Richardson School
Richardson School
| Also Known As | District Number 7 Schoolhouse / Pattenville School |
| Address | Salem Road |
| MACRIS ID | BIL.149 |
| Built | 1791 |
| Moved | 1854 |
| New Address | 1 DeMolay Ct |
| Demolished | 1974 |
When the District Schools were laid out in 1791, the east ward's location was not defined. Officially, this was the District Number 7 School. Hales (1831) and Walling (1853) both show the schoolhouse on the west side of Salem Rd, midway between Andover and Baldwin, approximately where Georgiana Rd is now. In 1854, School District No. 7 bought a parcel of land on the other side of the road (Bk 20 Pg 474), and erected the new building. By 1875, Beers shows the school on the east side of Salem Rd, closer to Andover Rd. In 1885, the Annual Report called it the Pattenville School. In 1890, it's called the Richardson School and maintains that name into the 20th century. Miss Annie J. Page was a long-time teacher at the school, but needed a two-year absence for health reasons. She returned for the 1898 school year to everyone's relief. She died Oct 26, 1909 and was recognized as having a 33-year teaching career in town.
In 1916, the school closed, when only 11 pupils would be enrolled there. It was the last of the 10 district schools to close, in favor of sending the children to the much larger Talbot and Pollard Schools. In 1932, it was sold to the East Billerica Community Club on the condition that if they give up the building, it would revert back to the town. The Historical Commission recorded its loss in 1974, calling it "last survivor of the district schools of that era."
| Year | Teacher | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|
| 1888 | Annie Page | 33 |
| 1889 | Annie Page | 33 |
| 1890 | Annie Page | 37 |
| 1891 | Annie Page | ? |
| 1892 | Annie Page | ? |
| 1893 | Annie Page | ? |
| 1894 | Annie Page | 38 |
| 1895 | Annie Page | 48 |
| 1896 | Lottie McClellan Edith Arnold | 43 |
| 1897 | ? | ? |
| 1898 | Annie Page | 45 |
| 1899 | Annie Page | 26 |
| 1900 | Annie Page | 25 |
| 1901 | Annie Page | 24 |
| 1902 | Annie Page | 26 |
| 1903 | Annie Page | 25 |
| 1904 | Annie Page | 21 |
| 1905 | Annie Page | 21 |
| 1906 | Annie Page | 17 |
| 1907 | Annie Page | 21 |
| 1908 | Annie Page | 26 |
| 1909 | Annie PageEdith Mason | 23 |
| 1910 | Nellie O'Hare | 31 |
| 1911 | Edith Mason | 21 |
| 1912 | Edith Mason | 23 |
| 1913 | Thurza McElman | ? |
| 1914 | Thurza McElman | 27 |
| 1915 | Anna Masterson | 22 |
References
- MACRIS BIL.149
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), pp. 256-257: the 1791 report on the squadron school-houses
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| May 20, 1741 | Deed | George Brown of Billerica, husbandman | His son Samuel Brown (Lt. Samuel Brown, 1701/2-1779) | 1730: George Brown to son Samuel, the southerly part of the Brown homestead (later the school lot side) | 41/496 (South) |
For 200 pounds, "one parcel of upland, swamp and meadow situate in Billerica ... which Land is part of my Homestead to wit the southerly part thereof and it contains about forty eight acres", from a white oak "a little southerly of a clump of apple trees called the Nursery" to Ensign Thomas Baldwin's lot, "allowing two rods wide upon the said head line for a highway", across "the old field" and the meadow by "the Turnip ground", up a Cove meadow to a white oak "over against the Well"; also half his wood lot by Mill Meadow. Signed Sept. 10, 1730, acknowledged June 11, 1733, recorded May 20, 1741. Billerica town book 4, pages 323-325.
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| 1738 | Will | Estate of Capt. George Brown of Billerica (died Sept. 28, 1738) | His son Samuel Brown, executor and residuary devisee | 1738: will of Capt. George Brown; the Brown homestead, from which the school lot was later cut, to Lt. Samuel Brown | Probate #3022 |
Will dated July 15, 1734, proved Nov. 20, 1738. Having already deeded "the southerly part of my whome stead or house lott" to Samuel, George gives him "the other part of my whome stead or house lott with al the buildings upon the same, only reserving the use of the lower room at the west end of my house" for his daughter Sarah while unmarried, the other half of the wood lot bought of John Marshall, and his quarter of "the sawmill caled Content sawmill"; Samuel pays the other children's legacies. Inventory Nov. 15, 1738 by John Baldwin, Nathaniel Patten and David Baldwin of the estate not disposed of by will (outlying lots, 102 pounds); sons Joseph, Josiah, William and Ephraim signed receipts for their portions.
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| July 8, 1777 | Deed | Lt. Samuel Brown of Billerica, gentleman | His son Samuel Brown Jr. of Billerica, yeoman (1733-1790) | 1777: Lt. Samuel Brown to son Samuel Jr., the southerly 48 acres of the homestead | 78/161 (South) |
For 120 pounds, 48 acres "being the Southerly part of my Homestead", beginning "at a Stake & Stones at the North side of my Dwelling house thence running South thro' said House about six Rods & half unto the highway", southeast on the way about 120 rods to the Range Way, northeast on the range line 49 rods to Reuben Kendall, by Kendall to "my Little House Field", then by the grantor's land about 98 rods to "the Southeast Corner of my Corn House"; "also the one half the Barn & the other Buildings". Signed June 10, 1777, witnesses Isaac Foster and Jeremiah Allen. Billerica town book 5, pages 554-555.
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| 1779 | Will | Estate of Lt. Samuel Brown of Billerica, gentleman (died July 6, 1779) | His son Samuel Brown, executor and residuary devisee | 1779: will of Lt. Samuel Brown; residue of the homestead to son Samuel | Probate #3181 |
Will dated June 23, 1777 (witnesses Isaac Foster, Thomas Allen, Asa Patten), proved Sept. 1, 1779. Legacies to his wife Elizabeth and daughters Mary Lewis, Sarah Farmer, Anna, Rebeckah Lewis, Abigail Marshall and Martha Stickney; "all the Rest of My Estate Real, Personal or Mixed I give unto my son Samuel Brown and his Heirs". Bond 10,000 pounds (wartime currency) with Isaac Foster and Thomas Allen.
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| 1791 | Inventory and Division of Real Estate | Samuel Brown of Billerica, yeoman, deceased intestate (d. 1790) | Sarah Brown, widow (dower); Samuel Brown, only son; daughters Sarah, Mary and Susanna | 1791: division of Samuel Brown's estate; the homestead to his only son Samuel | Probate #3183 |
Middlesex probate case 3183, 16 pages (pages 2-5 read). Warrant of March 8, 1791 to Samuel Thompson of Woburn, Capt. James Lewis and Hezekiah Crosby of Billerica to appraise and divide the real estate. Inventory: "Dwelling House Barn and out House all Prised at Eighty Pounds"; "Seventy Acres of Land called the Homestead Bounded Southward by Saml. Brown & Reuben Kendell Southeast on Asa Patten Northeast on John Patten and Else where on the Town Roads," 168 pounds; a ten-acre wood lot, fifteen acres "called the Allen field," five acres in Tewksbury swamp, three acres "called Content Lot" and 120 acres at Vassalborough near the Kennebec River; total 341 pounds 10 shillings. To the widow Sarah: "The East lower Room in the Deceasd House the bed room adjoining, half the back chamber over the kitchen," half the garret and cellar and a third of the kitchen, the west end of the barn to the middle of the floorway, and 22 acres "beginning at a Stake and Stones before the Door near the Road" running "thro' the middle of the Chimney" and north to the road and "the Bridge." To "Samuel Brown the only Son of the Deceasd": the west lower room, the small back room, west chambers, cellar and garret and a third of the kitchen, the east end of the barn and the corn house, and three acres around the house. To the three daughters Sarah, Mary and Susanna in common: the rest of the house, the Allen field, the wood lot and "Forty Acres more or less being the Eastward part of the Homestead."
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| 1835 | Will (probate) | Samuel Brown of Billerica, yeoman, deceased | Samuel Brown 2nd, executor | 1835: will and inventory of Samuel Brown, the 63-acre homestead farm | Probate #3196 |
Middlesex probate case 3196, 10 pages. Will of Samuel Brown of Billerica, yeoman, dated Feb. 5, 1825 (witnesses Harriet B. Allen, John Allen, Marshall Preston): his wife to have her apparel and best bed; the executor to sell "at public or private sale ... all my real estate", the proceeds to support his wife for life and then to be "equally divided among all my children"; son Samuel Brown Jun. sole executor. Notice ordered Feb. 17, 1835; Samuel Brown 2d gave bond April 14, 1835 with Henry Allen and Joel Baldwin. Inventory appraised March 2, 1835 by John Richardson 2d, Henry Allen and Joel Baldwin: "The Homestead farm of said deceased, 63 Acres, $1000.00", a wood lot near Content Brook, the Allen Field on both sides of the railroad and the Tewksbury swamp lot ($1,254 in real estate), with the cooper tools and stock of his shop. The other heirs released the homestead to Samuel 2d in 1836.
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| June 19, 1837 | Quitclaim | Heirs of Samuel Brown: Timothy W. Brown of South Reading (Mahala Brown releasing); Jeremiah and Ruby Hartshorn; Sarah P. Brown; Leonard and Mary Stratton; Joseph and Elizabeth Cram; James and Lucy B. Cram | Their brother Samuel Brown 2d of Billerica, yeoman | 1836: heirs quitclaim the homestead to Samuel Brown 2d, who gave the school lot in 1854 | 365/283 (South) |
For $1,250, all their interest in "the lands and tenements of which our late father Samuel Brown late of said Billerica deceased died seized ... and consisting of the homestead of said deceased situate in said Billerica, containing about sixty acres", the seven-acre pasture "called the Allen lot", four acres of woodland "called the Content Lot" and a five-acre swamp in Tewksbury. Signed Dec. 31, 1836; witnesses Mary Chandler, Eliza M. Allen, Hannah C. Joslin, Abigail Marshall. Billerica town book 15, pages 410-411.
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| 1853 | Guardianship | Mary E. Brown and George Brown, minors under fourteen, of Billerica | Their father Samuel Brown of Billerica, guardian | 1853: Samuel Brown guardian of his children George and Mary E., whose heirs reclaimed the school lot in 2002 | Probate #28251 |
Petition at Groton, May 3, 1853: the two children "have recently inherited property from a deceased half brother"; Samuel Brown appointed guardian with Henry Allen and Joel Baldwin as sureties. Inventory June 24, 1853 by George Bacon, Henry Allen and Francis Baldwin: each child half of a note of Stephen and Samuel C. Winter and bank money (about $268 each); no real estate. These are the children who sold the homestead in 1866.
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| December 6, 1854 | Deed | Samuel Brown of Billerica, yeoman ("my wife being deceased") | School District No. 7 of Billerica, "a corporation" | 1854 deed for the new schoolhouse lot across the road, replacing the 1791 house | 697/283 (South) |
Signed and acknowledged Nov. 4, 1854 before George H. Whitman, J.P.; recorded Dec. 6, 1854 (copy in Billerica town book 20, pages 474-476). For $25, a parcel "beginning on the highway or Salem Road so called at the southeasterly corner of said parcel", running 6 rods westerly on the road, 6 2/3 rods northerly, 6 rods easterly and 6 2/3 rods southerly, "containing one quarter of an acre of land situated between the dwellings of said Brown and Henry Allen and upon which a new School-house is now being erected". Granted "upon the following express conditions viz. that a school for the children of that part of said Billerica be maintained and kept on said parcel and no longer", and so long as the district kept "a fence of tight boards four feet at least in height" on the three sides next to Brown's land. No title recital: the lot was cut from the Brown homestead, which Brown held under the 1836 quitclaim of his father's heirs. The site of the Richardson School until about 1973.
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| June 16, 1866 | Deed | Albert R. Richardson of Billerica, yeoman (no wife living) | Nathan Fletcher Jr. of Haverhill | 1866: the Brown house lot sold to Nathan Fletcher Jr., bounded around the School District No. 7 lot | 50/30 |
For $1,650, "the following described and bounded piece of land with the buildings thereon situated in the east part of said Billerica", about 45 acres: from the road leading to Wilmington at John Keyes's land, 38 and 41 rods by Keyes to the Boston and Lowell Railroad, 113 rods along the railroad to the road to A. H. Patten's house, "called the Andover road", to its corner with the Wilmington road, around the School District No. 7 lot and back; "being part of the late homestead of late Samuel Brown deceased intestate and conveyed to me by deed of George Brown and Mary E. Brown dated 19th May 1866". Signed June 15, 1866. This is the "N. Fletcher" house of the 1875 map.
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| June 16, 1866 | Deed | George Brown and Mary E. Brown, single woman, of Billerica | Albert R. Richardson of Billerica | 1866: Samuel Brown's children sell the homestead "around land of School District No. Seven" | 50/32 |
For $1,500, "a certain tract of land with the Buildings thereon being the homestead of the late Samuel Brown deceased situated in the easterly part of said Billerica containing sixty-five acres", from the south corner on the road to Wilmington at John Keyes's land, by Keyes, Mark R. Wilson and one Baldwin to the Boston and Lowell Rail Road, by the railroad 113 rods to "the road from Billerica to A. H. Patten's house", to the corner of the Wilmington road, around "land of School District No. Seven" and back along the road; subject to fencing the railroad. Signed May 19, 1866. George (b. 1843) and Mary Elizabeth (b. 1840) were the children of Samuel Brown 2d and Nancy, who died intestate. The 2002 Superior Court judgment (Book 14870 Page 205) gives his death as April 7, 1866.
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| June 26, 1873 | Declaration of Homestead | Nathan Fletcher of Billerica | Nathan Fletcher (homestead exemption) | 1873: Nathan Fletcher's homestead declaration, bounded around the School District No. 7 lot | 94/552 |
"It is my design to hold the land on which I now reside in Billerica aforesaid as a homestead", with the same bounds as the 1866 deed: the Wilmington road at John Keyes, by Keyes to the Boston and Lowell Railroad, 113 rods along the railroad to the road to A. H. Patten's, the Andover road to the Wilmington road, and around the School District No. 7 lot.
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| September 4, 1880 | Deed | Nathan Fletcher of Billerica (Mary Fletcher releasing dower and homestead) | Herbert A. King of Billerica | 1880: Fletcher to Herbert A. King, the farm next to the school lot | 141/281 |
For $2,000, "my Homestead farm situate in the easterly part of said Billerica, containing about forty-five acres more or less with all the buildings thereon", same bounds; subject to the railroad fence and "to a mortgage of $1000 running to Albert R. Richardson, which the grantee agrees to pay and discharge". "Being the same premises conveyed to me by Albert R. Richardson, deed dated June 15, 1866 ... Book 50, Page 30." In 1884 King deeded the land at the corner of the Wilmington and Andover roads to Samuel H. King (Book 169 Page 369, index entry; the page image is unavailable at the registry).
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| September 20, 1887 | Warranty Deed | Samuel H. King of Billerica (Lucetta J. King releasing dower and homestead) | Herbert B. Kitchen (Ketchen) of Lowell | 1886: Samuel H. King to Herbert B. Kitchen, ten acres "beginning ... at the school house land" | 190/157 |
For $1,000, "a certain tract of land with a dwelling house and barn thereon containing ten acres more or less situated in the easterly part of said Billerica", beginning on the Wilmington road at the school house land, northeast by the school house land and the grantor's land about twenty rods "to a bound at the old Middlesex Canal so called", southeast by the canal about sixty rods, southwest by the grantor's land about twenty-four rods to the Wilmington road, northwest on the road about sixty rods. Signed March 13, 1886 before Dudley Foster; no title recital. King kept the rest of the Fletcher farm.
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| June 2, 1898 | Mortgage | Herbert B. Kitchen | Lowell Co-operative Bank | 1898: Kitchen mortgage, the ten acres bounded on the school house land | 298/23 |
Mortgage for $600 on three shares of the 27th series, "a certain tract of land with a dwelling house and barn thereon containing ten acres more or less situated in the easterly part of said Billerica", the same bounds on the Wilmington road, the school house land and the old Middlesex Canal; "Being the same premises conveyed to me by Samuel H. King by his deed dated Mar. 13, 1886 ... Book 190 Page 157"; buildings to be insured for $600. Discharged 1910 (Book 458 Page 200). It replaced an 1887 mortgage to the same bank (Book 192 Page 191).
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| February 18, 1938 | Quitclaim | Emma B. Ketchen of Somerville, unmarried | Chester B. Ketchen of Lowell | 1938: Ketchen family deed, the ten acres from "the schoolhouse land" to the old canal | 909/498 |
For a nominal sum, "one undivided half interest in and to a certain tract or parcel of land with the buildings thereon, situated on Wilmington Road", about ten acres, beginning at the schoolhouse land, by "land formerly of Samuel H. King" to "the old Middlesex Canal so-called", sixty rods by the canal, twenty-four rods by King back to the road. "For my title see Probate of estate of Herbert Ketchen, Middlesex Probate 165551." Signed Jan. 8, 1938.
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| February 18, 1938 | Quitclaim | Chester B. Ketchen of Lowell | His wife Gertrude E. Ketchen | 1938: Chester B. Ketchen to Gertrude E. Ketchen, bounded on the schoolhouse land | 909/499 |
Consideration under $100, the same ten acres "with the buildings thereon, situated on Wilmington Road" between the schoolhouse land, the old Middlesex Canal and King's land. "For my title see Probate of estate of Herbert Ketchen, Middlesex Probate 165551, and also deed from Emma B. Ketchen to me to be recorded herewith." Signed Feb. 17, 1938.
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| June 10, 1953 | Administrator's Deed | Estate of Gertrude Emma Ketchen, by its administrator with the will annexed | A family member (private) | 1953: Ketchen estate sale of the ten acres next to the schoolhouse land | 1225/426 |
Under a license of the Middlesex Probate Court dated May 18, 1953 (no. 313972), for $3,250, "A certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon situated in said Billerica on Wilmington Road" from the schoolhouse land to "the Old Middlesex Canal", sixty rods by the canal and back to the road, "Containing 10 acres more or less". Signed May 22, 1953. In January 1965 the ten acres were divided into Lots A, B and C (Plan Book 101, Plan 56B), and on Oct. 1, 1965 Lot B, one acre "with the buildings thereon" on the northeasterly side of "Salem Road, formerly Wilmington Road", was sold to private owners (Book 1719 Page 254). The house has since passed through several private owners (1979, 1990, 1996, 2006, 2016, 2020).
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| March 27, 2003 | Judgment (Quiet Title) | Middlesex Superior Court, C.A. MICV2000-03130: seven descendants of Samuel Brown v. Town of Billerica and unknown heirs | The heirs of Samuel Brown (seven living descendants) | 2002 Superior Court judgment: Samuel Brown's descendants own "the Richardson School Land" under the 1854 condition | 14870/205 |
Action to quiet title under G.L. c. 240, ss. 6-10, begun about Aug. 8, 2000; judgment entered April 18, 2002. The court found the plaintiffs owners of "244 Salem Road, Billerica ... also known as the Richardson School Land" (Assessors Map 35, Lot 37; Plan Book 32 Plan 4 and Plan Book 101 Plan 56B), and that the Town "was an owner of the premises until divested of title in 1930 when the property was discontinued to be used as a school" under the condition of the 1854 deed from Samuel Brown to School District No. 7 (recorded as "Book 20, Page 474", i.e. Billerica town book 20). Findings on the descent: Samuel Brown died April 7, 1866, leaving his property to his children Mary Elizabeth (Mrs. Albert Cram, died 1897, her only child dying in 1874) and George Everett Brown (died Nov. 24, 1924 at Akron, Colorado), whose widow Abbie (Putnam) Brown left it in 1935 to their four sons; the living plaintiffs are their grandchildren.
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| March 27, 2003 | Quitclaim Deed | Town of Billerica, by its Board of Selectmen (James F. O'Donnell Jr., chairman) | The heirs of Samuel Brown, as tenants in common | 2002 Town of Billerica returns the Richardson School lot to Samuel Brown's heirs ($1,500 donation) | 14870/208 |
Signed June 18, 2002. For $1,500, with quitclaim covenants, the 1854 parcel, "beginning on the highway or Salem Road ... at the southeasterly corner", six rods by six and two-thirds rods, "containing one quarter of an acre of land situated between the dwellings of said n/f of Brown and Henry Allen". "For title see deed recorded at Book 20, Page 474 and Middlesex Superior Court Docket Number MICV2000-03130." Attached Selectmen's minutes of April 8, 2002: "the deed was given to the Town for the purpose of school use and ... there is no use for the property"; the board voted 5-0 to return the land to the heirs, who would donate $1,500 to the Kennedy School.
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| April 9, 2003 | Quitclaim Deed | The heirs of Samuel Brown (seven descendants) | Jeffrey J. Mazzone, Trustee of Salem Realty Trust | 2003 Brown heirs sell the old school lot to Salem Realty Trust ($130,000) | 14966/118 |
For $130,000, with quitclaim covenants, the quarter acre on Salem Road described as in 1854, "situated between the dwellings of said n/f of Brown and Henry Allen". "Meaning and intended to convey the same premises conveyed by deed recorded at Middlesex North Registry of Deeds at Book 20, Page 474", with references to the Town's 2002 deed (Book 14870 Page 208) and the Superior Court judgment (Book 14870 Page 205). The trust was declared April 8, 2003 (Book 14966 Page 111).
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| October 28, 2003 | Quitclaim Deed | Jeffrey J. Mazzone, Trustee of Salem Realty Trust, of 2 DeMolay Court | Private owners | 2003 Salem Realty Trust sells the new house on the school lot (1 DeMolay Ct) to private owners | 16443/298 |
Signed Oct. 27, 2003. For $419,900, the same quarter acre (the 1854 bounds on "the highway or Salem Road"), "For title see deed of Jeffrey J. Mazzone, Trustee of Salem Realty Trust recorded with said deeds at Book 14966, Page 118." The trust had built the present house (assessors: built 2003) at what is now 1 DeMolay Court, Assessors Map 35 Lot 37, 0.236 acre. The house was later sold by private owners in 2015 and 2023; those owners are not named here.
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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.