Gardner Parker Hall
Gardner Parker Hall
| Also Known As | Odd Fellows Hall |
| Address | 5 River St |
| Built | 1892 |
| Demolished | 1940 |
| Other Lot Structures |
Samuel Ruggles House (1710 -
1972)
Universalist Church (1842 - 1868) Centre Schoolhouse (River Street) (1870 - 1892) |
Joel Richardson partitioned his property at the corner of River Street and Boston Road on April 25, 1842 by selling this lot to the Universalist Society. They built a church here that served the center until 1868.
In 1868 the building was sold to the Catholic Church and was moved to North Billerica and converted into Saint Andrew's Roman Catholic Church. The town purchased the land and the remaining foundation from the Universalist Society on February 24, 1870 to be used for the Center Schoolhouse.
The town reused the foundation and built the schoolhouse. It was in use until March 1892, when the Pollard School opened just across the Center.
In April 1892, the Billerica Building Association purchased the schoolhouse and renovated the existing building as this new Hall. After the Old Town Hall burned down in 1893 and before the Billerica Town Hall opened in 1895, Town Meetings were held in this building. After that, it was used by the Odd Fellows.
It burned down on February 26, 1940. Later that year, it was sold to A. Warren Stearns, with the deed describing it "together with the remains of the old district school building standing thereon", which strongly suggests the school had been renovated, rather than removed.
Records:
- 1842: 415/472 Joel Richardson to Universalist Society
- 1870: 72/332 Universalist Society to Inhabitants of Billerica
- 1875 Map: School No 1
- 1889 Map: Schoolhouse
- 1892: 232/390 Inhabitants of Billerica to J. Nelson Parker
- 1892: 232/391 J. Nelson Parker to Billerica Building Assoc "together with the old district school building standing thereon", using the meetinghouse foundation as property boundary references
- 1928: Pl 56/67
- 1940: 950/153 Billerica Building Assoc to A. Warren Stearns "together with the remains of the old district school building standing thereon"
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 1892 | Quitclaim | The Inhabitants of the Town of Billerica, by Edward B. Haskell, Alden A. Dane and John C. Rowell, selectmen | J. Nelson Parker of Billerica | 1892: the town sells the old district schoolhouse to J. Nelson Parker | 232/390 |
Dated March 30, 1892, acknowledged April 9 before Dudley Foster, recorded May 2, 1892. For $1,350, the 4,950 square feet at the road to Carlisle and land formerly of Joel Richardson, measured from "the southeasterly corner of the former underpinning wall of the meeting house formerly standing on said premises," fifty-five by ninety feet, the premises conveyed to the town by the First Universalist Society by deed dated Feb. 24, 1870 (Book 72, Page 332), "together with the old district school building standing thereon." The town report credits "G. E. Stearns, auctioneer, in part for schoolhouse sold, $250."
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| May 2, 1892 | Quitclaim | J. Nelson Parker of Billerica (Charlotte S. Parker releasing) | Billerica Building Association | 1892: Parker passes it to the Billerica Building Association, which makes it Gardner Parker Hall | 232/391 |
Dated April 30, 1892. For $1,350, the same 4,950 square feet "together with the old district school building standing thereon." The association, chartered March 31, 1892, remodeled the building as Gardner Parker Hall.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.