Lawrence B. Gannon Store
Lawrence B. Gannon Store
| Address | 38-40 Wilson St |
| MACRIS ID | BIL.215 |
| Built | 1867 |
| Demolished | 2018 |
| Owners | Lawrence B. Gannon (1860 - 1911) |
The Lawrence B. Gannon Store stood at 38-40 Wilson Street in North Billerica, on the river side of the street, from the 1870s until it was torn down in 2018. Lawrence B. Gannon kept a market here.
The lot was part of the homestead of Nathan Mears at the Canal Mills. After his death in 1828 the long "Mill Yard Lot" between the passageway (now Wilson Street) and the Concord River was sold at the guardians' auction of 1832 and passed to Nathaniel Stearns. Under Stearns's will his executor, Marshall Preston, sold it in lots at auction in 1846. Joel Dix paid $190 for "the Northerly lot of the 'Mill Yard Lot' so called," about an acre running nine and a third rods along the river and eleven rods on the passageway, next to his own homestead. Joseph J. Salter bought the lot to the south.
Joel Dix was declared insane in 1859, and his guardian, Horace N. Wilson, sold the lot at auction on June 23, 1860 to Israel N. Wilson and Lawrence B. Gannon for $281.05. In 1867 Wilson sold Gannon his half for $150. Neither deed mentions a building. The store appears on the 1875 map, so it was built (or, as a MACRIS form suggests, moved here as an old schoolhouse) between 1867 and 1875. By 1889 Gannon had also built his house at 34 Wilson Street on the same land, and by 1905 he owned the land north of the Mahoney lot as well.
Gannon died before 1914, when a deed of his heirs referred to his will. In December 1918 F. W. Huntington and Co. divided his Wilson Street land into three lots for his children (Plan Book 36, Plan 20). The plan shows the store building near the street on Lot 3, with a barn behind it, and a ten-foot passageway on its north side that the deeds say "is to be forever kept open." In 1919 his daughters Elizabeth A. and Henrietta F. Gannon deeded Lot 3 to their sister Catherine A. Kearney and her husband Bernard W. Kearney. The Kearney heirs gave it back to their aunt Henrietta in 1943. She sold it in June 1946 to Edgar W. and Alpha Dickey, ending 86 years of Gannon ownership, and in November 1946 the Dickeys, who had moved to Louisiana, sold it to Everett D. and Eva M. Fultz.
The Fultz family owned the building, by then a multi-family dwelling, for seventy years. In 2017 the family sold it for $280,000 to 38 Wilson Street, LLC. The old store was razed, and a three-family house was built on the lot in 2018.
MACRIS dates the building to about 1860 and gives Gannon's death as 1921. The deeds show that no building is mentioned on the lot through 1867, and that Gannon had died by 1914.
References
- MACRIS BIL.215
- Billerica assessor, 38-40 Wilson St (parcel 15-28-0): 0.364 acres, Lot 3 of the Gannon Estate plan, present building built 2018, sales from 1946
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| June 24, 1828 | Administration | Estate of Nathan Mears of Billerica, yeoman | His minor children Edwin, Charles, Nathan, Lucy Ann and Elbert Mears; Marshall Preston, administrator | 1828 estate of Nathan Mears, whose homestead included the "Mill Yard Lot" by the river | Probate #14955 |
Nathan Mears died in June 1828 leaving "no widow, nor heirs of twenty one years of age"; at his children's request (and his own before his death) Marshall Preston of Billerica was appointed administrator at Framingham June 24, 1828, bond $30,000. The inventory lists the homestead of about 27 acres with three dwelling houses, the saw mill, "The Woolen Factory, occupied by Francis Faulkner & son", the forge, the old homestead of Thomas Mears, the Patten lot, and "The Zac. Shed Lot, 7 acres" at $210, with no buildings. Real estate $15,245.
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| April 4, 1832 | Guardian's Deed | John Baldwin of Billerica, guardian of Lucy Ann, Nathan and Elbert Mears, minor children of Nathan Mears | Gardner Parker of Billerica, yeoman | 1832 guardian's auction of the Mears mill yard lot (three fifths) | 312/59 (South) |
Billerica town book 16, pages 48-51. Licensed by the Supreme Judicial Court at Concord, the guardian sold at public vendue on March 20, 1832, to Parker as highest bidder, for $3,325.27, "Three undivided fifth parts" of the Mears saw mill and water privilege at the Canal Mills (with the rights from the Middlesex Canal deed of March 15, 1826), canal and swamp lots in Chelmsford, the Blanchard lot in Broad Meadow, and "another lot of three acres, being lot numbered Ten, on a plan and survey of said deceased's Homestead, taken by S. Livingston": from Concord River and lot 11 (sold to Joel Dix) west 20 rods to the centre of the passage way, south about 33 rods 23 links on it to a hedge fence by lot 9, east 14 rods 22 links to the river and north by the river 28 rods 4 links, "the same being used by said deceased for a mill yard", with the passage way reserved for the other lots. Acknowledged April 2, 1832; witnesses Marshall Preston and Nathaniel Stearns.
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| April 4, 1832 | Guardian's Deed | Nathaniel Stearns of Billerica, yeoman, guardian of Edwin and Charles Mears, minor children of Nathan Mears | Gardner Parker of Billerica, yeoman | 1832 guardian's auction of the Mears mill yard lot (two fifths) | 312/63 (South) |
Billerica town book 16, pages 52-55. Under the same license and the same vendue of March 20, 1832, for $3,325.27, "two undivided fifth parts" of the same parcels, including lot 10 of the Mears homestead, the mill yard by the river.
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| April 4, 1832 | Quitclaim | Gardner Parker of Billerica, yeoman | Nathaniel Stearns of Billerica, yeoman | 1832 Gardner Parker passes the mill yard lot to Nathaniel Stearns | 312/69 (South) |
Billerica town book 16, pages 60-62. Dated March 21, 1832, the day after the auction. For $2,986.21, Parker quitclaims "the saw mill and water privilege lately belonging to the heirs of Nathan Mears, deceased" at the Canal Mills, with the water rights from the Middlesex Canal, the Swamp lot in Chelmsford, the Blanchard lot in Broad Meadow and "another lot of three acres, being number Ten on a plan and survey of said deceased homestead taken by S. Livingston", bounded as in the guardians' deeds, "the same being used by said deceased for a mill yard". Acknowledged April 2, 1832 before Marshall Preston; witnesses Dudley Foster and Marshall Preston.
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| 1845 | Will | Estate of Nathaniel Stearns of Billerica, yeoman | Marshall Preston, executor; widow Sarah Stearns; daughters Catharine Wilson, Judith Jones and Emily Stearns | 1845 will of Nathaniel Stearns orders his land sold at auction | Probate #42239 |
Middlesex probate case 42239 (39 pages). Will dated August 1845: to his wife Sarah his furniture, horse and phaeton, $1,000 and the interest of $2,000 for life in place of dower; $1,000 each to his daughters Catharine Wilson (wife of John Wilson) and Judith Jones (wife of Anthony Jones) and $1,500 to Emily Stearns; the executor "shall in a reasonable time after my decease, sell and dispose of, at public auction all the property, real, personal and mixed", the residue to the widow and daughters. Executor Marshall Preston. The heirs assented to the will on Nov. 2, 1845.
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| December 8, 1846 | Executor's Deed | Marshall Preston of Billerica, executor of the will of Nathaniel Stearns | Joel Dix of Billerica, yeoman | 1846 Joel Dix buys the northerly lot of the Mears mill yard lot at the Stearns auction | 498/193 (South) |
Billerica town book 18, pages 252-253. Sold at public auction under the will, for $190, a parcel "containing by estimation one acre": from the northeast corner at Concord River and land of Dix, south up the river about nine and one third rods to land "this day sold to Joseph J. Salter", west by Salter to the centre of the "passageway", north on it about eleven rods to Dix, and by Dix about twenty rods to the river, "being the Northerly lot of the 'Mill Yard Lot' so called", with the passageway reserved for the other lots of the Mears homestead (S. Livingston's plan). Dated March 25, 1846; witnesses Dudley Foster and Anthony Jones.
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| 1859 | Guardianship and Administration | Joel Dix of Billerica, "an insane person"; his estate after his death in December 1860 | Horace N. Wilson of Billerica, guardian; Edwin A. Alger of Lowell, administrator | 1859 guardianship of Joel Dix, whose guardian sold this lot in 1860 | Probate #30707 |
On his daughter Mary Dix's petition Joel Dix was found "an insane person" and Horace N. Wilson was appointed his guardian at Groton May 24, 1859. The inventory of June 7, 1859 lists about four acres "known as the Homestead" with buildings ($3,200), the "Tavern Stand," 4 acres ($3,667), and meadow and wood lots. The guardian's license of February 7, 1860 to sell for maintenance covered only meadow and wood lots. After Dix's death the administrator was licensed April 1, 1862 to sell real estate, including the two thirds of the tavern stand.
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| December 22, 1860 | Guardian's Deed | Horace N. Wilson of Billerica, guardian of Joel Dix, "an insane person" | Israel N. Wilson and Lawrence B. Gannon, both of Billerica | 1860 the Dix guardian sells the lot to Israel N. Wilson and Lawrence B. Gannon at auction | 26/405 |
Licensed by the Probate Court at Lowell Feb. 7, 1860, and after notice in the Lowell Weekly Journal and Courier, sold at public auction June 23, 1860 to Wilson and Gannon, highest bidders, for $281.05, "A certain lot of land situate in said Billerica": from the northeast corner at Concord River and land of Joel Dix, south up the river about nine and one third rods to land of C. P. Talbot and Co., west by Talbot land in a straight line to the street, north on the street about eleven rods to Dix, and by Dix about twenty rods to the river. No buildings are named. Dated Dec. 12, 1860.
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| June 25, 1867 | Warranty Deed | Israel N. Wilson of Billerica | Lawrence B. Gannon of Billerica | 1867 Israel N. Wilson sells his half, making Gannon sole owner of the lot | 57/282 |
For $150 (50 cents in revenue stamps), "one undivided half" of the lot from the corner at Concord River and land of Joel Dix, about 9 1/3 rods up the river to land of C. P. Talbot and Co., west by Talbot land to the street, about eleven rods north on the street to Dix and about twenty rods by Dix to the river, "Being the same premises conveyed to said Gannon and myself by Guardian's deed of Horace N. Wilson dated the 12th day of December A.D. 1860" (26/405). No buildings are named; the store stood here by the 1875 map.
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| August 16, 1905 | Quitclaim | Lawrence B. Gannon of Billerica (Kate Gannon releasing dower and homestead) | The Talbot Mills | 1905 Gannon owned the land on both sides of the Mahoney lot, including this store lot to the south | 379/439 |
For $1 and other valuable considerations, "all the right title and interest" in the Mahoney tract "with the buildings thereon situated on the easterly line of Wilson Street", 351.70 feet by the grantor's land, the river, 320.40 feet by his other land and 80.45 feet on the street, "Being the same premises shown on a 'Plan of land and buildings bought by the Talbot Mills from Mrs Eliza Mahoney' surveyed by H. W. Sheldon". "This conveyance is made for the purpose of establishing the bounds and boundary lines between said Mahoney land and lands of my own adjoining the same on the north and south." Dated Aug. 4, 1905.
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| May 9, 1919 | Quitclaim | Elizabeth A. (Lizzie A.) Gannon and Henrietta F. Gannon of Billerica, both unmarried, daughters of Lawrence B. Gannon | Bernard W. Kearney and Catherine A. Kearney, husband and wife, of Billerica | 1919 division of the Gannon estate: Lot 3, the store lot, to Catherine A. and Bernard W. Kearney | 604/38 |
$2 in stamps. "The land in said Billerica with the buildings thereon, situated on the easterly side of Wilson Street": from a bolt at land of the Talbot Mills on Wilson Street east 315.30 feet to a drill hole at Concord River, north 54.50 feet on the river to land "this day conveyed to Henrietta F. Gannon", west 250 feet and through the centre of a proposed ten-foot passageway 77 feet to the street, and south 60.08 feet on Wilson Street, 15,863 square feet, "lot number three (3)" on the "Plan of Land in Billerica belonging to L. B. Gannon Estate Dec. 1918, F. W. Huntington and Co." (Plan 36/20). The passageway strip "is to be forever kept open". Dated April 26, 1919.
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| March 25, 1943 | Quitclaim | Marietta K. Begley of Lowell, Evelyn E. Hayes and Katherine F. Kearney of Billerica, heirs at law of Bernard W. and Catherine A. Kearney (husbands releasing curtesy) | Their aunt Henrietta F. Gannon of Billerica | 1943 the Kearney heirs release the store lot to Henrietta F. Gannon | 989/137 |
"The land in said Billerica, with the buildings thereon, situated on the easterly side of Wilson Street", Lot 3 on Plan 36/20, 15,863 square feet, with the same bounds as the 1919 deed (Talbot Mills, the river, Henrietta F. Gannon's lot and the passageway, 60.08 feet on Wilson Street). "Our title is derived as heirs-at-law of Bernard W. Kearney and Catherine A. Kearney." Dated March 23, 1943.
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| June 21, 1946 | Quitclaim | Henrietta F. Gannon of Billerica, unmarried | Edgar W. Dickey and Alpha Dickey, husband and wife, of Billerica | 1946 Henrietta F. Gannon sells the store lot, ending 86 years of Gannon ownership | 1046/570 |
$3.30 in stamps. "The land in said Billerica with the buildings thereon, situated on the easterly side of Wilson Street", Lot 3 on Plan 36/20, 15,863 square feet, with the ten-foot passageway "to be forever kept open", "conveyed to me by Marietta K. Begley et als. by their deed dated March 23, 1943" (989/137). Dated June 21, 1946. The Dickeys mortgaged it the same day to the Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank for $2,850.
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| November 30, 1946 | Quitclaim | Edgar W. Dickey and Alpha Dickey, formerly of Lowell, now of Baskin, Louisiana | Everett D. Fultz and Eva M. Fultz, husband and wife, of Billerica | 1946 the store lot is sold to the Fultzes, whose family owned it until 2017 | 1058/348 |
55 cents in stamps. "The land in said Billerica with the buildings thereon situated on the easterly side of Wilson Street", Lot 3 on the 1918 Gannon Estate plan (Plan 36/20), 15,863 square feet, "Being the same premises conveyed to us by Henrietta F. Gannon" (1046/570), the buyers assuming the Lowell Five mortgage. Acknowledged at Winnsboro, Louisiana, Nov. 25, 1946. The Fultz family kept it until 2017 (family transfers in 1993, 2011 and 2017).
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| September 13, 2017 | Quitclaim Deed | Private owners (the family of the 1946 buyers) | 38 Wilson Street, LLC, of 1 Winning Road, Billerica | 2017 sale to 38 Wilson Street, LLC; the store building was razed in 2018 | 31463/221 |
For $280,000, "the land in said Billerica with the buildings thereon situated on the easterly side of Wilson Street", Lot 3 on the 1918 L. B. Gannon Estate plan (Plan 36/20), 15,863 square feet, 60.08 feet on Wilson Street and 54.50 feet on Concord River. Title through family deeds of 1993 (6732/200) and 2017 (30959/58) from the 1946 owners. The old store building was razed and a three-family house built on the lot in 2018.
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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.