Structure · Built 1680 · Demolished 1939
William Hamlet House
William Hamlet House
| Address | 570 Boston Rd |
| MACRIS ID | BIL.197 |
| Built | 1680 |
| Demolished | 1939 |
| Other Lot Structures | William Hamlet House (original house) (1656 - 1680) |
This is the western part of the old William Hamlet House, the farmhouse that stood on the north-east side of Boston Road (Route 3A) opposite the slope of Bare Hill, on the house lot the town granted to William Hamlet in 1656. The outline of the house is recorded in two parts: this western section, which is dated as gone by 1939, and the eastern section, which stood until about 1982. The site of the western section is now covered by the small building at 568 Boston Road that served for decades as the Bear Hill Farm Ice Cream Stand, which the assessor dates to about 1940.
A house, and a barn already called old, stood on the lot when Hamlet and his wife Sarah exchanged homesteads with Caleb Farley of Woburn on May 20, 1679, giving him "one Dwelling house and old Barn and about forty four or forty six acres." Charles E. Stearns, who recorded the house for the Historical Commission in 1973, read its great chimney "anterior to the ridgepole" as the mark of a very early house that had been enlarged, and thought Hamlet may have begun it and Farley brought it near its later form after 1679. Which part of the house was the oldest is not known, so the 1680 date given here is the date of the house as a whole.
The house descended with the land. Caleb Farley gave it to his son Enoch by a deed that was never recorded, and in 1714 Enoch sold "all that land which was granted to William Hamlet in his Homestead ... with all the Buildings" to his brother Ebenezer Farley. Ebenezer gave it in 1728 to his son-in-law John Shed Jr., who sold the sixty acres in 1745 to Benjamin Tompson; Tompson left it to his son William Tompson in 1753. By 1783 the homestead belonged to Mary, wife of Seth Wilson, who gave it to their son Seth Wilson in 1793 and in 1803 sold "thirty acres more or less with a dwelling house and a barn thereon" to the brothers Stephen Richardson and Silas Richardson. After a sheriff's sale of Stephen's interest in 1816, Harvey Crosby owned the farm, and it stayed in the Crosby family for more than a century: John S. Edgerly and Henry Crosby from 1849, William Crosby from 1871, Henry Crosby again by foreclosure in 1886, William's wife Treinetta from 1887 and their daughter Trinetta A. Crosby from 1891 until her death.
Trinetta Crosby lost strips of the frontage to the county's relocation of the Boston road in 1916 and to the state's rebuilding of Route 3A in 1931. In December 1943 her brothers Charles H. and Lewis A. Crosby sold the sixty-one acre farm "with the buildings thereon" to Barton M. and Louise C. McQuaid, Harvey Crosby's great-granddaughter and her husband, who ran it as the Bear Hill Turkey Farm. No record of the removal of the western part of the house has been found. Its site lies in Lot A of the McQuaids' 1980 division of the frontage (Plan Book 131, Plan 168), the lot that held the ice cream stand, which the McQuaids sold in August 1980 with Lot B, the lot of the surviving eastern part of the house. A car wash built in 1984 now stands on Lot B.
References
- MACRIS BIL.197
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883): William Hamlet's 1656 grant and the 1679 exchange with Caleb Farley
- Billerica assessor, 568 Boston Rd (parcel 70-8-1): the building on the site of the west part, built about 1940
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| February 14, 1707 | Exchange Deed | William Hamlet and Sarah Hamlet of Billerica | Caleb Farley of Woburn | Hamlet exchanges the house and lot with Caleb Farley | 14/200 (South) |
Dated May 20, 1679. In exchange for land Farley had conveyed to him, William Hamlett and his wife Sarah grant to Caleb ffarley of Woburn "one Dwelling house and old Barn and about forty four or forty six acres" of upland, being the homestead or house lot granted to Hamlet by the town of Billerica, except the part Hamlet had already sold to his son-in-law James Frost; bounded north by Ensign Joseph Tompson and Peter Brackett, east by the commons, west by Simon Crosbey and south by James Frost, with the privileges of a five acre lot. Acknowledged before William Johnson in the tenth month of 1684; recorded Feb. 14, 1706/7. This is the exchange of homesteads that Hazen places in 1659 and MACRIS in 1679; the deed confirms 1679 and shows that a dwelling house and an old barn already stood on the Hamlet lot. Billerica town book 1, pages 364-366.
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| 1712 | Will | Caleb Farley of Billerica (died at Roxbury) | Joseph Farley and Enoch Farley, executors; his children | Caleb Farley will: land already settled on his sons | Probate #7162 |
Will dated Jan. 3, 1710/11, proved Apr. 21, 1712. Caleb Farley gives his son Ebenezer "the situation that he now sits upon that was his grandfather More's," names his sons Joseph and Enoch executors, and in a postscript says he has already settled land by deeds of gift on his sons. The Hamlet homestead is not named, so it had already passed to a son (Enoch) by an unrecorded deed of gift. Papers read, pages 2-5.
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| 1714 | Deed | Enoch Farley and Elizabeth Farley | Ebenezer Farley of Billerica, his brother | Enoch Farley sells the Hamlet homestead to Ebenezer | 20/472 (South) |
Dated Feb. 15, 1713/14. For 230 pounds, "one messuage or tenement ... being all that land which was granted to William Hamlet in his Homestead ... with all the Buildings fences & trees," with 150 poles granted to "my father" bounded south by the country road and east by Deacon James Frost, and 31 acres of upland on Bear Hill bounded south by Thomas Crosby, west by Joseph Forster and by the road to Bacon's Mill. Recorded 1720. The Hamlet place thus came to Ebenezer from his brother Enoch, not by inheritance from their father. Billerica town book 2, pages 272-273.
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| 1728 | Bond (maintenance) | John Shed Jr. of Billerica | Ebenezer Farley, his father-in-law | Shed bond: the place Ebenezer Farley deeded to him | 32/219 (South) |
Bond of 300 pounds dated May 16, 1728. John Shed Jr., who had married Ebenezer Farley's daughter Elizabeth, binds himself to maintain Ebenezer's widow Elizabeth with one third of the income of "that Place or Situation which his said Father has given him a Deed of," and to pay Benjamin Farley 150 pounds at twenty-one and Nathaniel Rainger and Samuel Farley 50 pounds each; receipts of Benjamin Farley, 1730, follow. The deed of gift itself was never recorded; this bond, made the year Ebenezer died, is the record of the passing of the Hamlet place to the Sheds. A companion bond of the Jaquiths for the Farley homestead follows it. Billerica town book 3, pages 299-300.
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| July 21, 1736 | Release of Dower | Elizabeth Farley, widow of Ebenezer Farley | John Shed Jr., her son-in-law | widow Farley releases her dower in the place | 37/110 (South) |
Dated Feb. 18, 1735/6. About to remarry (she married Jerathmeel Bowers of Chelmsford), the widow releases to John Shed Jr. her dower in the place, in return for thirty shillings a year. Recorded July 21, 1736. Billerica town book 4, pages 11-12.
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| March 25, 1747 | Deed | John Shed, gentleman, and Elizabeth Shed of Billerica | Benjamin Tompson of Billerica | Shed sells the sixty acres to Benjamin Tompson | 46/142 (South) |
Dated Aug. 1, 1745. For 1,150 pounds old tenor, about sixty acres of orchard, meadow, pasture and woodland, beginning at a white oak stump by the County road from Billerica to Woburn, bounded west by William and Josiah Bowers, north by Benjamin Tompson, east by Hezekiah Dunkley, and south by Benjamin Frost and the highway. No buildings are named. Witnesses William Shed and William Bowers. Acknowledged Mar. 9, 1746; recorded Mar. 25, 1747. The Sheds lived on the Jefts place they had bought in 1728. Billerica town book 4, pages 527-529.
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| 1753 | Will | Benjamin Tompson of Billerica | William Tompson, his only son (Alice Tompson, widow) | Benjamin Tompson leaves his lands to son William | Probate #22431 |
Will dated Mar. 19, 1747, proved Dec. 24, 1753. All his buildings and lands in Billerica and Tewksbury to his only son William; to his widow Alice the westerly end of the house; legacies to daughters Mary (wife of Thomas Skinner), Abigail (wife of Josiah Bowers), Rachel, Alice and Dorothy and to granddaughter Elizabeth Bowers. No daughter Mary Wilson appears. Papers read, pages 2-5.
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| 1783 | Will | Seth Wilson of Billerica | Mary Wilson, widow; Seth Wilson, son | Seth Wilson will; the homestead was his wife Mary's | Probate #25194 |
Will dated Feb. 17, 1783, proved Mar. 13, 1783; Oliver Crosby executor. His wife Mary to have the improvement of his real estate until their son Seth is twenty-one, then the real estate to Seth; daughters Mary Richardson, Sarah Wilson and Rhoda Wilson. The inventory of Mar. 19, 1783 lists only "half a house and ten foot of a barn," an eight acre lot bounded east and north by the country road to the meeting house, and 5 3/4 acres of meadow: the 28 acre homestead is not in it, so Mary held the homestead in her own right. Papers read, pages 2-5.
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| November 19, 1793 | Deed of Gift | Mary Willson of Billerica, widow | Seth Willson of Billerica, yeoman, her son | Mary Wilson gives the homestead to her son Seth | 114/225 (South) |
Dated Oct. 6, 1793. For 100 pounds and love, "all the Lands and buildings which I am now in the possession of ... my homestead which Contains the buildings and about twenty eight acres of upland and Meadow," bounded south by the highway leading to Boston and partly by Jonathan Stickney and Thomas Goodwin, east by William Thompson and partly by John Patten, and north by Thompson as the fence stands to the highway; with fourteen acres near Bedford. She keeps it for life: Seth is not to come into possession "till after my decease." Acknowledged Nov. 18, recorded Nov. 19, 1793. Billerica town book 8, pages 445-446.
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| February 13, 1806 | Quitclaim | Mary Wilson of Billerica, widow | Stephen Richardson and Silas Richardson of Billerica, yeomen | Mary Wilson sells the house and thirty acres to the Richardsons | 163/469 (South) |
Dated Jan. 17, 1803. For $1,000, "thirty acres more or less with a dwelling house and a barn thereon," bounded south on the Boston road and partly by the heirs of Jonathan Stickney and by Josiah Richardson, east by John Patten, and north by William Tompson Esquire to the road; with fifteen acres on the road from the Lexington road to Bedford. Witnesses Oliver Crosby and Seth Wilson. Acknowledged Feb. 14, 1803; recorded Feb. 13, 1806. This is the farm the sheriff sold in 1816. Billerica town book 10, pages 363-364.
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| February 13, 1806 | Deed | Seth Willson, yeoman, and Polly Willson of Billerica | Stephen Richardson and Silas Richardson | Seth Wilson sells the eight acre hill pasture | 166/119 (South) |
Dated Jan. 17, 1803, the same day as his mother's deed. For $200, eight acres "known by the name of the hill pasture," bounded north and east on the Boston road, south by the estate of Jonathan Stickney and west by Benjamin Bowers: the lot across the road from the house that came to Seth from his father's estate (the elder Seth Wilson had it from Jacob Willson). It is the "eight acres more or less bounded by land of Benjamin Bowers and by the County Road" of the 1816 and 1849 deeds. Billerica town book 10, pages 332-333.
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| February 17, 1810 | Quitclaim | Silas Richardson, gentleman, and Hannah Richardson of Billerica | Stephen Richardson of Billerica, carpenter | Silas Richardson releases his half to Stephen | 186/502 (South) |
Dated May 16, 1806. For $800, Silas's half of "a certain farm or tract of land ... with all the buildings thereon containing about thirty acres," beginning at the southwest corner by the great country road at William Thompson's land, northeast by Thompson to John Patten, south by Patten to Josiah Richardson, west by Richardson and Benjamin Bowers to the road; with about eight acres on the opposite side of the road bounded northeast by the road and otherwise by Benjamin Bowers. Acknowledged Aug. 4, 1807; recorded Feb. 17, 1810. Stephen now held the whole farm, which he mortgaged to the Salem Bank, Oliver Pollard and John Stearns. Billerica town book 10, pages 511-513.
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| February 15, 1828 | Sheriff's Deed | Joseph Bradley, deputy sheriff (execution of Thomas Richardson against Stephen Richardson) | Isaac Kendall and Harvey Crosby | sheriff sells Stephen Richardson's equity to Kendall and Crosby | 278/494 (South) |
By virtue of an execution in favor of Thomas Richardson of Billerica, gentleman, against Stephen Richardson of Billerica, yeoman, deputy sheriff Joseph Bradley had taken "the right in equity of redemption of the said Stephen Richardson in and to a tract of land containing thirty acres more or less with the buildings thereon," bounded northerly by Isaac Hurd, easterly by the heirs of John Patten and Walter Carr Jr., southerly by the heirs of Josiah Richardson and Benjamin Bowers, "and southwesterly by the County road," with about eight acres more by Benjamin Bowers, mortgaged to the Salem Bank, Oliver Pollard and John Stearns. After advertising it he sold it at auction on the premises on May 4, 1816 for $735 to Isaac Kendall and Harvey Crosby of Billerica, the highest bidders. Acknowledged May 8, 1816; recorded Feb. 15, 1828. Billerica town book 14, pages 9-11.
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| 1818 | Administrator's Deed | Josiah Crosby Jr., administrator of Isaac Kendall | Harvey Crosby | Kendall's half to Harvey Crosby | 278/496 (South) |
Josiah Crosby Jr. of Billerica, Esq., administrator of the estate of Isaac Kendall, late of Billerica, housewright, who died intestate, licensed by the Probate Court to raise $673.27 for his debts, sold at public vendue on Dec. 17, 1818 to Harvey Crosby of Billerica, yeoman, the highest bidder at $528, "one moiety of a tract of land containing about thirty acres with a dwelling house and barn thereon," bounded northerly by Isaac Hurd and easterly by Zadock Allen, the half that Kendall had bought with Crosby at the 1816 sheriff's sale. This gave Harvey Crosby the whole farm. Billerica town book 14, page 11 and following (recorded with the 1816 deed in 1828).
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| October 9, 1849 | Quitclaim | Harvey Crosby of Billerica, yeoman | John S. Edgerly of Somerville, trader, and Henry Crosby of Billerica, trader | Harvey Crosby conveys the Home Place to Edgerly and Henry Crosby | 567/298 (South) |
Dated Oct. 8, 1849. For one dollar and other consideration, eight pieces "with all the buildings thereon standing," among them "a certain farm situated about one mile south of the Unitarian Meeting house ... known by the name of the Hill Farm containing thirty three acres" (bought of Joseph Bowers) and "a certain tract of land containing thirty acres more or less bounded by the lands now or late of Isaac Hurd, of Zadock Allen, of Walter Carr Jr., of Benjamin Bowers and by the County road and a certain piece of land containing eight acres ... bounded by land now or late of Benjamin Bowers and by the County Road, the last two named being the premises to me conveyed by Josiah Crosby Jr. administrator of Isaac Kendall ... and by Joseph Bradley Deputy Sheriff"; with the Valley Orchard, a sheep pasture, 16 acres from Bernard Tufts, 10 acres from Sereno Fiske and the northerly half of the Bowers Foster Place, "said eight pieces ... being parts of the Home Place so called," and lots in Chelmsford, on the Concord and Shawsheen rivers and on Gibson's Hill, and his quarter of the estate of Seth Crosby. Subject to mortgages to Betsey Crosby, to the heirs of Kendall Crosby ($5,300), to Blaney Abbott and to Rhodes G. Lockwood. In effect a transfer of all of Harvey Crosby's real estate to a trustee for his creditors and a family member; Harvey went on living on the farm. Billerica town book 20, pages 331-339.
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| February 19, 1855 | Release of Mortgage | Lydia Crosby, Peter and Elizabeth Pines, Samuel E. Guild (administrator of Maria Crosby), Edmund S. and Jane Whitman, George Crosby, and Samuel Topliff (guardian of Charles Crosby) | John S. Edgerly and Henry Crosby | Kendall Crosby heirs release the mortgage | 704/403 (South) |
Dated Feb. 17, 1855. The heirs of Kendall Crosby, paid in full, release to Edgerly and Henry Crosby the twenty-two parcels "with all the buildings thereon" in Billerica and Chelmsford described in Harvey Crosby's mortgage to Lydia Crosby and others of June 3, 1848, and discharge that mortgage. Billerica town book 20, pages 517-518.
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| September 12, 1871 | Quitclaim | John S. Edgerly of Somerville and Nancy W. Edgerly | William Crosby of Cambridge | Edgerly releases the house farm to William Crosby | 82/67 |
Dated Sept. 2, 1871. For one dollar and other consideration, two parcels on the road leading to Boston. The first, the house farm, begins "at the north west corner thereof at a point on the east side of the road leading to Boston," runs southeasterly on the road 88 rods, easterly on Joseph Noyes 59 1/2 rods, northeasterly and easterly on Joseph White 23 6/10 and 29 6/10 rods, northerly on William P. Pollard and John Allen 55 3/10 rods, westerly on Barnard Tufts 120 6/10 rods, and southwesterly on the late Rev. Norton and the heirs of William Bowers 52 3/4 rods to the beginning. The second, on the west side of the road, is the Hill Farm (80 1/2 rods on the road, by Lowell Jenison, the heirs of Nathaniel Daniels, William Odion, the road to Lexington and Francis Bowers); together 97 acres 93 1/10 square rods. Recorded Sept. 12, 1871, with William Crosby's mortgage of both parcels for $2,500 to Henry E. Worcester, guardian. Book 82, pages 67-68.
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| December 14, 1886 | Foreclosure Deed | James F. C. Hyde, assignee of the William Crosby mortgage to Henry E. Worcester, guardian | Henry Crosby of Billerica | foreclosure sale of the farm to Henry Crosby | 185/552 |
Deed dated Nov. 29, 1886, with the mortgagee's affidavit. William Crosby having defaulted, the premises were auctioned on the land on Nov. 29, 1886 by Elliott J. Hyde: "all that lot of land in Billerica ... together with the buildings thereon," on the east side of the road leading to Boston, 88 rods on the road, by Joseph Noyes, Joseph White, William P. Pollard and John Allen, Bernard Tufts, the late Rev. Norton and the heirs of William Bowers, "containing sixty one acres and fifty four and eight tenths square rods," sold to Henry Crosby, the highest bidder, for $2,750. The west-side Hill Farm went to him the same day for $900. Recorded Dec. 14, 1886. Book 185, pages 552-554.
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| May 15, 1888 | Deed | Frances E. Crosby of Malden, maiden lady | Treinetta A. Crosby of Billerica, wife of William Crosby, in her own right | Frances E. Crosby sells the farm to Treinetta A. Crosby | 196/272 |
Dated Oct. 18, 1887. For $1,000, "a certain lot or parcel of land together with all buildings and improvements thereon situate on the east side of the road leading to Boston," with the same bounds, 61 acres 54 8/10 square rods, "being a part of the premises derived by inheritance by me from the late Henry Crosby of said Billerica." Henry Crosby had died within a year of buying the farm at the foreclosure sale; his heir sold it back to the wife of the defaulting mortgagor. Recorded May 15, 1888. Book 196, pages 272-273.
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| November 12, 1901 | Deed | Treinetta A. Crosby, wife of William Crosby, and William Crosby (releasing curtesy) | Trinetta A. Crosby of Billerica, single woman | Treinetta deeds the farm to her daughter Trinetta | 336/35 |
Dated Oct. 16, 1891, witnessed by Dudley Foster. For one dollar and other consideration, "a certain tract of land with all the buildings thereon, situated on the east side of the road leading to Boston," same bounds, 61 acres 54 8/10 square rods, "being the same premises conveyed to me by Frances E. Crosby" in 1887. Recorded only on Nov. 12, 1901, together with the discharge of an older mortgage and followed by Trinetta's own mortgage to Thomas B. Hosmer. Trinetta, the daughter, held the farm until her death. Book 336, pages 35-36.
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| May 1, 1916 | Taking | Trenetta A. Crosby (land taken) | County of Middlesex | county taking for the relocated Boston road | 554/385 |
Order of the County Commissioners (return dated Apr. 15, certificate Apr. 29, 1916) for "the relocation of the Boston road in the town of Billerica": land "taken for highway purposes" from the owners along the road, including "Trenetta A. Crosby, 2 parcels, abt. 580 sq. ft." and 500 sq. ft., shown on the County plan filed with it (Plan Book M-101). The 1943 deed reserves this taking. Book 554, pages 385-387.
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| 1931 | Taking | Trinetta A. Crosby and other owners (land taken) | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Public Works | state taking for Route 3A | 802/49 |
Order of taking of May 12, 1931 altering the State highway "known as the Burlington Road" (Route 3A) for about three fifths of a mile from 500 feet southeast of Wyman Road to 650 feet east of Lexington Road, taking in fee parcels from John E. Farmer, Ida M. Quimby and the Burnetts, Delia C. Crosby, Della Boothby, Dougal McLennan, Laura H. Boyd and others; Parcel No. 6 is bounded northwesterly by "land of Trinetta A. Crosby," and Parcel No. 9 is taken from Trinetta A. Crosby. The 1943 deed reserves this taking. Book 802, pages 49-52.
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| December 2, 1943 | Quitclaim | Charles H. Crosby and Lewis A. Crosby of Billerica, both unmarried | Barton M. McQuaid and Louise C. McQuaid, husband and wife | Crosbys sell the farm with the buildings to the McQuaids | 1000/473 |
Dated Dec. 2, 1943. "A certain lot or parcel of land, with the buildings thereon, situated on the easterly side of the road leading to Boston," 88 rods on the road, then by Joseph Noyes, Joseph White, William Pollard and John Allen, Bernard Tufts, the late Rev. Norton and the heirs of William Bowers, "containing 61 acres and 54.8 square rods," subject to the right of way granted by Trinetta A. Crosby to the Lowell and Boston Street Railway Co. in 1901 and to the highway takings of 1916 and 1931. "Being the same premises conveyed by Treinetta A. Crosby to Trinetta A. Crosby, our sister" in 1891; the grantors' title came through their sister's estate. The same day the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Co., trustee under the will of George A. Wilson, discharged Trinetta's 1901 mortgage to Thomas B. Hosmer. The buyers were the family the Historical Commission found at 562 Boston Road in 1973. After 1950 the family sold off frontage: two lots were deeded within the family in 1974 (Plan Book 119, Plan 101), and in 1980 the house frontage was divided into Lots A, B and C (Plan Book 131, Plan 168); Lot B, with the site of the house, was sold in 1980 and resold to private owners before the 1983 sale to Burlington Car Wash. Book 1000, pages 473-474.
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| August 8, 1980 | Quitclaim Deed | Barton M. McQuaid and Louise C. McQuaid of Brewster | Jon H. Graham, a Billerica builder | McQuaids sell Lots A and B; this site is in Lot A | 2431/731 |
For $75,000, "Two (2) certain parcels of land, with the buildings thereon," on the northeasterly side of Boston Road, Lots A and B on the "Plan of Land in Billerica, Drawn for Barton M. McQuaid, July 1980, James B. Monahan, R.L.S." (Plan Book 131, Plan 168). Lot A: 125 feet on Boston Road, 462.23 feet by Lot B, 183.70 feet by Lot 36 and McQuaid, 205.36 feet by McQuaid and two courses by Lot 4, "containing 1.47 acres"; Lot B, 2.1 acres, with the old house. With an easement for a sewer line over Lots C and D. "Being a portion of the premises conveyed to the grantors by deed of Charles H. Crosby and Lewis A. Crosby, dated December 2, 1943 ... Book 1000, Page 473."
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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.