Pages Court

Pages Court runs west from Concord Road, just south of the Centre, to Parker Street. In 1844 Ann Parker divided land here into the so-called "Whitman lots," and the First Baptist Church was moved onto one of them. The house now at 5 Pages Court was built by John R. Mills, who sold it "with buildings" to Benjamin F. Gilbert in 1849, and the house at 6 Pages Court was built after March 31, 1846 by John Brown, who had bought the lot from Benjamin Knight, the Baptist minister, in 1845. Both appear on the map of 1853. No laying out of the lane is recorded; it was the private way to these lots.

The name is not explained in any record found. It appears as "Page Court" in 1948, when an article asked the town to extend the water mains on it 770 feet, and as "Page's Court" from 1950. The street naming lists of 1897 and 1899 do not mention it, since it was not then a town way.

At a special town meeting on July 17, 1950 the town first voted to dismiss an article to accept "the laying out of Page's Court as a public way extending from Parker Street to Concord Road, a distance of about 1000 feet," then reconsidered, 129 to 17, and voted "that Page's Court be accepted as far as the water mains." It was graveled, scraped and given an asphalt penetration seal in 1952, and a further 800 feet was accepted as a town way on March 13, 1954; the same year the town voted $4,500 for drainage of Page's Court. Land off Page's Court was acquired in 1951 as part of the site of the new elementary school in the Centre, now the Parker School. Pages Court was not on the official map of 1831 and was not among the roads accepted in 2016.

Historic Buildings

Name	Alternate	Address	Built	Moved	Demolished
Centre Schoolhouse (Pages Court)	District Number 1 Schoolhouse	5 Pages Ct	1845		1888
Benjamin F. Gilbert House		5 Pages Ct	1846
John Brown House		6 Pages Ct	1846

References

1. Annual report 1950: special town meeting of July 17, 1950, "Page's Court be accepted as far as the water mains" after reconsideration, 129 to 17
2. Annual report 1952: "Pages Court, Graveled, scraped and asphalt penetration seal applied"
3. Annual report 1953: warrant article to accept the laying out of Page's Court about 800 feet as a town way
4. Annual report 1956: list of streets accepted, "Pages Court, As far as water mains 770 ft. 7-7-50" and "Pages Court, 800 ft. 3-13-54"