Wayside Farm

In 1851, David Parker carved off part of his land and sold to George Proctor with a "small dwelling house". In later maps and plans, the house is not small in comparison to others in the neighborhood. On the 1853 map, Proctor is shown with two buildings on the lot: one along the road and one set behind it. One would assume the original "small dwelling house" is the one along the road, and Proctor built this larger house behind it. By 1875, only the building set further back remained.

In 1885, Calvin P. Sawyer joined this lot with the one to the south, which contained a blacksmith shop and paint shop. Sawyer died in 1892 and his widow sold it in 1900.

Rangeley Real Estate acquired the building and they leased it out. For several years, it was known as "Wayside Farm", a hotel run by Mrs. Mary Hubbard. Mrs. Hubbard would later run the Bennett Hall Auto Inn further north on Boston Road.

In 1913, the Imperial Fur & Breeding Company bought the Wayside Farm. This company was from Maine and specialized in the breeding and processing of silver black foxes. By 1916, the business had failed and the assets were sold to other businessmen.

Eventually, when the Catholic Church was looking for a larger site to build a Church near Billerica Center, this lot was selected, and the old storefront was torn down.

Records:

• 1851: 19/126 Carve-out David Parker to George Proctor (small dwelling house)
• 1853 Map: G. Proctor
• 1853: 657/59 George Proctor to John Eastman (multiple buildings)
• 1855: 2/141 John M. Eastman to John T. Jordan
• 1859: 21/52 John T. Jordan to Alonzo Ordway
• 1875 Map: A. Ordway
• 1879: 146/343 Alonzo Ordway to Philander Howe
• 1885: 177/491 Rozina Howe to Calvin P Sawyer (Blacksmith & Paint Shop, originally from Mark Lund)
• 1885: 177/492 Philander Howe to Calvin P Sawyer
• 1889 Map: CP Sawyer
• 1900: 322/147 Calvin P Sawyer's widow to Guy P Walton (2 lots)
• 1901: 332/229 Guy P Walton to Elizabeth Hodge, wife of Stephen Hodge (2 lots)
• 1901: 332/231 Elizabeth Hodge to Edward T. Harrington & Charles Gleason
• 1912: 498/194 Rangeley Real Estate to Niles
• 1913: 505/89 Louville Niles to Imperial Fur & Breeding Company
• 1916: 556/318 Imperial Fur & Breeding Company to Charles Lawton
• 1916: 559/255 Charles Lawton to CA Backer
• 1918 County Layout: CA Backer
• 1926: 736/589 Clarence Backer to Isabel Porter
• 1926: 736/594 Isabel Porter to William J. Dobbins
• 1958: Registered Land 56/157: James Shannon to Roman Catholic Church