Hillside Farm
Hillside Farm
| Also Known As | Old Sherry Place |
| Address | 200 Andover Rd |
| Built | 1830 |
| Demolished | 1895 |
Hillside Farm was a farmhouse on the north side of Andover Road, at the corner of the old road over Fox Hill, on the land that now holds 200 Andover Road and its neighbors. The deeds call the house lot "twenty acres more or less", beginning "at the northeast corner at the Salem road" (the old name for this stretch of Andover Road) and running back "to a wall on the side of the old road leading from Fox Hill". For most of the 19th century a sixteen-acre field "by the road leading to Billerica Meeting House" and a four-acre lot went with it. The farmhouse appears on the 1831 Hales map, and the earliest deed found already describes the land "with all the buildings".
On January 1, 1831, John Thompson, a Boston merchant, sold the two tracts "on Fox hill" to Henry Allen of Billerica, yeoman, for $800, "with all the buildings on both tracts". Half a pew in the meetinghouse and "the Horse stable at said Meetinghouse lately owned by Thomas Richardson" went with the sale. Allen mortgaged the farm in 1833 to Robert Eames, who by 1837 had moved to Landaff, N.H. In 1837 Eames released it, "with the Buildings thereon", to James M. Allen, a Boston auctioneer, for $300. On September 7, 1838, subject to a $400 mortgage to the Massachusetts Life Insurance Company, he sold it to Helen A. Pike of Boston, "with the buildings thereon". On September 25, 1849, she sold "three certain pieces of real estate ... upon the road leading from the Railroad Depot, in said town to the Village", 38 acres "with all buildings thereon", to Henry Sperry. The 1853 Walling map labels the house "H. Sperry". After Henry Sperry's death, his widow Mehitable P. Sperry sold the farm on May 18, 1869 to George A. Bruce of Boston for $2,500.
Bruce passed the farm to George H. Chapin, who sold it on December 21, 1869 for $6,000 to Angelina Morlacchi of Boston, the sister of the Italian ballet dancer Giuseppina Morlacchi. Giuseppina was then touring American theaters and in 1873 married the scout and actor John B. "Texas Jack" Omohundro. In June and July 1877 Angelina sold the farm to Abbott R. Davis of Cambridge and bought it back from him for $6,000 within three weeks, in a refinancing that left it carrying three mortgages. When the last of them, a $500 note to Davis, went unpaid, Davis sold the farm under the power of sale on April 17, 1878, to John F. Long of Providence for $3,300.
On March 14, 1895, the farmhouse "was entirely destroyed by fire" (Boston Globe, March 16, 1895). The local name "Old Sherry Place" probably comes from Hugh Sherry, a Billerica laborer listed in the town reports of 1897-1902. By 1902 the land belonged to Mary A. Stevens of Alexandria, N.H., who mortgaged it that year to John Fisk. She sold the land to Joel S. Gray of Alexandria in 1904. It then passed through several out-of-town owners: James E. Burke of Lexington in 1913, William P. Haskell of Lincoln, N.H. in 1917, and Earl Pease of Plymouth, N.H. in 1921. In 1924 Gardner E. Spaulding of Billerica bought it with a $500 mortgage to William H. Sexton. Frederic H. Sexton of Halifax, Nova Scotia, administrator of William H. Sexton's estate and holder of the mortgage, foreclosed in 1943 and sold the twenty acres at auction to John A. Holman for $225. Holman sold to Fred Schonland and G. Blair Thompson, and on September 20, 1945 they sold the bare twenty acres to Charles R. Musgrave of East Billerica.
In February 1949 Musgrave had Brooks, Jordan and Graves lay out ten house lots along Andover Road, from his own land on the west to the "Old Road to Fox Hill" on the east (Plan Book 75, Plan 13). The house at 200 Andover Road stands on Lot 7, a lot of about 30,000 square feet (0.689 acres by the assessor's measure) near the middle of the old farm's road frontage. The lot already had buildings when it was deeded back to Musgrave in August 1950; the assessor dates the present ranch house to about 1955. It has had private owners since then.
References
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| March 23, 1831 | Warranty Deed | John Thompson of Boston, merchant, and Nancy his wife | Henry Allen of Billerica, yeoman | 1831: the twenty acres "on Fox hill" with the buildings sold to Henry Allen | 303/143 (South) |
Billerica town book 14, pages 379-380. Dated January 1, 1831, acknowledged in Suffolk February 18 by John Thompson and "Nancy otherwise called Ann Thompson". For $800, "two tracts of land situate in said Billerica": the first "situated on Fox hill containing twenty acres more or less bounded northerly by an old road over Fox hill which divides it from the Lewis place, southeasterly from said road by the road leading to Billerica Meeting house to land of Josiah Crosby and John & Henry Baldwin"; the second of 16 acres "at the corner of the wall by the road leading to Billerica Meetinghouse", by land of George W. H. Rogers and William Tyler; "with all the buildings on both tracts", together with half a pew "on the lower floor in said Meeting house" and "the Horse stable at said Meetinghouse lately owned by Thomas Richardson deceased", Thompson reserving a cart way over the 16 acres to his land beyond. The farmhouse was thus standing by 1831, when it appears on the Hales map.
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| 1837 | Quitclaim Deed | Robert Eames of Landaff, N.H., yeoman | James M. Allen of Boston, auctioneer | Robert Eames releases the farm "with the Buildings thereon" to James M. Allen | 367/257 (South) |
Billerica town book 15, pages 502-504 (the name is written "Eaves" in the copy; the index and the 1849 deed have Eames). For $300, quitclaim of "the following parcels of real Estate situate in Billerica": twenty acres "Beginning at the Northeast corner at the Salem road", southwesterly by the road 81 rods 4 links to John Baldwin, around Baldwin's land, and northwesterly "to a wall on the side of the Old road leading from Fox Hill", "with the Buildings thereon"; 16 acres by "the road leading [to] Billerica Meeting House" by G. W. H. Rogers and William Tyler; and 4 acres by Rogers, John Thompson and Tyler; with half of "the second wall pew on the South side" of the meetinghouse. Eames had held Henry Allen's 1833 mortgage of the farm (S.322/272); the index also shows a mortgage from Eames to James M. Allen (S.361/471). This is the "Eames' deed to J. H. Allen" referred to in 1849.
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| September 11, 1838 | Quitclaim Deed | James M. Allen of Boston and Mary D. Allen | Helen A. Pike of Boston | the farm "with the buildings thereon" sold by James M. Allen to Helen A. Pike | 376/368 (South) |
Billerica town book 15, pages 527-529. Dated September 7, 1838. For $425, quitclaim of "the following parcels of real Estate situated in Billerica": twenty acres "Beginning at the northeast corner at the Salem road", southwesterly by the road 81 rods 4 links to John Baldwin, around Baldwin's land, and northwesterly about 36 rods 8 links "to a wall on the side of the old road leading from 'Fox Hill'", "with the buildings thereon"; a second parcel of 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica Meeting House" by G. W. H. Rogers and William Tyler; and a third of four acres by Rogers, John Thompson and Tyler. "The said premises being subject to a mortgage to the Massachusetts Life Insurance Company for four hundred Dollars, which said Pike is to pay". No title recital; the 1849 deed refers to an earlier "Eames' deed to J. H. Allen". This is the earliest deed found naming the buildings at the corner of the Salem (Andover) road and the old Fox Hill road.
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| September 26, 1849 | Warranty Deed | Helen A. Pike, singlewoman | Henry Sperry of Billerica | Henry Sperry buys the farm "with all buildings thereon" | 568/374 (South) |
Billerica town book 20, pages 347-349. Dated September 25, 1849, acknowledged in Suffolk. "Three certain pieces of real estate, situate in said Billerica, upon the road leading from the Railroad Depot, in said town to the Village, being the same premises purchased by me of James H. Allen with the exception of one acre since said purchase, sold by me": the first beginning "at the north east corner, at the Salem road" (now Andover Road), southwesterly by the road 65 rods 4 links, around land of John Baldwin, and northwesterly "to a wall on the side of an old road leading from Fox Hill", "with all buildings thereon"; the second by "the road leading to Billerica Meeting house", by land of G. W. H. Rogers and William Tyler; the third of four acres; "said parcels containing in all thirty eight acres". "Said Allen's deed to me recorded in Middlesex Registry of Deeds Liber 376, fol. 368". This is the "H. Sperry" place of the 1853 Walling map.
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| May 31, 1869 | Warranty Deed | Mehitable P. Sperry of Billerica, widow | George A. Bruce of Boston | the widow Mehitable P. Sperry sells the Sperry place | 67/571 |
Dated May 18, 1869, acknowledged in Suffolk before Geo. H. Chapin, J.P. (the next buyer). For $2,500, "the following piece of land with the buildings thereon situated in said Billerica": twenty acres "Beginning at the northeast corner of the Salem road" by land of John Baldwin "to a wall on the side of the old road leading from Fox Hill"; 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica meeting house" by land of G. W. H. Rogers and William Tyler "with the buildings thereon"; and 4 acres by Rogers, John Thompson and Tyler. "Being the same premises described in a deed from James M. Allen to Helen A. Pike, dated September seventh ... recorded in the Registry of Deeds Book 376 Page 368". Mrs. Sperry, widow of Henry Sperry, releases dower and homestead. Bruce gave her back a $1,700 mortgage (N.67/573), which she assigned to the Danvers Savings Bank (N.67/577).
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| December 22, 1869 | Quitclaim Deed | George A. Bruce of Boston, unmarried | George H. Chapin of Malden | the Sperry place passes from George A. Bruce to George H. Chapin | 71/319 |
Dated May 18, 1869, recorded December 22, 1869 with the sale to Angelina Morlacchi. For $2,500, "the following pieces of land with the buildings thereon situated in said Billerica": the twenty acres at the Salem road and "the old road leading from Fox hill", the 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica Meeting house" "with the buildings thereon", and the 4 acres. "Being the same premises to me this day conveyed by M. P. Sperry and the same are sold subject to a mortgage of Seventeen hundred dollars given by me to said M. P. Sperry of even date which the said Chapin is to assume & pay"; it also recites a deed "from James M. Allen to Helen A. Pike" (book and date hard to read). Bruce seems to have acted as an intermediary between the Sperry family and the buyers.
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| December 22, 1869 | Warranty Deed | George H. Chapin of East Stoughton and Helen S. Chapin | Angelina Morlacchi of Boston | 1869 purchase of the farm by Angelina Morlacchi | 71/321 |
Dated December 21, 1869. For $6,000, "the following piece of land with the buildings thereon, situated in Billerica": twenty acres "Beginning at the Northeast corner at the Salem road" (now Andover Road), southwesterly by the road 81 rods 4 links, around land of John Baldwin, to "a wall on the side of the old road leading from Fox hill"; 16 acres "by the road leading to Billerica Meeting house", by land of G. W. H. Rogers and William Tyler, "with the buildings thereon"; and 4 acres by land of Rogers, John Thompson and Tyler. "Being the same premises conveyed to me by Geo. A. Bruce", free "except a mortgage of seventeen hundred ($1700) dollars held by Mrs. M. B. Sperry which mortgage the said grantee is to assume and pay". Angelina Morlacchi, sister of the dancer Giuseppina Morlacchi, gave Chapin back a $2,300 mortgage the same day (N.71/323).
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| December 22, 1869 | Mortgage | Angelina Morlacchi of Boston | George H. Chapin | Morlacchi purchase mortgage to Chapin | 71/323 |
Recorded with the deed of December 21, 1869. For $2,300, "the following piece of land with the buildings thereon situated in town of Billerica": the same twenty acres at the Salem road and the old road from Fox Hill, the 16 acres by the road to the meeting house "with the buildings thereon", and the 4 acres. Margin: "See Release Book 98 Page 567", the discharge of about 1873.
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| June 19, 1877 | Warranty Deed | Angelina Morlacchi of Billerica, unmarried | Abbott R. Davis of Cambridge | Angelina Morlacchi conveys the farm to Abbott R. Davis | 124/349 |
Dated June 16, 1877. For $7,000, "the following pieces of land with all the buildings thereon": twenty acres "Beginning at the northeast corner at the Salem road" (now Andover Road), by land of John Baldwin, to "a wall on the side of the old road leading from Fox hill"; 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica Meeting House", by land of G. W. H. Rogers and William Tyler; and 4 acres by land of Rogers, John Thompson and Tyler. "Being the same property and premises conveyed to me by George H. Chapin by deed dated December 21st A.D. 1869" (N.71/321), free "except a mortgage for Seven Hundred Dollars and taxes for the present year". Davis gave back a $1,300 mortgage the same day (N.124/351), and three weeks later reconveyed the farm to her (N.124/465): a refinancing of the sisters' farm.
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| June 19, 1877 | Mortgage | Abbott R. Davis of Cambridge and Mary A. Davis | Angelina Morlacchi of Billerica | Davis mortgage back to Angelina Morlacchi | 124/351 |
Dated June 16, 1877. For $1,300, mortgage of the same three pieces "with the buildings thereon", "being the same conveyed to me by said Grantee by deed bearing even date herewith" (N.124/349), subject to "a mortgage for Seven Hundred Dollars as mentioned in deed of said Grantee to me"; $1,300 in three years at seven per cent, the buildings to be kept insured for at least $1,300. On July 6, 1877 Angelina Morlacchi assigned this mortgage to Lydia L. Morse for $1,300 (N.124/465).
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| July 6, 1877 | Deed | Abbott R. Davis of Cambridge and Mary A. Davis | Angelina Morlacchi of Billerica | Davis reconveys the farm to Angelina Morlacchi | 124/465 |
Dated July 5, 1877, recorded July 6 with Angelina Morlacchi's assignment of the June mortgage to Lydia L. Morse (same page). For $6,000, warranty of "the following piece of land with the buildings thereon": the twenty acres at the Salem road and the old road to Fox Hill, the 16 acres by the road to the meeting house "with the buildings thereon", and the 4 acres, free of encumbrances "except one mortg of seven hundred dollars and another mortg of thirteen hundred dollars which the said Morlacchi agrees to assume and pay".
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| July 6, 1877 | Mortgage | Angelina Morlacchi of Billerica | Abbott R. Davis of Cambridge | Angelina Morlacchi mortgage to Davis, foreclosed 1878 | 124/466 |
Recorded July 6, 1877 after the deed back to her. For $500, mortgage of the same three pieces "with the buildings thereon", "being the premises conveyed to me by Geo. H. Chapin and said Davis", subject to "two mortgages one for seven hundred dollars & one for thirteen hundred dollars being two thousand dollars in all"; $500 in six months at six per cent, with a power of sale at public auction on or near the premises after notice in three successive weeks. Margin: "See Pos'n Book 128 Page 142; See B.128 P.143". Davis foreclosed and sold the farm to John F. Long in April 1878 (N.128/432).
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| April 17, 1878 | Deed (sale under power) | Abbott R. Davis of Cambridge, mortgagee, and Mary A. Davis | John F. Long of Providence, R.I. | Morlacchi farm sold under the 1877 mortgage to John F. Long | 128/432 |
Dated April 17, 1878. For $3,300, with warranty covenants, "the following three parcels of land with the buildings thereon situated in the town of Billerica": twenty acres "Beginning at the northeast corner at the Salem road" by land of John Baldwin "to a wall on the side of the old road leading to Fox Hill"; 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica Meeting House", by land formerly of G. W. H. Rogers and William Tyler; and 4 acres by land formerly of Rogers, John Thompson and Tyler. "Being the same premises described and conveyed in deed made by Angelina Morlacchi dated July 6, 1877" (N.124/466), "as well as the sale under and by virtue of the power therein given": a sale under the power in Angelina Morlacchi's mortgage, ending the Morlacchi sisters' ownership of the farm.
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| February 3, 1905 | Warranty Deed | Mary A. Stevens of Alexandria, N.H., singlewoman | Joel S. Gray of Alexandria, N.H. | the farm, "with the buildings thereon", sold by Mary A. Stevens to Joel S. Gray | 373/546 |
Dated December 22, 1904, recorded February 3, 1905 immediately after John Fisk's discharge (same page) of Mary A. Stevens's mortgage to him of June 9, 1902 (N.344/169), paid by Gray "the present owner of the mortgaged premises". For $1,500, "the following three parcels of land with the buildings thereon situate in the Town of Billerica": twenty acres "Beginning at the northeast corner at Salem Road" by land of John Baldwin "to a wall on the side of the old road leading to Fox Hill"; 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica Meeting House"; and 4 acres. "Being the same premises Abbott R. Davis conveyed to John F. Long by deed dated April 11th 1878" (N.128/432).
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| 1913 | Warranty Deed | Joel S. Gray of Alexandria, N.H., and Anna L. Gray | James E. Burke of Lexington | farm land sold by Joel S. Gray to James E. Burke | 506/59 |
Recorded in June 1913. For $1,700, "a certain tract of land situated in Billerica ... containing twenty acres more or less", beginning "at Salem road" by land of John Baldwin and "a wall on the side of the old road leading to Fox Hill", with the 16-acre tract by "the road leading to Billerica meeting house" and the 4-acre tract. "Meaning to convey the same three tracts of land conveyed to me by Mary A. Stevens by her deed of December 22nd 1904" (N.373/546). No buildings named.
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| October 18, 1917 | Warranty Deed | James E. Burke of Lexington, Trustee under a declaration of trust of Feb. 6, 1914 | William P. Haskell of Lincoln, N.H. | farm land sold by James E. Burke, trustee | 579/96 |
Dated October 17, 1917. For consideration paid, with warranty covenants, the same three tracts: the twenty acres beginning "at Salem Road" by land of John Baldwin and "the old road leading to Fox Hill", 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica meeting house", and 4 acres. "Being the same premises conveyed to me by Joel S. Gray by deed recorded with Mdx. No. Dist. Deeds Book 506 page 59". The trust (Suffolk Deeds 3788/161) appears to have been a land-dealing trust; the farm passed through several out-of-town owners in 1914-1924.
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| January 19, 1922 | Warranty Deed | William P. Haskell of Woodstock, N.H., and Isabelle M. Haskell | Earl Pease of Plymouth, N.H. | farm land sold by William P. Haskell to Earl Pease | 655/430 |
Dated December 21, 1921. For consideration paid ($1.50 in revenue stamps), with warranty covenants, the same three tracts: twenty acres beginning "at Salem Road" by land of John Baldwin and "a wall on the side of the old road leading to Fox Hill", 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica Meeting house" and 4 acres, by land formerly of G. W. H. Rogers, William Tyler and John Thompson. "Being the same premises conveyed to me by James E. Burke, Trustee, by deed dated October 17, 1917" (N.579/96).
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| February 25, 1924 | Warranty Deed | Earl Pease of Plymouth, N.H., and Bessie Fox Pease | Gardner E. Spaulding of Billerica | farm land bought by Gardner E. Spaulding | 701/174 |
Dated February 23, 1924. For consideration paid, with warranty covenants, three tracts: "the land in said Billerica, containing twenty (20) acres more or less", beginning "at Salem Road" (now Andover Road) and bounded by land of John Baldwin and "a wall on the side of the old road leading to Fox Hill"; 16 acres by "the road leading to Billerica Meeting House" by land formerly of G. W. H. Rogers and William Tyler; and 4 acres by land formerly of Rogers, John Thompson and Tyler. "Being the same premises conveyed to me by William [H.?] Haskell by deed dated December 21, 1921" (N.655/430). No buildings are named.
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| February 25, 1924 | Mortgage | Gardner E. Spaulding of Billerica, unmarried | William H. Sexton of Billerica | 1924 mortgage later foreclosed | 701/175 |
Given with the purchase, recorded the same day. With mortgage covenants, to secure $500 in one year at six per cent, the same three tracts (the twenty acres on Salem Road and the old road to Fox Hill, and 16 and 4 acres toward the meetinghouse). Margin: "See assignment to Frederic H. Sexton B.905 P.239"; "See Power of Attorney B.991 P.35"; "See Possession B.991 P.35". Foreclosed in 1943 (N.991/311).
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| May 29, 1943 | Foreclosure Deed | Frederic H. Sexton of Halifax, N.S., holder of the mortgage of Gardner E. Spaulding to William H. Sexton | John A. Holman of Billerica | 1943 foreclosure sale of the twenty-acre farm land | 991/311 |
Dated May 19, 1943 at Halifax, Nova Scotia. By the power of sale in the mortgage from Gardner E. Spaulding to William H. Sexton of February 25, 1924 (N.701/175), which Frederic H. Sexton held by assignment from himself as administrator of William H. Sexton's estate (N.905/239, 1937), for $225 he grants "The land in Billerica ... containing twenty (20) acres more or less", beginning "at Salem Road" (now Andover Road) and bounded by John Baldwin's land and "a wall on the side of the old road leading to Fox Hill". The affidavit recites the notice in The Billerica News of April 15, 22 and 29, 1943 and the auction "upon the premises" on Saturday, May 8, 1943, where M. Edward Riney, auctioneer, sold this parcel to Holman, "the highest bid". The mortgage had also covered 16 and 4 acres on the road to the meetinghouse, "Being the same premises conveyed to me by Earl Pease by his deed dated February 23, 1924", sold the same day to other buyers.
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| November 18, 1943 | Quitclaim Deed | John A. Holman of Billerica and Grace M. Holman | Fred Schonland of Methuen and G. Blair Thompson of Billerica, joint tenants | the farm land sold to Schonland and Thompson | 1000/154 |
Dated October 28, 1943. For consideration paid (55 cents in revenue stamps), with quitclaim covenants, the same "land in said Billerica, containing twenty (20) acres more or less" on Salem Road (now Andover Road) and "the old road leading to Fox Hill", subject to the 1943 taxes. "Being the same premises conveyed to me by deed of Frederic H. Sexton dated May 19, 1943" (N.991/311).
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| September 25, 1945 | Quitclaim Deed | Fred Schonland of Methuen and G. Blair Thompson of Billerica | Charles R. Musgrave of East Billerica | the twenty-acre farm, without buildings, bought by Charles R. Musgrave | 1030/72 |
Dated September 20, 1945. For consideration paid ($1.10 in revenue stamps), with quitclaim covenants, "the land in said Billerica, containing twenty (20) acres more or less", beginning at the northeast corner "at Salem Road" (the present Andover Road), running southwesterly by the road 81 rods 4 links, then around land of John Baldwin, and northwesterly about 36 rods 8 links "to a wall on the side of the old road leading to Fox Hill", then easterly by the wall to the beginning. No buildings are mentioned: the farmhouse had burned in 1895. "Being the same premises to us conveyed by deed of John A. Holman dated October 28, 1943" (N.1000/154). Musgrave had it surveyed into ten house lots in 1949 (Plan Book 75, Plan 13). Lot 7, now 200 Andover Road, was sold to a private couple and deeded back to Musgrave "with the buildings thereon" in August 1950 (N.1148/345); it has had private owners since.
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.