Rocky Ledge Lane

Rocky Ledge Lane is a short street in Nuttings Lake Park, north of Nutting's Lake, running about 420 feet northwest from Fenner Street across Friendship Street to a dead end. Until 1988 it was Everett Street, laid out at the edge of "Nuttings Lake Park Annex," Plan C, drawn in April 1910 by C. A. Thayer, engineer, of Providence, Rhode Island, and recorded on May 6, 1910 (Plan Book 27, Plan 35). On that plan Friendship Street ran in from the Middlesex Turnpike across Plenty, Peace, Cady and Rhodes Streets to Everett Street, and the street directory of 1919 lists "Everett crossing Friendship at end." The assessors date the oldest house on it, on lots 360 and 361 of Plan C, to about 1945.

In 1947 the selectmen laid out Friendship Street "from Lexington Road to Everett Road," and the town accepted it to "Everett St." on October 27, 1947; the zoning articles of 1955 still described the part of Friendship Street "between Everett Street and Plenty Street." In the program of 1988 to 1991 that renamed scores of streets to end duplicate names, the selectmen voted on September 12, 1988, effective November 15, 1988, to rename Everett Street, the "Fifth cross-road off Friendship Street from Middlesex Turnpike," as Rocky Ledge Lane; the same vote renamed the Everett Road off Boston Road. The origin of neither name was found.

At the last session of the fall town meeting of 1991 the town voted unanimously to discontinue the short piece of Friendship Street between Rocky Ledge Lane and Fenner Street and "the portion of Rocky Ledge Lane from Friendship Street to the southerly side of Lot 339," each 30 feet wide, keeping them as drain and utility easements. In the fall of 2001 the two remaining parts, "Fenner St to Dead End," 250 feet, and "Friendship St to 270 ft N. of Friendship St," were on a list of streets proposed for acceptance, but no acceptance has been found.

References

1. Billerica report 1947: selectmen hearing on laying out Friendship Street from Lexington Road to Everett Road
2. Billerica report 1988: street name changes voted Sept. 12, 1988, Everett Street to Rocky Ledge Lane
3. Billerica report 1991: fall town meeting Article 29, discontinuance of part of Rocky Ledge Lane and Friendship Street
4. Billerica report 2002: fall 2001 street acceptance list, two parts of Rocky Ledge Lane