Morgan Road

Morgan Road is a street of Riverhurst, the riverside colony west of Concord Road in South Billerica, running along the southern edge of the colony toward the Concord River and meeting Ossamequin Road. Until about 1991 it was part of Bartlett Road. It first appears on the "Plan of Riverhurst, Billerica, Mass.," drawn in January 1921 by Whitman and Howard, civil engineers of Boston, for Fred B., A. Mabel and Claude B. Bartlett of Bedford, who had bought the 40 acre Riverhurst tract in 1915 (Plan Book 38, Plan 85). On that plan Bartlett Road runs west from Riverhurst Road to the foot of Keneson Road and divides there; its long southern arm, now Morgan Road, follows the southern line of the tract past a row of larger river lots to Roosevelt Road and the corner where Ossamequin Road comes in. Cottages already stood on several of the river lots in 1921, and the assessors date the oldest houses on Morgan Road to about 1900 to 1920.

The road stayed a private way. As Bartlett Road it appears with Ossamequin Road among the town's drainage projects of 1972. The name duplicated an older Bartlett Road in North Billerica, and in the town's program of 1988 to 1990 for renaming streets with "the same street names or similar sounding names" the Riverhurst arm became Morgan Road. No vote or order for the change has been found; the registry index still uses "Bartlett Rd" for these lots in December 1991 and "Morgan Rd" from November 1992. The origin of the name Morgan was not found.

In 1996 the annual fall town meeting was asked to buy about an acre "on Morgan Road known as land on Town Map 76, Parcel 1" for conservation or recreation, for up to $135,000; the article was dismissed. The town's Bartlett's Landing Conservation Land lies on Morgan Road on the Concord River, where two Eagle Scout projects were carried out in 2003. In 2021 the six inch water main of 1959 in Ossamequin Road was replaced with eight inch pipe "from Morgan Road to Lupine Lane." No vote accepting Morgan Road as a public way has been found.

Historic Buildings

References

1. Town report 1996: fall town meeting Art. 10, one acre on Morgan Road for conservation, dismissed
2. Town report FY2003: Eagle Scout projects at Bartlett's Landing Conservation Land on Morgan Road
3. Town report 1990: street renaming committee completed its task in November 1990

Title References Expand all

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.