Point of interest · 1928
Lowell Airport
Lowell Airport was a private airfield on the east bank of the Concord River where Lowell, Tewksbury and Billerica meet, at the extreme northern tip of Billerica. It opened in 1928 and was last shown on aeronautical charts in February 1942. Visitors reached it from Woburn Street in Tewksbury by an entrance road and a bridge over the Boston and Maine Railroad. Most of the field lay in Lowell and Tewksbury, but its southern end, a triangle of about 36 acres between the Tewksbury line, the rendering plant land and the river, was in Billerica. Today this is the Billerica part of the 495 Woburn Street industrial property (assessor's parcel 1-1-0, "495 Rear Billerica Av"). The 1928 airway bulletin described a 120-acre field with a low northern landing area of 3,000 by 2,000 feet beside the river and a firmer southern area of 1,900 by 1,600 feet "on a 20 ft bluff" over the river. The Billerica land was part of that upper, southern field.
The land had been laid out in 1873 on a "Plan of land in Tewksbury and Billerica belonging to the heirs of O. M. Whipple," the family of the Wamesit powder-mill owner Oliver M. Whipple. After the Probate Court divided his estate in 1874, his widow Sarah K. Whipple sold lots 7 to 15 to George Kinsman of Lowell in 1879 for $688, and Henry J. P. Whipple sold him lot 16 in 1880 for $180. In April 1886 Kinsman passed all ten lots to John Mason, who sold them to the United States Cartridge Company of Lowell. That December the company deeded them to Paul Butler, its treasurer and a son of General Benjamin F. Butler, "in trust for the United States Cartridge Company." In 1915 Paul Butler, Joanna H. Butler, Blanche Butler Ames, Adelbert Ames and the cartridge company settled street rights on the old Whipple plan with the Consolidated Rendering Company, whose plant (the former Lowell Rendering Company works, today Baker Commodities) adjoined on the south. The cartridge company never had a plant in Billerica. Its well-known explosion of July 29, 1903, which killed 22 people, happened at the powder magazines in Wigginville, then part of Tewksbury and now part of Lowell, about three quarters of a mile north of the Billerica line, not on this land.
After the cartridge company was sold to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1926, former Congressman Gen. Butler Ames and Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers promoted an airport on the vacant land along the river. The Lowell Airport Corporation leased the property and its buildings for 30 years at one dollar a year. About 5,000 people came to the dedication on June 21, 1928, when the Mexican goodwill flyer Capt. Emilio Carranza landed there. Billerica felt the event. The town paid $270 to "Special Officers Airport," and the Selectmen reported that police service "at the dedication of the Lowell Airport" cost more than $200, although "revenue was received as a result of the dedication." The same year the Town Farm, then called the Infirmary, took in $400 for "Lease of Land to Airport," which the superintendent recorded as "Rent of pasture land." The town also collected a one-dollar aviation license fee in 1928 and 1929.
From 1929 to 1931 the Moth Aircraft Corporation built de Havilland Moth biplanes under license in a large factory beside the field, reaching a plane a day in the summer of 1929. It became part of Curtiss-Wright, and about 179 Moths were built before the Depression ended production in Lowell. Lighter use followed. The 1931 bulletin showed a 1,500-foot east and west runway. In 1932 the low northern half was given up, and only a strip of 1,800 by 600 feet on the higher southern ground stayed in use. By 1937 the Creamer Flying Service ran the field from a 40-foot metal hangar and office. In 1940 and 1941 the General Aircraft Corporation built its G1-80 Skyfarer here, but the war ended that program after 17 or 18 airplanes.
The war also ended the airport. On July 23, 1942 the United States took the 117-acre tract by a Declaration of Taking in federal court, and Remington Arms ran the Lowell Ordnance Plant there in 1942 and 1943, making .50 and .30 caliber machine gun ammunition. The Lowell Airport Corporation was dissolved in 1947. In 1950 the government sold "Tract B," described as land in "the City of Lowell, and the Towns of Billerica and Tewksbury," with the right to use "the existing bridge over the Boston and Maine Railroad at said airport entrance road," to the Tewksbury Development Corporation for $130,000. In 1955 that company sold it to the Raytheon Manufacturing Company. Raytheon built a large plant on the site, including the building assessed at 495 Rear Billerica Avenue from 1971, and sold the property in 1996 for $6,500,000 to Merrimack Valley Industrial Associates, which ran it as the Riverview industrial park. Later owners were a national industrial real estate group, which paid $65,000,000 in 2007 for the park and neighboring Woburn Street properties, and, from 2020, EIP 495 Woburn Street LLC. The old plant was torn down in 2020. A distribution warehouse of 775,263 square feet, 378,242 of them in Billerica, was built on the site in 2021 and 2022. The ground had been treated for contamination from the ordnance and industrial years since the mid-1980s, and no trace of the airfield remains.
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 8, 1874 | Partition | Estate of Oliver M. Whipple late of Lowell, by commissioners of the Probate Court (Elijah M. Read of Tewksbury and others) | His devisees: Sarah K. Whipple (widow), Catharine A. Whipple, Henry J. P. Whipple, Margaret Appleton and the Huntington grandchildren | Whipple estate partition; the airport land was lots 7-16 of the 1873 heirs' plan | 107/1 |
Partition of "all the real estate of Oliver M. Whipple late of Lowell" among the devisees under his will, on a warrant of Judge George M. Brooks dated May 19, 1874: Sarah K. Whipple three fourteenths in her own right and three fourteenths for life; Catharine A. and Henry J. P. Whipple and Margaret Appleton one seventh each; Oliver M. W., Alice, Edward W. and Hubert H. Huntington one twenty-eighth each. The whole estate was appraised at $81,691.40. The Tewksbury and Billerica lots of the 1873 heirs' plan (Plan Book 3, Plan 7) were divided here; lots 7 to 15 later came from Sarah K. Whipple and lot 16 from Henry J. P. Whipple.
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| September 16, 1879 | Quitclaim | Sarah K. Whipple of Lowell, widow | George Kinsman of Lowell | Whipple lots 7-15 sold to George Kinsman | 135/516 |
Pages 516-517. Sept. 4, 1879, for $688, "nine certain pieces or parcels of land situated in Tewksbury and Billerica ... being lots numbered Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen and Fifteen on a plan entitled Plan of land in Tewksbury and Billerica belonging to the heirs of O. M. Whipple, June 14, 1873, W. F. Osgood Surveyor": from the southeast corner of lot 5 at the Boston and Lowell Railroad southerly along the railroad, westerly 796 ft to "a street on said plan", across it 895 ft "to a stake at Concord River", down the river about 1,979 ft to lot 6, and back; "about seventy five acres and fourteen rods".
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| August 17, 1880 | Warranty Deed | Henry J. P. Whipple of West Meriden, Conn., Victoria C. his wife releasing | George Kinsman of Lowell | Whipple lot 16 sold to George Kinsman | 141/118 |
Pages 118-119. Aug. 17, 1880, for $180, "a certain lot of land situated in Tewksbury and Billerica" on the 1873 Whipple heirs' plan, "being lot No. 16": from the Concord River at the northwest corner of lot 19, northerly down the river 600 ft, easterly 865 ft to the westerly side of a street shown on the plan, southerly by it 600 ft to lot 19, westerly 820 ft to the river; "twelve acres and one hundred and twenty-nine rods".
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| April 30, 1886 | Quitclaim | George Kinsman of Lowell | John Mason of Lowell | Kinsman to John Mason, lots 7-16 | 181/10 |
Pages 10-12. April 24, 1886, for $3,595, lots 7 to 15 (77 acres 14 rods, "Said street or way shown on said plan being called River street ... to be kept open for the use of the abuttors") and lot 16 (12 acres 129 rods) on the 1873 plan of land in Tewksbury and Billerica belonging to the heirs of Oliver M. Whipple; lots 7-15 "Being the same premises conveyed to me by Sarah K. Whipple by deed dated September 4th A.D. 1879", lot 16 "conveyed to me by Henry J. P. Whipple by deed dated August 17th A.D. 1880".
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| 1886 | Quitclaim | John Mason of Lowell | The United States Cartridge Company of Lowell | Mason to the United States Cartridge Company | 181/12 |
Pages 12-13, recorded with the Kinsman deed (April 1886). For $3,595, the same lots 7 to 15 and lot 16 "situated in Tewksbury and Billerica" on the Whipple heirs' plan of June 14, 1873, "Being the same premises conveyed to me by George Kinsman by deed dated April 24th A.D. 1886". Kinsman and Mason were go-betweens: the price is the same in every deed of 1886.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| December 10, 1886 | Quitclaim | The United States Cartridge Company of Lowell, by Paul Butler, Treasurer | Paul Butler of Lowell, in trust for the United States Cartridge Company | cartridge company land put in Paul Butler's name as trustee | 185/542 |
Pages 542-544. Signed June 23, 1886, acknowledged and recorded Dec. 10, 1886. For $3,595, "nine certain pieces or parcels of land situated in Tewksbury and Billerica", lots 7 to 15 (77 acres 14 rods) and lot 16 (12 acres 129 rods) on the Whipple heirs' plan, by the same bounds; "Being the same premises conveyed to the said United States Cartridge Company by John Mason by deed dated April 29th A.D. 1886". The company kept the land in its treasurer's name as trustee.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| January 7, 1916 | Indenture | Paul Butler and Joanna H. Butler of Lowell, Blanche Butler Ames and Adelbert Ames of Tewksbury, and the United States Cartridge Company | Consolidated Rendering Company (Maine corporation, Boston) | street releases fixing the line with the rendering plant on the south | 549/519 |
Pages 519-522, made Nov. 30, 1915, with votes of both companies. For one dollar each way, the Butler, Ames and cartridge company owners release to the rendering company two streets on the 1873 Whipple plan (the street east of lot 18 and west of lots 19 and 20, and the street between lots 18 and 24 and lots 22 and 23) and a way laid out by Gustavus F. and Edwin C. Swift under their 1897 agreement with Paul Butler, Trustee; the rendering company releases to them the street between lots 16 and 17. Each side gives up all ways over the other's land "in the towns of Billerica and Tewksbury and the City of Lowell". Fixes the line between the cartridge company land (later the airport) and the rendering plant land on the south.
Related:
|
|||||
| 1942 | Taking | The Butler, Ames and United States Cartridge Company owners (lessors to the Lowell Airport Corporation) | United States of America | federal taking for the Lowell Ordnance Plant; end of the airport | ?/? |
Declaration of Taking No. 1 in the District Court of the United States for the District of Massachusetts (Misc. Civil No. 6534), dated July 23, 1942 and amended July 27, 1944, took "Tract B, Parcels 1, 3, 5", 117 acres between the Boston and Maine Railroad and the Concord River in Lowell, Billerica and Tewksbury, for the Lowell Ordnance Plant. Filed in federal court and not recorded at the registry; known from the recital in the 1950 deed (Book 1142, Page 131). It ended the airport.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| June 7, 1950 | Quitclaim Deed | United States of America, by the General Services Administrator | Tewksbury Development Corporation of Boston | government sells the 117-acre tract with "the airport entrance road" | 1142/131 |
Pages 131-134, dated May 26, 1950, under the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 and the Surplus Property Act of 1944. For $130,000 (the balance secured by a mortgage back to the United States), "TRACT B - PARCELS 1, 3, 5 A certain parcel of land with all buildings thereon ... situated in the City of Lowell, and the Towns of Billerica and Tewksbury": from a stone bound on the westerly side of the Boston and Maine Railroad at station 1214+30.81 northerly along the railroad, by City of Lowell land 341 ft to the Concord River, up the river, then S 83-53-15 E 2,180 ft to the start, "Containing 117 acres, more or less", subject to the Wamesit Power Company (Whipple Dam) flowage; "Being the same property acquired by the United States of America through the filing of Declaration of Taking No. 1". Also Parcel 6, "the right ... to operate, maintain, and use the existing bridge over the Boston and Maine Railroad at said airport entrance road", and Tewksbury and Lowell tracts 2, 4, 5 and 6. Uranium and thorium reserved.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| May 31, 1955 | Quitclaim Deed | Tewksbury Development Corporation (Boston, formerly Tewksbury) | Raytheon Manufacturing Company (Delaware), of Waltham | Raytheon Manufacturing Company buys the plant | 1295/243 |
Recorded May 31, 1955 with the Commonwealth's waiver of the tax lien on page 242, which describes "a certain parcel of land with buildings thereon situated in Lowell, Billerica & Tewksbury, being the same premises conveyed to the corporation from the United States of America by deed dated 5/26/50 ... Bk. 1142, Pg. 131, together with personal property in said premises as provided in agreement of 5/5/55". With quitclaim covenants, Tract B, Parcels 1, 3 and 5 (117 acres, same bounds) and the Parcel 6 right of way and bridge "at the airport entrance road".
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| December 23, 1996 | Quitclaim Deed | Raytheon Company (Delaware), 141 Spring Street, Lexington | Merrimack Valley Industrial Associates Limited Partnership, Needham | Raytheon sells; Riverview industrial park | 8362/31 |
Seven pages. "525 Woburn Street, Lowell". For $6,500,000, with quitclaim covenants, "TRACT B - PARCELS 1, 3, 5 A certain parcel of land with all buildings thereon ... situated in the City of Lowell, and the Towns of Billerica and Tewksbury", 117 acres, the same bounds as the 1950 government deed, and Parcel 6, the right of way and bridge "at the airport entrance road", with other Lowell and Tewksbury tracts. Raytheon had held the plant since 1955. The buyer ran it as the Riverview industrial park.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| August 17, 2007 | Deed | Merrimack Valley Industrial Associates LP and Merrimack Valley Properties Inc | National Industrial Portfolio Borrower LLC | sale of the Riverview park | 21517/107 |
Eight pages, $65,000,000, 195-515 Woburn Street and Discovery Way (Tewksbury map lots 203-11, 208-83, 208-84) with the Billerica land of the 1996 deed; a confirmatory deed from Equity Industrial Riverview for $1 was recorded with it. In 2012 and 2014 the property passed between affiliated National Industrial Portfolio companies, ending with NIP Owner IV LLC.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
| March 13, 2020 | Deed | NIP Owner IV LLC | EIP 495 Woburn Street LLC, Newton | present owner; old plant demolished, new warehouse 2021-2022 | 33915/244 |
Seven pages, $8,900,000, 495 Woburn Street and Discovery Way (Tewksbury lots 208-83, 208-84) with the Billerica parcel 1-1-0 (495 Rear Billerica Av, 35.872 acres). The Raytheon-era building was torn down in 2020 and a warehouse of 775,263 square feet, 378,242 of them in Billerica, was built in 2021 and 2022 (assessor). Current owner.
Title from:
|
|||||
Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.
References
- Abandoned and Little-Known Airfields: Lowell Airport (lease, 1928 dedication, field dimensions, Moth, Creamer Flying Service, Skyfarer, closure)
- Wikipedia: Lowell Airport (Massachusetts), in use 1928-1947; Moth Aircraft built 179 DH Moths 1929-1931
- Wikipedia: Lowell Ordnance Plant (Remington Arms, 1942-1943), on the Lowell, Billerica and Tewksbury border
- New England Aviation History: The Moth Aircraft Corporation (factory beside Lowell Airport, 1929)
- Wikipedia: General Aircraft Corporation, Lowell, G1-80 Skyfarer
- Wikipedia: the 1903 explosion was at the Wigginville magazines (then Tewksbury, now Lowell), not on this land
- Billerica town report 1928: Infirmary "Lease of Land to Airport $400.00"; police "Special Officers Airport 270.00"; dedication of the Lowell Airport
- Billerica assessor, 495 Rear Billerica Av (parcel 1-1-0): 35.872 acres in Billerica, sales from Raytheon 1996, building demolished 2020, new warehouse
- Construction Equipment Guide: former Raytheon plant (Lowell Ordnance Plant site) razed for a 775,000 sq ft warehouse