Greenville Street

Greenville Street runs west from Boston Road in Pinehurst, between Grove Street and Laurel Street, toward the Shawsheen River. It was laid out as the second street of Riverbank Acres, a development of small house lots shown on the plan "Riverbank Acres, Billerica, Mass., June 1911," drawn by C. A. Thayer, engineer, and recorded on August 16, 1912 (Plan Book 30, Plan 19). On the plan Greenville Street leaves "Main Street," as Boston Road was labeled, with lots on both sides and Orchard Road crossing it. The 1919 directory lists "GREENVILLE from Boston rd n Pinehurst ave westerly."

The plan's names, Grove, Greenville, Laurel, Pinegrove, Autumn, Summer, Spring, Pineview and Orchard, are pleasant country names chosen by the developer, and no record connects Greenville with any Billerica person, family or place. The developer's name does not appear on the plan.

The residents of the street asked repeatedly to have it accepted. An article to accept it was dismissed in 1934, referred to the Board of Survey in 1936 and dismissed again in 1940, and in February 1950 a motion to accept it "from Boston Road, to its end, a distance of about 1200 feet" was put to the meeting "and was not voted." At a special town meeting on July 17, 1950 it was finally "moved and so voted that Greenville Street from Boston Road to its end be accepted as or for a public highway." Meanwhile 385 feet of 6 inch water pipe had been laid with W.P.A. labor in 1940. The street was graveled and given a tar penetration for its entire length in 1951 and asphalt sealed for 1,000 feet in 1953. Greenville Street was not on the official town map of 1831 and was not among the roads accepted in 2016.

References

1. Annual Report of the Town of Billerica, 1940: 385 feet of 6 inch water pipe laid in Greenville Street
2. Annual Report of the Town of Billerica, 1950: motion to accept Greenville Street not voted at the annual meeting
3. Annual Report of the Town of Billerica, 1950: special town meeting of July 17, 1950 accepts Greenville Street from Boston Road to its end
4. Annual Report of the Town of Billerica, 1951: Greenville Street graveled and tar penetration applied to entire length
5. Annual Report of the Town of Billerica, 1953: Greenville Street asphalt sealed for 1000 feet
6. Annual Report of the Town of Billerica, 1956: list of accepted streets, Greenville Street accepted July 17, 1950