Lt. John Stearns House
Lt. John Stearns House
| Also Known As | Maryknoll Fathers Novitiate - Retreat House |
| Address | 77 Dudley Rd |
| MACRIS ID | BIL.184 |
| Built | 1715 |
| Other Lot Structures |
Maryknoll Novitiate
(Built 1933)
Maryknoll Novitiate (Built 1933) |
The Lt. John Stearns House stands on the west side of Dudley Road in South Billerica, on land that runs down to the Concord River and the Great Meadows. It is the middle one of three generations of Stearns houses along the road, between the Captain John Stearns House and the Abner Stearns House, and is part of the Pickman-Huckins Farm area that the Massachusetts Historical Commission found eligible for the National Register.
The first John Stearns came to Billerica about 1653 and settled at a corner of the Dudley Farm; he died young and his widow married twice more. His son John settled at the southwest corner of the Dudley Farm, probably started the mill on the brook about 1680, and built the house now called the Captain John Stearns House. His son, Lt. John Stearns, built this house on part of the family land; the date of his marriage is not recorded, but his first child was born in 1716, so the house is dated about 1715. The Stearns family held both homesteads for about two hundred years, and Franklin Stearns (born 1802) lived here in 1853 and 1875. Sons of the house included Onslow Stearns, governor of New Hampshire from 1869, and a great-grandson of Lt. John became president of Amherst College. No Stearns deeds were read in this search.
In February 1901 the surveyors Pierce and Barnes drew a plan of the estate of John B. Stearns, showing the "Stearns Farm" of 65 acres between Chestnut Street (as Dudley Road was then called) and the river, and a lot of 15 acres "with the buildings thereon" on Chestnut Street. On Sept. 10, 1924 Edward J. O'Connell deeded the farm to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, and Cardinal William O'Connell used it as an adjunct to St. John's Seminary in Brighton. On Jan. 9, 1933 the Archbishop conveyed "the Stearns Farm" to the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, who added a large novitiate wing of monastic cells; for three decades missionaries trained here before going to posts around the world.
In 1964 Maryknoll sold about eighteen acres along the river to the United States for the Great Meadows wildlife refuge and conveyed the rest of the farm, with the house and novitiate, to the Daughters of St. Paul, who used it as a convent. A 1987 plan set the house off as Lot A of about 41 acres, and in 2017 the Daughters of St. Paul transferred it to their religious trust.
References
Deed References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 9, 1933 | Deed | The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, a corporation sole (by William H. O'Connell) | Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (Maryknoll) | The Stearns Farm from the Archbishop of Boston to the Maryknoll society | 842/359 |
For one dollar and other considerations, "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon known as the 'Stearns Farm' shown on plan of estate of John B. Stearns, Billerica, Mass., February, 1901, Pierce and Barnes, Civil Engineers" (Plan Book 28 Plan 32): beginning at the thread of the Concord River at land of M. P. Greenwood, by Greenwood to Chestnut Street, along the street and by Greenwood back to the river, "excepting ... the land known as the 'Island' conveyed by John B. Stearns to Prince Smith" (Book 389 Page 101), 65.3 acres; "also a certain lot or parcel of land with the buildings thereon containing 15.2 acres more or less, situated on said Chestnut Street," bounded by Greenwood, Marston and Joseph Boucher (formerly Charlotte Fowler), "said Chestnut Street is now known as Dudley Road"; and the "Price Lot" of 11 acres 40 poles of wood and meadow in Bedford, subject to a right of way in the deed of Sewall Stearns to John Stearns (Southern Registry Book 310 Page 397). "Being the premises conveyed to it by deed of Edward J. O'Connell, dated September 10, 1924, and recorded Middlesex South District Deeds, Book 4790, Page 175." Dated Jan. 9, 1933, recorded at Cambridge Jan. 23, 1933 (Southern Registry Book 5703 Page 14) and in the Northern District March 31, 1934.
Title passed to:
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| December 30, 1965 | Deed | Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc. (by Rev. Thomas Brack) | Daughters of St. Paul, Inc. | Maryknoll to the Daughters of St. Paul; 2017 trust deed noted | 1733/65 |
The Maryknoll society conveyed to the Daughters of St. Paul the same "Stearns Farm" with the buildings, the 15.2 acre lot on Chestnut Street (Dudley Road) and the Price Lot in Bedford, "excepting ... a parcel of land containing 17.9 acres, more or less, conveyed by the grantor to the United States of America," running from a stone wall about 0.4 mile south of Route 4 and Dudley Road to the center of the Concord River on the Carlisle line, "acquired for administration by the Secretary of the Interior through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service" (the Great Meadows refuge). Being the premises conveyed by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston on Jan. 9, 1933 (Book 842 Page 359). Signed Nov. 6, 1964, recorded Dec. 30, 1965. The house lot was redrawn as Lot A on a 1987 plan for the Daughters of St. Paul (Plan Book 159 Plan 94), and in 2017 the Daughters of St. Paul, Inc. conveyed "the buildings and other improvements thereon" at 77 Dudley Road, Lot A, 41.046 acres, to the trustees of the Daughters of St. Paul Religious Trust (Book 31691 Page 153).
Title from:
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted.