1914 | Deed | James F. Preston, Mary E. F. Gould and Harriet B. Rogers, Trustees under the instrument of Anne R. Faulkner (1903) | The Faulkner Manufacturing Company | 1914 office lot exchanged from the kindergarten trustees | 526/159 |
Lot 5 on Plan 31/91, "a certain lot of land with the buildings thereon, situated on the northerly side of Faulkner street", 1,950 sq ft beside the "Homestead", "conveyed to said Faulkner Manufacturing Company in exchange for a certain parcel of land situated in the rear of said Homestead" conveyed to the trustees the same day. "A portion of the same conveyed to us by said deed from Anne R. Faulkner, dated March 17, 1903." Restricted for 30 years (no structure over three stories or 40 ft, no garage, blacksmith shop, machine shop, foundry or manufacturing, no liquor or explosives) for the benefit of the Homestead. Dated Aug 24, 1914.
Title from:
Title passed to:
Related:
|
|||||
| November 20, 1914 | Deed | The Faulkner Manufacturing Company, by George M. Preston, President and Treasurer | Daniel W. Farnsworth of Montclair, New Jersey | 1914 office lot (lot 5) to Farnsworth | 531/229 |
Lot 5 on Plan Book 31 Plan 91, "a certain lot of land with the buildings thereon situated on the northerly side of Faulkner street", 1,950 sq ft between the street, the mill lot and the Preston trustees' "Homestead", the lot "with an office building thereon" (stockholders' vote, Sept 21, 1914). Restricted for 30 years from Aug 24, 1914 (no building over three stories or 40 ft, no garage, blacksmith shop, foundry or manufacturing, but offices for a manufacturing plant allowed) for the benefit of the Homestead. "All the same premises conveyed to said Faulkner Manufacturing Company by James F. Preston and others by their deed dated August 24, 1914 ... Book 526, Page 159." Dated Sept 21, acknowledged Nov 3, 1914.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| November 20, 1914 | Quitclaim Deed | The Faulkner Manufacturing Company, by George M. Preston, President and Treasurer | Daniel W. Farnsworth of Montclair, New Jersey | 1914 lot 3 confirmatory deed | 531/232 |
Confirmatory quitclaim of lot 3 on Plan 31/91, "a certain lot of vacant land" of about 7,142 sq ft between Faulkner Street, the canal and the Concord River, already in the July 9, 1914 deed (Book 525 Page 238) and "also a part of the same premises described in a deed from Alice B. Burgess and Elizabeth J. Carson to this corporation dated Aug. 1, 1914 ... given for further assurance". "This present conveyance is also given for further assurance and without any claim on the part of this corporation to have in fact at this time any real title."
Title passed to:
Related:
|
|||||
| February 9, 1915 | Quitclaim Deed | Daniel W. Farnsworth of Montclair, New Jersey (wife Claribel Champion Farnsworth releasing dower) | North Billerica Company | 1915 mill plant to the North Billerica Company | 533/159 |
Four parcels "with the buildings thereon" at North Billerica, lots 1, 2, 3 and 5 on the "Plan of the Manufacturing Plant of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company" (Smith and Brooks, June 18, 1914, Plan Book 31 Plan 91): lot 1 the mill lot of about 125,513 sq ft on Faulkner Street and the Concord River, lot 2 a triangle between the street, the river and "the canal, formerly known as the creek", lot 3 east of the canal, and lot 5 a small street lot by the Preston trustees' "Homestead", restricted for 30 years. With all water rights, "including ... the rights and privileges conveyed by Charles P. Talbot et al to James R. Faulkner et al by deed dated May 8, 1857", a private way to Carleton Street, and "all the machinery, tools, and equipment ... and all the trade-marks and trade names of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company". "Being the same premises conveyed to the grantor by deeds of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company dated July 9, 1914, September 21, 1914, and November 3, 1914."
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| June 26, 1978 | Mortgage | North Billerica Company | Union National Bank of Lowell | 1978 North Billerica Company mortgage of the mill | 2310/282 |
For $1,000,000, "the following parcels of land, with the buildings thereon, situated in North Billerica": Parcels I-IV, the mill plant held under the 1915 Farnsworth deed (Book 533 Page 159), with "all water rights and privileges" of the 1857 Talbot deed, the private way to Carleton Street, "all the machinery, tools and equipment" and "the trade-marks and trade names of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company"; Parcel V, the 4.47 acres between Faulkner and Rogers Streets and the old Middlesex Canal (from Grace A. Morrill, 1919); Parcel VI on Mount Pleasant Street; and registered land on Indian Road. Discharged 1991 (Book 5493 Page 27). The last large mortgage of the woolen company, which kept the mill running into the 1980s.
Title from:
|
|||||
| December 21, 1992 | Quitclaim Deed | Faulkner Mills, Inc. (formerly the North Billerica Company) | Faulkner Realty, Inc. of Worcester | 1992 Faulkner Mills, Inc. to Faulkner Realty, Inc. | 6269/264 |
Schedule A, "parcels of land, with the buildings thereon": Parcel I the 125,513 sq ft mill lot on Faulkner Street and the Concord River, Parcel II the triangle bounded by "the canal, formerly known as the creek", Parcel III east of the canal, Parcel IV the small lot by the Preston trustees' "Homestead", with the 1857 water rights, the Carleton Street way, the machinery and the Faulkner Manufacturing Company's trade names, "the same premises conveyed to the Grantor herein by deed of Daniel W. Farnsworth dated January 29, 1915 ... Book 533, Page 159"; also the 4.47 acres on Faulkner and Rogers Streets (1919), a Mount Pleasant Street lot (1957), lots 23-24 across the pond (Fabricon, 1968) and registered land on Indian Road (Ctf 16072). Dated Nov 30, 1992, after the 1992 tax takings of the North Billerica Company's land; the end of the textile company's ownership.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| July 24, 1995 | Quitclaim Deed | Faulkner Realty, Inc. of Lowell | Faulkner Mills Acquisition Corp. of 55 High Street, Billerica | 1995 mill lot to Faulkner Mills Acquisition Corp. (present owner) | 7566/275 |
For $150,000, "the land in Billerica with the buildings thereon": the 125,513 sq ft mill lot on Faulkner Street and the Concord River and the 1,950 sq ft street lot beside the "Homestead", with "all water rights and privileges ... including ... the rights and privileges conveyed by Charles P. Talbot et al to James R. Faulkner et al by deed dated May 8, 1857", the private way to Carleton Street, the machinery and "all the trade-marks and trade names of the Faulkner Manufacturing Company"; also lots 23-24 across the river (Plan 60/25) and registered land on Indian and Port Sunlight Roads. "Being the same Parcels referred to as Parcel I, Parcel IV, and Parcel VII (a) and (b)" in Book 6269 Page 264. The present owner of the mill building, home of small businesses and the Middlesex Canal Museum.
Title from:
|
|||||
| July 31, 2000 | Quitclaim Deed | Faulkner Realty, Inc. (Marshall L. Field, president) | Faulkner Mills Acquisition Corp. of 55 High Street, Billerica | 2000 inlet canal parcel and riparian rights to the mill owner | 10965/115 |
For $1, Parcel II on Plan Book 202 Plan 21 (Robert M. Gill and Associates, Aug 25, 1999): 4,979 sq ft of land on the southerly side of Faulkner Street at the Concord River and 1,180 sq ft within "the inlet canal", with a 6 ft easement along the canal's east wall to repair it, and "all of the Grantor's rights as a riparian owner and its rights, if any, to the flow and use of water in the Concord River". The head of the old mill creek, part of lot 2 of the 1914 plan, rejoined to the mill lot.
Title from:
|
|||||
| September 28, 2001 | Quitclaim Deed | Faulkner Realty, Inc. | The trustees of the Concord River Trust | 2001 the mill parking lot across Faulkner Street sold off | 12167/52 |
For $200,000, lot 3 of the 1914 plan (7,142 sq ft between Faulkner Street, the canal and the river) and the 4.47 acres "on the westerly side of Faulkner and Rogers Streets" along "the Northeast bank of the Old Middlesex Canal" (Plan 36/46), "being the same Parcels referred to as Parcel III and Parcel V" in Book 6269 Page 264, "Meaning and intending to convey the so-called Parking Lot and Grantor's remaining property situated on the Southerly side of Faulkner Street". The mill's parking lot across the street, separated from the mill building.
Title from:
|
|||||
Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted; Probate # is a Middlesex probate case, Ctf a Land Court certificate of title.