Structure · Built 1798 · Demolished 1954
John Levestone House
The John Levestone House was an old farmhouse on the east side of High Street in North Billerica, on the road the early deeds call the way "leading from the meeting house to the mouth of Concord river". Its forty acres ran from the road back to the Middlesex Canal on the north and to Fox Brook (Cold Brook) on the south. The site is now the High Street frontage of the solar farm at 200R High Street, just north of the private way that leads into Iron Horse Park.
The house was already old when the Walling map of 1853 labeled it "B. T. Batchelder". In September 1798 John Levestone, yeoman, sold the forty acres "with the buildings thereon" to George Tufts of Medford, housewright, for $420. He reserved to Rachel Saunders, for life, "the use and improvement of the east room on the lower floor with a priviledge of the well and use of the cellar under said room". He also kept a way across the land for the neighbor Thomas Mears "in the usual place". The same day William Levestone sold Tufts a strip between the farm and the canal, which was then being built.
In 1813 innkeeper Nathan Mears bought out the Tufts family. David French of Medford, Call Tufts and finally George Tufts each released "all my right and title" in the farm. On December 11, 1813 Mears passed it to Joseph Batcheller, a housewright and later captain of the militia, for $500. The same day Batcheller deeded Mears his land on Whortleberry Hill. Two years earlier the Batchellers had lost their son Samuel T. Batcheller in the smallpox epidemic of 1811. The victims were buried in the small North Billerica Smallpox Cemetery east of the farm.
Batcheller mortgaged the farm in 1817 for $182 to his brother-in-law Ezra Trull, a Boston distiller. In May 1824 he deeded it "with all the buildings thereon" to his son Josiah, and he died on December 24, 1824. His estate held nothing but furniture, a cow and some hay. In 1825 a creditor of Josiah, Joseph Locke, had the deputy sheriff sell Josiah's equity of redemption in "the homestead of Joseph Batcheller" at auction on the premises. Zaccheus Shed bought it for $35 and in 1826 released it to Ezra Trull. Trull and later the trustees under his will held the title for twenty-five years. Meanwhile the widow Hannah (Trull) Batcheller and her children stayed on the farm. In August 1851 the Trull trustees and heirs quitclaimed "a certain piece of land with the buildings thereon standing" to her youngest son, Brooks T. Batcheller (1813-1902), for $600. It is his name that appears on the 1853 map.
Brooks Batcheller moved to Boston, where he kept a stable. On April 1, 1865 he sold the farm to the Rev. Elias Nason for $2,300. Nason, a minister and writer, made it his home until his death in 1887. His widow Mira Ann Nason and their children then passed it to their son Charles P. H. Nason of Philadelphia. In 1911 Charles sold about 39 acres "with the buildings thereon" to the Boston and Maine Railroad from Grenoble, France, keeping the barn for six months. The farm became Parcel IV of the land for the railroad's new Billerica shops. The railroad kept the old house: its 1925 list of Billerica property still shows the "Nason House", barn and poultry house.
In 1944 the railroad sold the High Street tract with its buildings and sidetracks to Johns-Manville Products Corporation of Massachusetts, which had it registered in the Land Court in 1945. The house was taken down about 1954. In 1961 the High Street part became Lot 1 on Land Court plan 19368-B and went to General Latex and Chemical Corporation. Its 29 acres were covered with about 15,000 solar panels in 2016 and 2017. South of the private way, the land the railroad sold in 1959 was divided later. Lot 2 of a 1981 plan, sold by Standex International to the Boston and Maine Railroad Employees Credit Union, is now 300 Hidden Forest Avenue.
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Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| November 24, 1798 | Deed | William Levestone of Billerica, yeoman; Hannah, his wife, releasing dower | George Tufts of Medford | 1798 William Levestone to George Tufts, the strip north of the farm | 130/349 (South) |
Billerica town book 9, page 378. For $20, "a certain parcele of land lying in said Billerica on the eastwardly side of the road leading from the meeting house in said Billerica to the mouth of Concord river": from a stake and stones by the road at land of the heirs of Jonas Sanders, easterly by that land to Elijah Trull's land about forty rods, southerly by Trull to "the Canall", westerly by the canal to the road, and northerly by the road. Warranty. Dated September 29, 1798; acknowledged October 8, 1798 before Edward Farmer, justice of the peace. A small strip at the north end of the farm George Tufts bought the same day.
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| November 24, 1798 | Deed | John Levestone of Billerica, yeoman | George Tufts of Medford, housewright | 1798 John Levestone to George Tufts, 40 acres with the buildings; earliest deed found for the house | 130/350 (South) |
Billerica town book 9, pages 379-380. For $420, "a certain tract of land lying in said Billerica on the eastwardly side of a road leading from the meeting house to the mouth of Concord river": from a stake and stones at the road by land of Thomas Mears, easterly and southeasterly by Mears to "fox brook (so called)", easterly by land of Samuel Bowers, Jonathan Bowers, Joseph Jaquith and Benjamin Davis "to the canal", by the canal to the road, and southerly by the road, "with the buildings thereon", forty acres, "reserving to Rachel Saunders during her natural life the use and improvement of the east room on the lower floor with a priviledge of the well and use of the cellar under said room", and a way for Thomas Mears across the land "in the usual place". The earliest deed found for the farm: the house was already standing.
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| June 26, 1813 | Quitclaim | David French of Medford, yeoman | Nathan Mears of Billerica, innholder | 1813 David French releases his interest in the Tufts farm to Nathan Mears | 204/429 (South) |
Billerica town book 11, pages 314-315. For $212, "all my right and title" in "a certain tract of land situated in Billerica ... containing forty acres be the same more or less with the buildings thereon", on the easterly side of the road from Billerica meeting house "to the north of Concord river", by land late of Thomas Mears, Fox Brook, Samuel Bowers, Jonathan Bowers, Joseph Jaquith, Benjamin Davis and the Middlesex Canal. Dated June 9, 1813; acknowledged June 25 before Nathaniel Hall. One of three releases by which Mears bought out the Tufts family interests.
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| December 16, 1813 | Quitclaim | Nathan Mears of Billerica, innholder; Lucy Mears, his wife, releasing dower | Joseph Batcheller of Billerica, gentleman | 1813 Nathan Mears to Joseph Batcheller, 40 acres with the buildings: the Batcheller homestead | 205/509 (South) |
Billerica town book 11, pages 250-251. For $500, "a certain tract of land situated in said Billerica containing forty acres, be the same more or less, with the buildings thereon", "on the easterly side of a road leading from Billerica meeting house to the north of Concord river": from a stake and stones at the road by land late of Thomas Mears, easterly and southerly by that land to "Fox's brook so called", easterly by land of Samuel Bowers, Jonathan Bowers, Joseph Jaquith and Benjamin Davis to the Middlesex Canal, by the canal to the road, and by the road; Mears keeps "the privilege of passing and repassing through said tract". Dated December 11, 1813, the same day Batcheller deeded Mears his land on Whortleberry Hill in Tewksbury and Billerica (an exchange of farms); acknowledged December 14, 1813 before Samuel Whiting. The 1865, 1888 and 1899 deeds of the farm recite this deed.
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| December 16, 1813 | Quitclaim | Call Tufts of Billerica, gentleman; Mary, his wife, releasing dower | Nathan Mears of Billerica, innholder | 1813 Call Tufts releases his interest in the farm to Nathan Mears | 205/510 (South) |
Billerica town book 11, pages 252-253. For $265, "all my right and title" in the forty acres "with the buildings thereon" on the easterly side of the road from Billerica meeting house to the north of Concord River, by land late of Thomas Mears, "Fox's brook, so called", the Bowers, Jaquith and Davis land and the Middlesex Canal. Dated June 9, 1813; acknowledged December 14, 1813 before Samuel Whiting.
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| December 16, 1813 | Quitclaim | George Tufts of Billerica, carpenter | Nathan Mears of Billerica, innholder | 1813 George Tufts releases the farm to Nathan Mears | 205/511 (South) |
Billerica town book 11, pages 253-254. For one dollar, all his right and title in the same forty acres "with the buildings thereon", with the same bounds (land late of Thomas Mears, Fox's Brook, Samuel Bowers, Jonathan Bowers, Joseph Jaquith, Benjamin Davis, the Middlesex Canal and the road). George Tufts, the housewright who bought the farm in 1798, gives up his remaining title for a nominal sum after his family's shares were sold.
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| February 22, 1819 | Mortgage | Joseph Batcheller of Billerica, gentleman | Ezra Trull of Boston, distiller | 1817 Joseph Batcheller mortgage of the farm to Ezra Trull | 227/527 (South) |
Billerica town book 12, pages 115-116. For $182, "a certain piece of land situate in Billerica aforesaid containing forty acres more or less", by land of Nathan Mears, Fox Brook, the Bowers and Davis land, the Middlesex Canal and the road, "with all the buildings thereon"; "Provided nevertheless" that the deed is void if Batcheller repays $182 with interest in one year, with a note of the same date. Dated November 25, 1817; acknowledged the same day before Blaney Abbot. Ezra Trull was a brother of Batcheller's wife Hannah (Trull). The mortgage was never paid off, and through it the Trull family later held the farm.
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| May 22, 1824 | Quitclaim | Joseph Batcheller of Billerica, housewright | His son Josiah Batcheller of Billerica, housewright | 1824 Joseph Batcheller to his son Josiah, the farm with all the buildings | 254/291 (South) |
Billerica town book 12, pages 374-375. For $500, "a tract of land situated in said Billerica containing forty acres be the same more or less with all the buildings thereon", on the easterly side of the road from Billerica Meeting House to the north of Concord River, by land of the late Thomas Mears, Fox Brook, Samuel and Jonathan Bowers, Joseph Jaques, Benjamin Davis and the Middlesex Canal; also seven acres on "Huckelberry Hill so called" by Ami French and Timothy Davis. Dated and recorded May 22, 1824, seven months before Joseph Batcheller's death on December 24, 1824; his estate (probate 605) then held only personal property.
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| May 17, 1825 | Administration and Dower | Estate of Capt. Joseph Batcheller of Billerica (died Dec 24, 1824) | His widow Hannah (Trull) Batcheller, administratrix | 1825 Joseph Batcheller estate (personal property only; widow Hannah) | Probate #605 |
Administration of the estate of Joseph Batcheller of Billerica, who died intestate, granted to his widow Hannah, May 17, 1825. The inventory lists personal estate only ($89.85), all allowed to the widow. Her petition for dower in his real estate was granted Sept 6, 1825, with John Rogers, William Pollard and Josiah B. Richardson as commissioners; the file holds no return of the dower. His farm on High Street, bought from Nathan Mears in 1813, descended to his children subject to her dower and was later held by the youngest son, Brooks T. Batcheller, who sold it to Elias Nason in 1865.
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| June 27, 1826 | Deputy Sheriff's Deed | Joseph Parker of Billerica, deputy sheriff, on an execution of Joseph Locke against Josiah Batcheller of Boston, carpenter | Zaccheus Shed of Billerica, yeoman | 1825 sheriff's sale of Josiah Batcheller's equity in the homestead to Zaccheus Shed | 268/258 (South) |
Billerica town book 12, pages 478-480. On an execution "in favour of Joseph Locke of Billerica ... Esquire against Josiah Batcheller of Boston ... Carpenter", the deputy sheriff seized "the right in equity of redemption of a certain farm, situated in said Billerica late the homestead of Joseph Batcheller late of said Billerica gent. deceased", of which "Ezra Trull of Boston ... Distiller holds a mortgage". After notice of July 15, 1825 he sold it at public auction on the premises on August 15, 1825 at nine in the morning to Zaccheus Shed, highest bidder, for $35, "subject only to redemption as the law provides". Acknowledged February 7, 1826 before Marshall Preston.
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| June 27, 1826 | Quitclaim | Zaccheus Shed of Billerica, yeoman | Ezra Trull of Boston, distiller | 1826 Zaccheus Shed to Ezra Trull: the homestead held under the mortgage | 268/259 (South) |
Billerica town book 12, pages 480-481. For one dollar, "a certain farm situate in said Billerica late the homestead farm of Joseph Batcheller late of said Billerica Gentleman deceased, it being the same estate which the said Joseph Batcheller conveyed to the said Ezra Trull by mortgage deed". Dated February 9, 1826; acknowledged March 21, 1826 before Joseph Locke. With the mortgage and the equity together, Ezra Trull owned the farm outright; the Batcheller family stayed on it.
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| April 2, 1852 | Quitclaim | Sidney Bartlett, John P. Tarbell and William Dehon of Boston, trustees under the will of Ezra Trull and a conveyance of John F. Trull; John F. Trull of Boston; Charles Trull of Stoneham; Ezra Trull of Watertown; Samuel Trull of Methuen; and their wives | Brooks T. Batcheller of Billerica, gentleman | 1851 Trull heirs and trustees to Brooks Batcheller, the farm with the buildings | 629/13 (South) |
Billerica town book 19, pages 260-262. For $600 they "remise release and forever quit claim" "a certain piece of land with the buildings thereon standing situated in said Billerica containing forty acres more or less": from the southwest corner by land of Nathan Mears, easterly by Mears to a stake and stones, southerly to Fox Brook so called, easterly by the brook by land of Samuel Bowers, Jonathan Bowers and Benjamin Davis to the Middlesex Canal, west by the canal to the road, and south by the road. Covenant against their own acts only. The trustees hold for Mary Mountfort and Catherine E. Tarbell under the will of the late Ezra Trull. Dated August 20, 1851; recorded April 2, 1852. Brooks Trull Batcheller, Joseph Batcheller's youngest son, so recovered his father's farm, and the Walling map of 1853 marks the house "B. T. Batchelder".
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| January 22, 1877 | Deed | Brooks T. Batcheller of Boston (Rachel C. Batcheller releasing dower) | The Rev. Elias Nason of Exeter, N.H., clerk | 1865 Brooks T. Batcheller to Rev. Elias Nason, 40 acres with the buildings | 122/31 |
Signed April 1, 1865; recorded January 22, 1877. For $2,300, "a certain tract of land situated in Billerica ... containing forty acres be the same more or less, with the buildings thereon," on "the easterly side of a road leading from Billerica Meeting House to the north of Concord River" (High Street), bounded by land late of Thomas Mears, by "Fox's Brook so called" (Cold Brook), by land formerly of Samuel Bowers, Jonathan Bowers, Joseph Jaquith and Benjamin Davis "to Middlesex Canal," and by the canal to the road. "Being the same premises conveyed to Joseph Batcheller by Nathan Mears by deed dated December 11th A.D. 1813," Middlesex Book 205, Page 509. The grantee may cut wood only for fuel and farm use while the mortgage given back the same day stands. The later Parcel IV of the 1911 shop purchase.
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| September 28, 1888 | Mortgage Deed | Mira Ann Nason of Billerica, widow of Elias Nason | Her son Charles P. H. Nason of Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1888 widow Mira A. Nason to her son Charles P. H. Nason (conditional deed) | 200/77 |
For $1,500, two parcels: First, the forty acres "with the buildings thereon" on the easterly side of the road from Billerica Meeting House to the north of Concord River, "being the same premises which Brooks T. Batcheller by indenture bearing date the first day of April A.D. 1865" conveyed to Elias Nason; Second, the strip along the old Middlesex Canal from the road to "Fox Brook so called," which John O. Richardson conveyed to Elias Nason by deed of November 30, 1865 (recorded Book 200, Page 76), Richardson reserving the right to float logs in the canal to his saw mill. Recites that Elias Nason "departed this life on the 17th day of June A.D. 1887" and by his will dated April 22, 1880 devised both parcels to his wife. A conditional deed ("Provided nevertheless") securing the sum, indexed as a mortgage.
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| March 23, 1899 | Quitclaim | William W. Nason of Billerica (Kate J. Nason releasing dower), Paul F. Nason of Lowell, Florence N. Wilson and Frederick A. Wilson of Andover, Emily G. Gerrish and Charles H. Gerrish of Exeter, N.H. | Their brother Charles P. H. Nason of Germantown, Philadelphia | 1899 Nason heirs release the farm to Charles P. H. Nason | 305/596 |
Signed March 2, 1899. For $1,925 the other children of Elias Nason release to their brother the tract of "forty acres more or less with the buildings thereon" on the easterly side of the road from Billerica Meeting House to the north of Concord River, by Fox's Brook and the Middlesex Canal, "being the same premises conveyed to Joseph Batcheller by Nathan Mears by deed dated Dec 11th A.D. 1813" and to Elias Nason by Brooks T. Batcheller (Book 122, Page 31); also the canal strip from John O. Richardson (Book 200, Page 76) and a lot in Holbrook, Mass.
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| June 30, 1911 | Warranty Deed | Charles P. H. Nason of Philadelphia (Helen A. Nason releasing dower) | Boston and Maine Railroad | 1911 C. P. H. Nason to the Boston and Maine Railroad (Parcel IV, the farmhouse lot) | 470/517 |
Signed June 10, 1911 before the U.S. vice consul at Grenoble, France. For one dollar and other valuable considerations, "a certain piece or parcel of land with the buildings thereon" beginning on High Street at land formerly of Edward Spaulding, by High Street about 485 and 610 feet to land formerly of John E. Rowell "at the center of the old Middlesex Canal," by the center of the canal about 2,455 feet to Cold Brook, by the brook about 1,799 feet, and by the Spaulding land back to the street, "about thirty nine (39) acres," Parcel IV on the plan of April 1911 (Plan Book 28, Plan 73). Reserves to the grantor "the barn now standing on the above described premises with the right to remove the same within six (6) months." The site of the Dry Kiln and Dry Lumber Storage of the shops.
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| December 28, 1944 | Indenture (Deed) | Boston and Maine Railroad | Johns-Manville Products Corporation of Massachusetts (a Delaware corporation) | 1944 Boston and Maine to Johns-Manville, the High Street tract with the buildings | 1017/581 |
Dated December 22, 1944; recorded December 28, 1944 with $82.50 in revenue stamps. For one dollar and other valuable considerations, "a certain piece or parcel of land with the buildings and sidetracks thereon," beginning 41.50 feet from Station 1089+62.49 on the center line of the main line (Boston to Lowell), running 2,707.11 feet southwest by railroad land, by the center line of a private way twenty feet wide to High Street, by High Street on four courses, and by remaining railroad land along the main line back to the beginning, "about seventy and seven tenths (70.7) acres," on a plan by J. P. Cronin, Engineer of Design, December 1944. Gives sidetrack service over the railroad's two lead tracks; the railroad keeps a 10-foot way on the southeast side, drainage through "the Old Middlesex canal" and the surface drain "from its Dry Kiln Building," and its steam, air and hot-water lines serving its 6.2-acre "Wheel Shop Property" to the southwest. No title recital. The Passenger Car Shop and Paint Shop.
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| November 21, 1945 | Land Court Decree (Original Certificate) | Land Court, case 19368 (petition of Johns-Manville Products Corporation of Massachusetts) | Johns-Manville Products Corporation of Massachusetts | 1945 Land Court decree for Johns-Manville (the tract with the house site) | Ctf 6813 |
Decree of November 20, 1945, registered at Lowell November 21, 1945. Confirms the title of Johns-Manville Products Corporation of Massachusetts, "having an usual place of business in Billerica," to the land bounded westerly by High Street 1,197.63 feet, northerly 3,002.99 and southeasterly 2,707.11 feet by Boston and Maine Railroad land, and southwesterly 1,172.33 feet by the middle of a 20-foot way, on a plan by William S. Crocker, C.E. (Land Court plan 19368-A, January 22, 1945), subject to the 1944 indenture (Book 1017, Page 581) and to the Western Union pole line. The plan draws the two brick car shops. The memoranda record the 1961 sale of Lot 1 (document 35521), the mergers of 1972, 1975 and 1985 into Johns-Manville Sales Corporation and Manville Sales Corporation, and the deed of Lot 2 to BNZ Materials, Inc. (document 121816), "see Ctf 28231."
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| November 6, 1961 | Certificate of Title (Lot 1) | Johns-Manville Products Corporation of Massachusetts (deed and vote, document 35521, November 2, 1961) | General Latex and Chemical Corporation of Cambridge | 1961 Lot 1 of plan 19368-B (the house site) to General Latex and Chemical Corporation | Ctf 12207 |
Transfer certificate from Certificate 6813, registered November 6, 1961 at 4:21 PM. Lot 1 on subdivision plan 19368-B by Raymond C. Pressey Inc., August 29, 1961: westerly by High Street 1,198.16 feet, northerly 1,206.31 feet by the railroad, northeasterly 573.82 and southeasterly 1,109.39 feet by Lot 2, and southwesterly 500.08 feet by the middle of the 20-foot way. The High Street frontage of the 1944 tract (the 1911 Rowell Parcel V and the west end of the Nason Parcel IV); the car shops stayed on Lot 2. Later memoranda include a 2016 lease to Iron Horse Solar 1 LLC and a 2025 EPA notice of activity and use limitation.
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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.