Little Red Schoolhouse
Little Red Schoolhouse
| Also Known As | District Number 3 Schoolhouse |
| Address | Wyman Road |
| Built | 1780 |
| Demolished | 1971 |
The Little Red Schoolhouse was the District Number 3 schoolhouse, one of the single-room district schools that served Billerica in the 19th century. It stood on the west side of Wyman Road just south of School Lane, which takes its name from it, on a lot only 44 feet wide and 35 feet deep. A surveyor's plan of 1950 is titled "School House, 1791," the year the town built its district schoolhouses. The building ceased to be used as a school in 1869, when the Crosby Schoolhouse nearer Boston Road took over as the District 3 school.
By 1950 the lot belonged to the owners of the land around it. On Nov. 10, 1950 they gave "the land ... with the old School House thereon" to the Billerica Historical Society, on condition that the Society "keep and maintain the School building thereon," the land to revert to them if the building were destroyed. When the surrounding farmland was laid out in 1956 as a subdivision named "Little Red Schoolhouse Manor," the plan showed the "School House Lot, Billerica Historical Society" at the corner of Wyman Road and School Lane.
The Society could not keep up the old building. On May 14, 1970 its directors voted that the Society, "having ceased to maintain the Old schoolhouse on Wyman Road," would confirm the title of the original donors, "the condition in the deed to the Society having been broken," and in June 1971 its president, Charles E. Stearns, signed the deed returning the lot. The schoolhouse was gone by about 1971. The little lot has since passed with the neighboring house lot, and later deeds still repeat the 1950 description "with the Old School House thereon," although the building no longer stands.
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 19, 1951 | Quitclaim (conditional gift) | Private owners of the surrounding land on Wyman Road (a married couple) | Billerica Historical Society | The schoolhouse lot given to the Billerica Historical Society on condition it keep the building | 1173/27 |
With no money consideration, "the land in said Billerica ... with the old School House thereon, located on the westerly side of Wyman Road near School Lane, and shown on a Plan of Land in Billerica, Mass., School House, 1791, Merrill A. Brown, Registered Land Surveyor, Carlisle, Mass., dated August 26, 1950," bounded easterly on Wyman Road 44 feet and southerly, westerly and northerly by the grantors' land 35, 44 and 35 feet, the grantors reserving a right of way on the south side of the lot. "The said grantee and its successors are to have and to hold said lot upon the condition following, to wit: that they shall keep and maintain the School building thereon, but that in the event of its destruction by fire or otherwise, then the premises shall revert to said grantors, their heirs and assigns." Dated Nov. 10, 1950; recorded July 19, 1951. The subdivision plan "Little Red Schoolhouse Manor" (September 1956, recorded Oct. 17, 1957, Plan Book 89 Plan 95) shows the "School House Lot, Billerica Historical Society" on Wyman Road at the corner of School Lane.
Title passed to:
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| July 14, 1971 | Confirmatory Quitclaim and Certificate of Vote | Billerica Historical Society, by Charles E. Stearns, president | The original donors of 1950 (private owners, not named) | Society, having ceased to maintain the schoolhouse, reconveys the lot to the donors | 1967/721 |
Certificate of vote: at a special meeting of the Board of Directors on May 14, 1970 it was unanimously "VOTED that the Society, having ceased to maintain the Old schoolhouse on Wyman Road, confirm title in [the] original donors of the property, the condition in the deed to the Society having been broken," and the president, Charles E. Stearns, was directed to execute a quitclaim deed. Deed of June 2, 1971: the same lot "with the Old School House thereon," 44 by 35 feet on the westerly side of Wyman Road near School Lane as shown on the 1950 plan, "being the same premises conveyed to the grantor by the grantees by deed dated November 10, 1950 ... Book 1173 Page 27," "the purpose of this conveyance being to confirm title in the grantees on account of a breach of the condition contained in said deed." Recorded July 14, 1971 (Book 1967 Pages 721-722). The schoolhouse was gone by about 1971. The lot then passed with the adjoining house lot at 23 Wyman Road through private owners in 1971, 1972 and 1988 (Book 1967 Page 723, Book 2040 Page 408, Book 4766 Page 12), each deed repeating the 1950 description "with the Old School House thereon."
Title from:
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.