Structure · Built 1791 · Demolished 2018

Hill Schoolhouse

Also Known As	District Number 5 Schoolhouse
Address	329 Concord Rd
MACRIS ID	BIL.178
Built	1791
Demolished	2018

The Hill Schoolhouse was the district schoolhouse of South Billerica, officially the District Number 5 Schoolhouse, at the northwest corner of Concord Road and Dudley Road (329 Concord Road). For more than two hundred years a small schoolhouse stood on the same lot, 82 feet on Concord Road and 233 feet deep. It was taken down in 2018 and a new house was built on the lot.

On September 12, 1791, a town committee reported where each squadron of the town should build its schoolhouse. The south ward house was "to be set at the head of Job Hill's lane, 16x16, to cost £20". The lane is now Dudley Road. Job Hill and his brother Josiah Hill had received the farm on the west side of the road to Concord from their father Jonathan Hill in 1785. Job kept it until his death in 1842, and the schoolhouse stood on a corner of it without any deed to the town. The farm passed by will to his son Jonathan Hill and in 1870 to Jonathan's widow, Laura W. Hill. When she sold it to Thomas E. Perrin in 1871, the deed excepted "the land occupied by the Blacksmith's shop, School house, Burying ground and the cross road". The school stood near the Hill machine shops, and in the deeds Concord Road was the road from Billerica to Bedford, with Dudley Road as "the road leading to said Perrin's dwelling house".

Like the other district schools, No. 5 was kept in a summer and a winter term, with 24 to 40 pupils in the years for which the School Committee's reports survive. In 1853-54 Miss Maria L. Johnson taught both terms, and the committee wrote that the school "continues fully to merit the high commendations awarded it in last year's Report." When Miss Abbie L. Hartwell took it over in 1861 she found that "universal misrule had characterized the administration of the previous winter," and it took "some four weeks of the most trying and energetic toil" to restore order.

District No. 5 school statistics, from the annual School Committee reports
School year	Term	Teacher	Enrolled	Average attendance	Length of term	Teacher's monthly wage	Children aged 5 to 15 in district
1853-54	Summer	Maria L. Johnson	39	33	5 mo.	$15*	41
	Winter	Maria L. Johnson	40	36	4 mo.	$21*
1861-62	Summer	Abbie L. Hartwell	26	22	4 mo. 11 d.	$18	31
	Winter	Abbie L. Hartwell	34	30	4 mo. 10 d.	$23
1867-68	Summer	Hattie L. Greenwood	25	20	3 mo. 4 d.	$21	25
	Winter	Hattie L. Greenwood	24	20	3 mo. 5 d.	$23
1868-69	Summer	Carrie E. Greenwood	29	24	3 mo. 5 d.	$23	28
	Winter	Abbie E. Smith	27	23	3 mo. 3 d.	$24
1869-70	Summer	Mary Haslit, then Mary Jaquith	30	21	3 mo. 5 d.	$32	n/a
	Autumn	Mary Jaquith	28	25	1 mo. 15 d.	$35
	Winter	Lizzie Dakin	24	22	3 mo.	$32
1870-71	Summer	Lizzie Dakin	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
	Autumn and winter	Clara Parker	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

* Wages in 1853-54 were reported including board. No district census was taken after the districts were abolished in 1869, and the 1870-71 report refers to an appended table that is missing from the surviving copy.

The town received its first deed to the lot on September 5, 1881, the date the Historical Commission later gave for the building. For $100 Thomas E. Perrin conveyed "a certain tract of land situated in the Southwesterly part of said Billerica", beginning "at a bound near a bar way" on the road to his house and running 233 feet north and 82 feet east to "the road leading from Billerica to Bedford". Dudley Foster, who held the mortgage on the farm, released the lot the same day. Every later deed of the surrounding farm, through the Fowler, Burr, Randall and Barber ownerships and the 1906 Fowler plan (Plan Book 23 Plan 25), bounds on or excepts "the school house lot".

After the district system ended in 1869 the Hill School remained one of the town's ungraded "mixed" schools, and the town reports give its figures for most years from 1890 to 1910. Teachers changed often. In 1895 Miss Estella J. Clark left after the spring term, Miss Jennie F. Blodget stayed six weeks, and a substitute kept the school until Miss Helen L. Briggs of Hanover was hired at Thanksgiving. Enrollment, from about 15 to 30 in the 1890s, fell to 7 or 8 in 1903-1905 and rose again to about 20 before the school closed.

Hill School statistics, from the annual town reports
Town report	Term	Teacher	Enrolled	Average membership	Average attendance	Per cent of attendance	Length of term or year	Teacher's monthly wage
1890	Spring	Edith Byrnes	11	n/a	9	n/a	2 mo. 18 d.	$32
	Autumn	Edith Byrnes	15	n/a	13	n/a	3 mo.	$32
	Winter	Hattie Lund	14	n/a	13	n/a	3 mo.	$32
1891	Spring	Grace L. Knowles	19	18	14	n/a	3 mo. 5 d.	$32
	Autumn	Grace L. Knowles	24	22	21	n/a	3 mo.	$32
	Winter	Grace L. Knowles	23	22	20	n/a	3 mo.	$32
1892	Year	Mary A. Knowles, then Grace Crandon	26	21	19	90	n/a	n/a
1895	Spring	Estella J. Clark	21	19.75	18.59	94.14	n/a	$36
	Fall	Jennie F. Blodget; Nina B. Foster; Helen L. Briggs	23	21.03	18.85	89.63	n/a	$32
	Winter	Helen L. Briggs	23	18.33	16.29	88.87	n/a	$36
1896	Year	Helen L. Briggs	28	19.66	18.14	92.24	38 weeks	$366 for the year
1897	Year	Helen L. Briggs	30	18.66	17.81	95.41	38 weeks	$40
1899	Year	Mary A. Hosmer	21	16.10	14.74	91.55	38 weeks	$40 and $32
1901	Year	Mary A. Hosmer	18	12.00	10.75	89.59	38 weeks	$36
1902	Year	Mary A. Hosmer	12	11.75	9.92	84.36	8 mo. 16 d.	$36
1903	Year	Mary A. Hosmer	8	7.75	7.05	90.96	8 mo. 19½ d.	n/a
1904	Year	Mary A. Hosmer	8	7.24	6.18	85.36	8 mo. 16 d.	n/a
1905	Year	Mary A. Hosmer	7	7.01	6.49	92.58	9 mo. 4½ d.	n/a
1906	Year	Mary A. Hosmer	10	8.75	8.07	92.2	9 mo. 10 d.	n/a
1907	Year	Edith K. Mason	15	11.93	10.84	90.50	9 mo. 4 d.	n/a
1908	Year	Edith K. Mason	18	16.77	14.34	85.51	9 mo. 2 d.	n/a
1909	Year	Edith K. Mason, L. Marie Hentz, Stella Wright	18	11.40	10.70	93.84	9 mo. 7 d.	n/a
1910	Year	Stella Wright	21	14.03	12.26	86.03	8 mo. 17½ d.	n/a

The town reports for 1890, 1891 and 1895 give figures by term; the others give the whole school year. In the 1890 and 1891 statistics the school is numbered No. 9. Reports not listed give no separate figures for the school.

The school committee closed the Hill School in 1910. The 1928 town meeting voted that the School Committee "be authorized to sell the Hill and Spaulding School houses", and the 1929 report records that "after being advertised the Hill School-house at South Billerica was sold to Mrs. Anna V. Kraise". The sale brought $40 and covered only the building: the town kept the land. In 1948, under Article 40 of the annual meeting, someone objected that the lot should revert to its original owner when no longer used for a school, but "the deed had been looked up" and showed the land was "deeded to the town without reservations". On April 5, 1948 the Selectmen sold "the School House Lot, located at the northwesterly corner of the Bedford Road and Chestnut Avenue, sometimes known as Dudley Road" to Francis X. McIntyre for $250. Two weeks later he and his wife Agnes M. McIntyre took title together through a straw deed. They sold the lot "with the buildings thereon" in January 1960, by which time the old schoolhouse had become a dwelling.

After two more private owners, Essex Broadway Savings Bank foreclosed on the house in 1973 and sold it at auction "on the premises numbered 329 Concord Road" on June 5, 1973. The bank turned it over to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which sold it to a private owner in July 1974 for $22,000. That owner's family kept the converted schoolhouse for decades, passing it within the family by deeds of 2007, 2010 and 2013. After a demolition-delay hearing before the Historical Commission, the old building was taken down about 2018, and a new house now stands on the lot.

References

Title References

Date	Type	Grantor	Grantee	Summary	Recorded
December 17, 1764	Deed	Joseph Hildreth Jr. of Westford, yeoman, and Abigail Hildreth his wife	Thomas Hall of Billerica, husbandman	1761 Hildreth to Thomas Hall: the farm on the west side of the road to Concord, from which the school lot was later taken	61/489 (South)
	For 300 pounds (old tenor), "a certain Tract of Land lying and being in Billerica aforesaid on the westerly side of the highway that leads to Concord and by Estimation about fifty acres ... with all the buildings thereon", "bounded Easterly on Concord Road so called", south and west by Samuel Stearns (marked walnut, great black oak, "a great Rock under the end of the wall"), over "the Brook", by Samuel and John Stearns to "a little swamp", to a birch "at Jonathan Hill's Land", and by Hill "in a crooked line to the highway first mentioned"; excepting "a certain piece of meadow & upland ... that is own'd by Jonathan Hill". Signed Feb. 4, 1761; acknowledged Jan. 2, 1764; recorded Dec. 17, 1764. Billerica town book 9, pages 75-77. The earliest deed of the farm found; its buildings are the "House and Barn" of Hall's 1772 inventory. Title passed to: September 29, 1772 Administration: Estate of Thomas Hall of Billerica, yeoman, intestate (d. May 10, 1772) to Lydia Hall, widow and administratrix (Probate #10188) (Hall bought the farm in 1761) March 17, 1777 Administrator's Deed: Lydia Hall of Billerica, administratrix of the estate of Thomas Hall, intestate to Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman (77/362) (part of the Hildreth-Hall farm) February 27, 1786 Administrator's Deed: Edward Farmer of Billerica, Esq., empowered by the General Court to sell the dower of Lydia (Hall) Crosby, widow of Thomas Hall to Job Hill and Josiah Hill of Billerica, yeomen (93/335) (the dower part, with the dwelling house)
March 17, 1777	Administrator's Deed	Lydia Hall of Billerica, administratrix of the estate of Thomas Hall, intestate	Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman	1773 Hall estate to Jonathan Hill: the farm at the head of the later "Job Hill's lane"	77/362 (South)
	Under a license from the Inferior Court of Common Pleas to sell real estate for debts, for 152 pounds 9 shillings, "forty one Acres and an half of Land lying in Billerica aforesaid in the Southerly part of said Town", from the northwest angle by Jonathan Hill south by Isaac Stearns "to a stake and stones near a little swamp", by Samuel Stearns to the brook, over the brook to the ditch and Benjamin Hutchinson, then by Hill's land, the meadow, the wall and "a bowing line to the Fence about twenty five Feet East of the great Tree to which the Gate hangs". Signed Feb. 20, 1773; acknowledged March 15, 1777. These are the bounds and the price of Jonathan Hill's 1785 deed to Job and Josiah (Book 93, Page 336). The inventory had advised selling "41 1/2 acres on the westerly side of the place" to pay a mortgage of the whole farm to Isaac Stearns. Billerica town book 7, pages 139-140. Title from: December 17, 1764 Deed: Joseph Hildreth Jr. of Westford, yeoman, and Abigail Hildreth his wife to Thomas Hall of Billerica, husbandman (61/489) (part of the Hildreth-Hall farm) September 29, 1772 Administration: Estate of Thomas Hall of Billerica, yeoman, intestate (d. May 10, 1772) to Lydia Hall, widow and administratrix (Probate #10188) (administratrix's sale under license) Title passed to: February 27, 1786 Deed: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman to Job Hill and Josiah Hill of Billerica, yeomen (93/336) (Jonathan Hill resold the Hall land to his sons with the same bounds)
February 27, 1786	Administrator's Deed	Edward Farmer of Billerica, Esq., empowered by the General Court to sell the dower of Lydia (Hall) Crosby, widow of Thomas Hall	Job Hill and Josiah Hill of Billerica, yeomen	1785 Hall dower land to Job and Josiah Hill	93/335 (South)
	Under an act of the General Court of Oct. 10, 1785 to sell "the Thirds or Dower of Lydia the wife of Samson Crosby but heretofore the Widow of Thomas Hall late of said Billerica yeoman", for 110 pounds 6 shillings ("the said Josiah Hill being the highest bidder when sold at Publick auction"), 21 1/2 acres "on the West side of the road leading from Billerica to Bedford": from the road by Jonathan Hill "with a crooked line ... to a rail fence Westerly of the Dwelling House on said Premises", to land sold to pay Hall's debts, to Long Meadow, by Jonathan Hill across the meadow, to Benjamin Hutchinson and back to the road, "with the Dwelling House & that part of the Barn standing thereon". Signed Nov. 13, 1785. Billerica town book 8, pages 45-47. With the 40 1/2 acres their father sold them that year (the rest of the Hall farm, bought by him from Lydia Hall in 1777), this gave the brothers the whole Hall place. Title from: December 17, 1764 Deed: Joseph Hildreth Jr. of Westford, yeoman, and Abigail Hildreth his wife to Thomas Hall of Billerica, husbandman (61/489) (the dower part, with the dwelling house) September 29, 1772 Administration: Estate of Thomas Hall of Billerica, yeoman, intestate (d. May 10, 1772) to Lydia Hall, widow and administratrix (Probate #10188) (sale of the widow's dower under the 1785 resolve) Title passed to: April 12, 1842 Will: Estate of Job Hill of Billerica, yeoman (d. Feb. 5, 1842) to His son Jonathan Hill, residuary legatee and executor (Probate #34231) (the Hall dwelling-house lot of 1785)
February 27, 1786	Deed	Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman	Job Hill and Josiah Hill of Billerica, yeomen	1785 Jonathan Hill to his sons Job and Josiah: the farm (school-house site voted 1791 "at the head of Job Hill's lane")	93/336 (South)
	For 152 pounds 9 shillings, 40 1/2 acres "in the Southerly part of said Town," beginning at the northwesterly angle by land of said Jonathan Hill, southerly by Isaac Stearns to a little swamp, by Samuel Stearns to the brook, east over the brook to the ditch and by the ditch to Benjamin Hutchinson, northerly by Hutchinson to Jonathan Hill, and westerly, northerly and easterly by Hill's land, the meadow, a wall and "the fence about twenty five feet East of the great tree to which the gate hangs," back to the start. Signed Feb. 25, 1785; acknowledged Nov. 30, 1785 before Edward Farmer. Job (b. 1754) and Josiah were Jonathan's sons. This set off the south end of the farm; the homestead stayed with Jonathan and passed to his son Jonathan (m. 1798, d. 1815), whose south abutter in 1825 was Job Hill. Billerica town book 8, pages 44-45. Title from: May 24, 1742 Will: Ralph Hill of Billerica, yeoman to Jonathan Hill of Billerica, his nephew (Probate #11504) (land Jonathan Hill had from his uncle Ralph) March 17, 1777 Administrator's Deed: Lydia Hall of Billerica, administratrix of the estate of Thomas Hall, intestate to Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman (77/362) (Jonathan Hill resold the Hall land to his sons with the same bounds) Title passed to: May 10, 1796 Will: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman to Jonathan Hill, his son (and Job, Josiah, Benjamin and Ralph Hill) (Probate #11473) (the brothers' shares confirmed by the will) May 4, 1832 Deed: Josiah Hill of Bedford, yeoman to Artemas Hill of Bedford, yeoman, his son (313/428) (Josiah's part of the 1785 deed from his father) April 12, 1842 Will: Estate of Job Hill of Billerica, yeoman (d. Feb. 5, 1842) to His son Jonathan Hill, residuary legatee and executor (Probate #34231) (Job held the farm from 1785 until his death) Related: May 10, 1796 Will: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman to Jonathan Hill, his son (and Job, Josiah, Benjamin and Ralph Hill) (Probate #11473) (the 1795 will also divided the southern part of the farm between Job and Josiah) February 27, 1786 Administrator's Deed: Edward Farmer of Billerica, Esq., empowered by the General Court to sell the dower of Lydia (Hall) Crosby, widow of Thomas Hall to Job Hill and Josiah Hill of Billerica, yeomen (93/335) (the two halves of the Hall farm bought by Job and Josiah in 1785)
April 12, 1842	Will	Estate of Job Hill of Billerica, yeoman (d. Feb. 5, 1842)	His son Jonathan Hill, residuary legatee and executor	1842 will of Job Hill: the farm to Jonathan Hill (school-house land in use, no deed to the town)	Probate #34231
	Will dated April 20, 1837 (witnesses Marshall Preston, John Baldwin and John Baldwin Jr.): $700 each to his daughters Asenath Hill and Susan Lane Hill and the household furniture except one bed and the clock; $250 to his daughter Lucretia, wife of Sewall Stearns, less $200 paid at her marriage; $50 to his son Daniel Hill if he came to Billerica in person within three years; and "to my son Jonathan Hill, the Bed & Clock above mentioned, together with all the rest & residue of my estate, real & personal, of whatever name or nature and wherever situated", Jonathan to be sole executor. Petition Feb. 18, 1842 ("late of Billerica, yeoman"); proved at Concord April 12, 1842; executor's bond of $20,000 the same day, Jonathan Hill "Gentleman" principal with David P. Whiting and Franklin Stearns as sureties, "being residuary legatee". No inventory is filed. The homestead farm passed under this residuary clause to Jonathan Hill. Title from: February 27, 1786 Deed: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman to Job Hill and Josiah Hill of Billerica, yeomen (93/336) (Job held the farm from 1785 until his death) February 27, 1786 Administrator's Deed: Edward Farmer of Billerica, Esq., empowered by the General Court to sell the dower of Lydia (Hall) Crosby, widow of Thomas Hall to Job Hill and Josiah Hill of Billerica, yeomen (93/335) (the Hall dwelling-house lot of 1785) May 10, 1796 Will: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman to Jonathan Hill, his son (and Job, Josiah, Benjamin and Ralph Hill) (Probate #11473) (Job Hill's share to his son Jonathan) Title passed to: November 3, 1849 Deed: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman (Laura W. Hill releasing dower) to Joseph Dane of Billerica, machinist (568/545) (Jonathan Hill held under his father's will) May 22, 1854 Warranty: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman, and Laura W. Hill to Charles Henry Hill of Billerica, machinist (677/561) (the shop stood on the Hill farm that Jonathan Hill inherited from his father Job in 1842) May 4, 1868 Quitclaim: Jonathan Hill of Billerica; Laura W. Hill his wife (dower and homestead) to Charles H. Hill of Billerica (61/571) (Jonathan Hill held the land under his father Job Hill's will) 1870 Will: Jonathan Hill of Billerica (d. May 17, 1870) to Laura W. Hill, his widow and executrix (legacies to son James W. Hill and daughter Laura Hill) (Probate #34235) (Jonathan Hill held his father's farm 1842-1870) Related: April 15, 1794 Deed: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman to His son Job Hill of Billerica (115/330) (the meadow added in 1793)
1870	Will	Jonathan Hill of Billerica (d. May 17, 1870)	Laura W. Hill, his widow and executrix (legacies to son James W. Hill and daughter Laura Hill)	1870 will of Jonathan Hill: the farm to his widow Laura W. Hill	Probate #34235
	Will dated Sept. 10, 1869, witnessed by William B. Stearns, Dudley Foster and Louisa P. Foster: $100 each to his son James W. Hill and his daughter Laura Hill, and "all the rest and residue of my property and estate" to his wife Laura W. Hill, executrix without bond. He died May 17, 1870; the will was proved at Lowell on July 19, 1870 (Judge William A. Richardson), the estate sworn at not over $37,000. Jonathan Hill had bought the grist mill from John Nichols in 1835, began the leather-splitting machine business there, and sold the mill and shop to Charles H. Hill in 1853, taking back a mortgage that was assigned in 1858. Middlesex probate case 34235. Title from: April 12, 1842 Will: Estate of Job Hill of Billerica, yeoman (d. Feb. 5, 1842) to His son Jonathan Hill, residuary legatee and executor (Probate #34231) (Jonathan Hill held his father's farm 1842-1870) Title passed to: December 28, 1870 Warranty Deed: Laura W. Hill of Billerica (widow of Jonathan Hill) to James Leslie of Billerica (77/112) (the widow held Jonathan Hill's estate under his will) January 5, 1871 Warranty Deed: Laura W. Hill of Billerica, widow (of Jonathan Hill) to Thomas E. Perrin of Andover (77/167) (Laura W. Hill sold as residuary devisee under her husband's will) Related: May 22, 1854 Warranty: Jonathan Hill of Billerica, yeoman, and Laura W. Hill to Charles Henry Hill of Billerica, machinist (677/561) (the seller of 1853 and holder of the purchase mortgage) May 5, 1869 Quitclaim: Clara M. B. Snow of Independence, Buchanan County, Iowa to Jonathan Hill of Billerica (67/144) (Jonathan Hill died in 1870 owning the cottage he bought in 1868)
January 5, 1871	Warranty Deed	Laura W. Hill of Billerica, widow (of Jonathan Hill)	Thomas E. Perrin of Andover	1871 Laura W. Hill to T. E. Perrin, "excepting the land occupied by the ... School house"	77/167
	For $7,000 ($7 in revenue stamps), "a certain parcel of land situate in said Billerica with the buildings thereon", beginning "at the corner of the wall nearly opposite the house of Thos. Lyons on the Billerica and Bedford road", north by Lyons and Susan Hamilton to the Chelmsford and Bedford road, west by that road to Francis Wheeler, then by Wheeler and Henry Desmarzes ("several angles being formed by the walls, ditches, brook and dam, the bounds formed by the dam being its westerly side") back to the Billerica and Bedford road; "Excepting the land occupied by the Blacksmith Shop, School House, Burying ground, and the cross road", and reserving the right of carting hay across the west end of "the meadow, deeded by F. O. Whitford, May 16, 1864". Also the pasture opposite the burying ground (Franklin Stearns, Moses P. Greenwood) and river meadow "a few rods from Hills Bridge". Signed Jan. 2, 1871 before Dudley Foster. No title recital: Mrs. Hill held it under her husband's will (probate 34235), and he under his father Job Hill's will (probate 34231). Title from: 1870 Will: Jonathan Hill of Billerica (d. May 17, 1870) to Laura W. Hill, his widow and executrix (legacies to son James W. Hill and daughter Laura Hill) (Probate #34235) (Laura W. Hill sold as residuary devisee under her husband's will) Title passed to: December 3, 1881 Warranty Deed: Thomas E. Perrin of Billerica (Abbie O. Perrin releasing dower and homestead) to Inhabitants of Billerica (149/294) (Perrin held the farm under the 1871 deed (school land then excepted)) August 20, 1888 Warranty Deed: Thomas E. Perrin of Billerica (Abbie O. Perrin, his wife, releasing dower and homestead) to Dudley Foster of Billerica (199/83) (Perrin's title recital: "conveyed by Laura W. Hill by her deed dated January 2nd 1871")
January 5, 1871	Mortgage	Thomas E. Perrin of Andover	Laura W. Hill of Billerica	1871 Perrin mortgage on the farm; assignee Foster released the school lot in 1881	77/169
	Mortgage for $4,000 ($4 in stamps) of the same farm "with the buildings thereon", with the same bounds, exceptions and reservations as the deed of the same day (Book 77, Page 167). The margin notes the assignment to Dudley Foster (Book 115, Page 353, January 1876) and Foster's discharge on the margin, May 21, 1891, when the farm was sold to Charlotte E. Fowler. Title passed to: December 3, 1881 Release of Mortgage: Dudley Foster of Billerica, assignee of the mortgage to Thomas E. Perrin of Billerica (149/293) (partial release of the 1871 mortgage (assigned to Foster)) Related: January 5, 1871 Warranty Deed: Laura W. Hill of Billerica, widow (of Jonathan Hill) to Thomas E. Perrin of Andover (77/167) (purchase-money mortgage of the same day)
December 3, 1881	Release of Mortgage	Dudley Foster of Billerica, assignee of the mortgage	Thomas E. Perrin of Billerica	1881 the farm mortgagee releases the school lot	149/293
	Dated September 5, 1881. For $1 Dudley Foster, "as assignee in a certain mortgage held by me" (the 1871 Perrin mortgage on the old Hill farm, Book 77 Page 169, assigned to him in 1876), releases "so much of my said mortgage as lies upon the above described premises and no more": the tract 233 feet by 82 feet beginning at a bound near a bar way on the northerly side of the road to Perrin's dwelling house, by Perrin's other land, to the road from Billerica to Bedford. Recorded with the deed to the town the same morning. Title from: January 5, 1871 Mortgage: Thomas E. Perrin of Andover to Laura W. Hill of Billerica (77/169) (partial release of the 1871 mortgage (assigned to Foster))
December 3, 1881	Warranty Deed	Thomas E. Perrin of Billerica (Abbie O. Perrin releasing dower and homestead)	Inhabitants of Billerica	1881 T. E. Perrin deeds the School House Lot (233 x 82 ft) to the town for $100	149/294
	Dated September 5, 1881, acknowledged before Dudley Foster. For $100, "a certain tract of land situated in the Southwesterly part of said Billerica": beginning at a bound near a bar way on the northerly side of "the road leading to said Perrin's dwelling house" (Chestnut Avenue, now Dudley Road), north by Perrin's other land 233 feet to a stake and stones, east by his land 82 feet to "the road leading from Billerica to Bedford" (Concord Road), then by the two roads to the beginning. The first deed of the Hill School lot: the schoolhouse had stood there since 1791 on land of the Hill farm (the 1871 deed excepted "the land occupied by the ... School house"). Warranty covenants, no reversion; the 1948 town meeting found the land "deeded to the town without reservations". Title from: January 5, 1871 Warranty Deed: Laura W. Hill of Billerica, widow (of Jonathan Hill) to Thomas E. Perrin of Andover (77/167) (Perrin held the farm under the 1871 deed (school land then excepted)) Title passed to: April 22, 1948 Deed: Inhabitants of Billerica, by Selectmen William M. McNulty, Arthur R. Hallenborg, Arthur C. Barnard, John F. Monahan and Frederic H. Brown to Francis X. McIntyre of Billerica (1089/178) ("conveyed to the Inhabitants of Billerica by Thomas E. Perrin ... Book 149, Page 294") Related: December 3, 1881 Release of Mortgage: Dudley Foster of Billerica, assignee of the mortgage to Thomas E. Perrin of Billerica (149/293) (release recorded with the deed)
April 22, 1948	Deed	Inhabitants of Billerica, by Selectmen William M. McNulty, Arthur R. Hallenborg, Arthur C. Barnard, John F. Monahan and Frederic H. Brown	Francis X. McIntyre of Billerica	1948 the town sells the School House Lot to Francis X. McIntyre for $250	1089/178
	Signed April 5, 1948, under Article 40 of the annual town meeting of February 1948 (certified copy recorded with the deed). For $250 the town grants "the land in said Billerica known as the School House Lot, located at the northwesterly corner of the Bedford Road and Chestnut Avenue, sometimes known as Dudley Road": north by land formerly of one Perrin, more recently of Margaret A. Barber, about 82 feet; west by the same 233 feet; south by "the road formerly known as the road leading to said Perrin's dwelling house"; east by the road from Billerica to Bedford, "sometimes known as the Concord Road". "Intending hereby to convey all the Town's interest in the premises which were conveyed to the Inhabitants of Billerica by Thomas E. Perrin by deed dated September 5, 1881 ... Book 149, Page 294." At the meeting a question was raised that the land should revert to the original owner when no longer used for a school, but the deed was found to be "without reservations". Title from: December 3, 1881 Warranty Deed: Thomas E. Perrin of Billerica (Abbie O. Perrin releasing dower and homestead) to Inhabitants of Billerica (149/294) ("conveyed to the Inhabitants of Billerica by Thomas E. Perrin ... Book 149, Page 294") Title passed to: April 22, 1948 Quitclaim Deed: Francis X. McIntyre of Billerica (Agnes M. McIntyre releasing) to Doris Stevens of Lowell (1089/180) ("Being all and the same premises conveyed to me by The Inhabitants of Billerica")
April 22, 1948	Quitclaim Deed	Francis X. McIntyre of Billerica (Agnes M. McIntyre releasing)	Doris Stevens of Lowell	1948 straw deed McIntyre to Stevens	1089/180
	Signed April 17, 1948. Straw deed: McIntyre quitclaims "the School House Lot" at the northwesterly corner of Bedford Road (Concord Road) and Chestnut Avenue (Dudley Road), same bounds (82 feet by the Perrin or Barber land, 233 feet deep), "Being all and the same premises conveyed to me by The Inhabitants of Billerica by deed dated April 5, 1948"; reconveyed the same minute so that he and his wife held it together. Title from: April 22, 1948 Deed: Inhabitants of Billerica, by Selectmen William M. McNulty, Arthur R. Hallenborg, Arthur C. Barnard, John F. Monahan and Frederic H. Brown to Francis X. McIntyre of Billerica (1089/178) ("Being all and the same premises conveyed to me by The Inhabitants of Billerica") Title passed to: April 22, 1948 Quitclaim Deed: Doris Stevens of Lowell, unmarried to Francis X. McIntyre and Agnes M. McIntyre, husband and wife, tenants by the entirety (1089/180) ("conveyed to me by Francis X. McIntyre by deed of even date")
April 22, 1948	Quitclaim Deed	Doris Stevens of Lowell, unmarried	Francis X. McIntyre and Agnes M. McIntyre, husband and wife, tenants by the entirety	1948 Stevens to Francis X. and Agnes M. McIntyre (tenancy by the entirety)	1089/180
	Signed April 17, 1948 (recorded 11:02 am, beginning at the foot of page 180, continuing on page 181). Doris Stevens quitclaims the same School House Lot, "Being all and the same premises conveyed to me by Francis X. McIntyre by deed of even date"; the grantees assume all outstanding taxes and assessments. Title from: April 22, 1948 Quitclaim Deed: Francis X. McIntyre of Billerica (Agnes M. McIntyre releasing) to Doris Stevens of Lowell (1089/180) ("conveyed to me by Francis X. McIntyre by deed of even date") Title passed to: January 21, 1960 Quitclaim Deed: Francis X. McIntyre and Agnes M. McIntyre, husband and wife, of Billerica to A private couple of Billerica (1465/447) ("For our title see deed of Doris Stevens to us ... Book 1089, Page 180")
January 21, 1960	Quitclaim Deed	Francis X. McIntyre and Agnes M. McIntyre, husband and wife, of Billerica	A private couple of Billerica	1960 the McIntyres sell the lot "with the buildings thereon" (the converted schoolhouse)	1465/447
	Acknowledged January 20, 1960. The McIntyres sell "the land with the buildings thereon ... known as the School House Lot" at the northwesterly corner of Bedford Road and Chestnut Avenue (Dudley Road), 82 by 233 feet, "For our title see deed of Doris Stevens to us dated April 17, 1948 ... Book 1089, Page 180". The first deed since 1881 to name buildings on the lot: the old schoolhouse, sold by itself for $40 in 1929, had become a dwelling. Later private owners (1960s, 1971) are not named here. Title from: April 22, 1948 Quitclaim Deed: Doris Stevens of Lowell, unmarried to Francis X. McIntyre and Agnes M. McIntyre, husband and wife, tenants by the entirety (1089/180) ("For our title see deed of Doris Stevens to us ... Book 1089, Page 180")
June 13, 1973	Foreclosure Deed	Essex Broadway Savings Bank of Lawrence, mortgagee (mortgage of Aug. 3, 1971, Book 1971 Page 347)	Essex Broadway Savings Bank	1973 bank foreclosure auction "on the premises numbered 329 Concord Road"	2069/694
	Signed June 5, 1973. Under the power of sale in a 1971 mortgage from the private owner, after notices in the Billerica News of May 10, 17 and 24, 1973, the bank sold "the School House Lot" (82 by 233 feet, the 1948 bounds) "with all the buildings and structures" at public auction "ON THE PREMISES NUMBERED 329 CONCORD ROAD" on June 5, 1973 at 2 pm (auctioneer Rudolph S. Dietrich) and bought it in itself for $23,023, the highest bid. Title passed to: July 2, 1973 Quitclaim Deed: Essex Broadway Savings Bank of Lawrence to The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2073/222) ("title ... acquired by the Grantor Corporation by mortgagee's deed dated June 5, 1973")
July 2, 1973	Quitclaim Deed	Essex Broadway Savings Bank of Lawrence	The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	1973 the bank conveys the lot to HUD	2073/222
	Signed June 29, 1973. For $23,023.79 the bank conveys to the federal housing secretary "A certain parcel of land, with all the buildings and structures thereon ... known as the School House Lot" at the northwesterly corner of Bedford Road and Chestnut Avenue (Dudley Road), "Being the same premises title to which was acquired by the Grantor Corporation by mortgagee's deed dated June 5, 1973" (the FHA-insured mortgage claim). Title from: June 13, 1973 Foreclosure Deed: Essex Broadway Savings Bank of Lawrence, mortgagee (mortgage of Aug. 3, 1971, Book 1971 Page 347) to Essex Broadway Savings Bank (2069/694) ("title ... acquired by the Grantor Corporation by mortgagee's deed dated June 5, 1973") Title passed to: July 17, 1974 Quitclaim Deed: James T. Lynn, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, by the FHA field office, Boston to A private buyer of Billerica (2119/121) ("acquired by the grantor ... by deed dated June 29, 1973 ... 2073/222")
July 17, 1974	Quitclaim Deed	James T. Lynn, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, by the FHA field office, Boston	A private buyer of Billerica	1974 HUD sells the converted schoolhouse to a private buyer ($22,000)	2119/121
	Signed July 11, 1974 (FHA case 251-110789-203). For $22,000 the federal government sells "the School House Lot" (82 by 233 feet, the 1948 bounds), "BEING the same property acquired by the grantor pursuant to the provisions of the National Housing Act ... by deed dated June 29, 1973 ... 2073/222". The buyer's family kept the house for decades (confirmatory deed 1980, Book 2431 Page 404; family deeds 2007, 2010 and 2013); the old schoolhouse was demolished about 2018 and a new house built. Title from: July 2, 1973 Quitclaim Deed: Essex Broadway Savings Bank of Lawrence to The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (2073/222) ("acquired by the grantor ... by deed dated June 29, 1973 ... 2073/222")

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.

Hill Schoolhouse

Hill Schoolhouse

References

Title References Expand all

Title References