Structure · Built 1885 · Demolished 1960
South Billerica Station
The South Billerica Station stood on the east side of the railroad where it crosses Spring Street (now Springs Road), a short way east of Concord Road. The ground was part of the corner farm that Rhoda Kemp built on about 1830, which came in 1881 to Charles H. Hill as a homestead of "five acres more or less" bounded by the county road to Bedford, the town road and the Spaulding land.
The narrow gauge Billerica and Bedford Railroad of 1877 passed this way but built no station houses, and its property was sold off in 1878. When the Boston and Lowell Railroad laid a standard gauge branch over the old line, Charles H. Hill granted it "the right of way across all my land ... included within the location of the Bedford and Billerica branch", two rods wide, in two deeds of September 24 and November 3, 1884. Both were void unless the railroad would "construct and operate over my said land a standard gauge railroad" within a year, and the first provided that the land "shall revert" to him if the road were ever discontinued.
On July 20, 1885 Hill sold the railroad, for one dollar, a further strip "in that part thereof called South Billerica", beginning on "the southerly line of the Bedford Springs Road" and running about 406 feet south along the east side of the track, "sixteen and one half feet distant easterly from the centre line", to a stone wall: 15,361 square feet. This was the station lot. Town reports of the 1890s place guide boards "at South Billerica Depot", directories of 1901 to 1919 describe Spring Street as running "from Concord rd. n. So. Billerica R. R. station to Bedford line", and in 1923 the town voted $1,300 to extend the fire alarm system "to the South Billerica Station on Concord Road". The Boston and Lowell was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1887 and merged into it in 1919, and the line became its Lexington Branch.
On December 5, 1952 the Boston and Maine sold the old station lot, about 14,731 square feet, to a couple from Boston, who also bought the Lakemann homestead next door. The buyers released all claims arising from "the elimination of the existing grade crossing at said Spring Street", and the deed names no building on the lot. In 1954 they sold it with the rest of their land to William Mikulsky, and after his sale in 1966 the station strip and the land east of it were laid out in 1967 as Lots A and B on a plan by Walter E. Sampson and Associates. The Countryside Construction Trust bought both lots in August 1967 and built the present house on Lot A, which it sold "with the buildings thereon" in January 1968. The lot, 3 Springs Road, is still bounded on the west "by land of Boston and Maine Railroad"; it has been in private hands since.
References
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
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| 1744 | Administration | Estate of Timothy Farley of Billerica, intestate | Timothy Farley, his son, administrator; the widow Abigail | 1744: Timothy Farley estate; his homestead later held the Kemp corner and the station lot | Probate #7172 |
Widow Abigail Farley agrees March 30, 1744 that "my Son Timothy Farley should administer on the Estate of my Husband Timothy Farley, Late of Billerica Deceased"; bond April 2, 1744 with Jonathan Grimes and Samuel Dutton of Bedford. The inventory of March 2, 1743/4 (by Obed Abbott, Benjamin Hutchinson and Jonathan Grimes) lists only personal estate, 355 pounds old tenor, and the file has no division of land. The Farley homestead, of which this lot later formed a corner, stayed with the family until the younger Timothy's death before 1775.
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| February 6, 1786 | Deed | Abraham Jaquith of Billerica, yeoman (by his mark) | His son Timothy Jaquith of Billerica, husbandman | 1775: Abraham Jaquith to his son Timothy, half of the Farley homestead | 93/276 (South) |
Dated October 2, 1775, acknowledged December 2, 1776, recorded 1786 (Billerica town book 8, pages 42-43), for 30 pounds: "the one half part of two certain pieces of land": seven acres "with all the Buildings thereon standing" bounded southerly on a highway, westerly on Jonathan Hill, south-westerly on "a road called the Mile road" and north-easterly on land granted to Ralph Hill; and "another piece of land lying near the aforementioned piece containing thirty acres", westerly on a road leading to Medford, southerly on Benjamin Hutchinson, easterly on the Town Common so called and northerly on the highway. "The aforesaid lands were the Homestead of Timothy Farley late of Billerica deceased, and there is allowance on the thirty acres for a bridle way." The four acres later sold to Elijah Hill were the north-west corner of the thirty-acre piece.
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| February 14, 1815 | Warranty Deed | Timothy Jaquith of Billerica, yeoman | Elijah Hill of Bedford, "a minor son of Josiah Hill of Bedford" | 1815: Jaquith to Elijah Hill, the four-acre corner of Concord Road and Spring Street | 212/34 (South) |
Dated February 9, 1815 (Billerica town book 11, pages 403-404), for $164.50: "a certain piece of land lying in the southerly part of Billerica ... containing four acres and eighteen poles more or less, bounded northwesterly on the county road leading from Bedford to Billerica, northeasterly on a town road, and southerly on land which I formerly sold to Benjamin Hutchinson and Sampson Spaulding, a crooked line as the wall now stands." No buildings. The county road is Concord Road and the town road is Springs Road.
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| July 1, 1830 | Warranty Deed | Elijah B. Hill of Billerica, yeoman (wife Lucy releasing dower) | Rhoda Kemp of Billerica, singlewoman | 1829: Elijah B. Hill to Rhoda Kemp | 299/5 (South) |
Dated April 6, 1829 (Billerica town book 14, pages 328-329), for $164.50, the price Hill had paid in 1815: "a certain piece of land lying in the Southerly part of Billerica ... containing four acres more or less", north-westerly on the county road from Bedford to Billerica, north-easterly on a town road and southerly on land of Sampson Spaulding "a crooked line as the wall now stands". No building is mentioned. Witnesses Rufus E. Kemp and Jonathan Pollard.
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| June 22, 1840 | Warranty Deed | Rhoda Kemp of Boston, singlewoman | Andrew Carney of Boston, merchant | 1839: Rhoda Kemp to Andrew Carney | 394/142 (South) |
Dated and acknowledged in Boston November 15, 1839 (Billerica town book 16, pages 399-400), for $854: the four acres in the southerly part of Billerica on the county road from Bedford and the town road, "together with the buildings thereon and belonging, being the same premises conveyed to me by Elijah B. Hill", excepting the Elbridge Stearns mortgage of 1833. Witness Rufus E. Kemp. Kemp had moved to Boston; the 1853 map still labels the house "R. Kemp".
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| October 16, 1857 | Quitclaim Deed | Andrew Carney of Boston, gentleman (wife Pamelia joining) | George Bacon of Billerica | 1857: Carney to George Bacon | 12/145 |
Dated March 30, 1857, acknowledged in Suffolk April 3, for $500: "a certain piece of land lying in the Southerly part of Billerica ... containing four acres", bounded on the county road from Bedford, the town road and the land of Sampson Spaulding, "together with the buildings thereon standing, meaning to convey the same premises conveyed to me by deed of Rhoda Kemp dated Nov 15, 1839".
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| April 13, 1858 | Quitclaim Deed | George Bacon of Billerica, yeoman (wife Septimia releasing dower) | Thomas G. Crawford of Lowell, yeoman | 1858: Bacon to Thomas G. Crawford | 14/104 |
Dated April 12, 1858, acknowledged before Dudley Foster, for $800: the same four acres "together with the buildings thereon standing, meaning to convey the same premises conveyed to me by Andrew Carney, deed dated March 30th 1857 ... Book 12, Page 145".
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| April 26, 1862 | Deed | Thomas G. Crawford of Billerica (wife Caroline releasing) | David Gove | 1862: Crawford to David Gove | 30/585 |
April 26, 1862: the same four acres in the southerly part of Billerica "together with the buildings thereon standing", meaning the premises conveyed to Crawford by George Bacon April 12, 1858. A straw deed, recorded with the reconveyance to Crawford's wife.
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| April 26, 1862 | Deed | David Gove | Caroline Crawford, wife of Thomas G. Crawford, of Billerica | 1862: Gove to Caroline Crawford | 30/586 |
April 26, 1862: reconveys the same four acres "with the buildings thereon standing" to Caroline Crawford in her own right, "meaning to convey the same premises conveyed to Thomas G. Crawford" by George Bacon in 1858.
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| April 15, 1874 | Warranty Deed | Caroline Crawford of Billerica, widow | George W. Hill of Billerica | 1874: Caroline Crawford to George W. Hill | 101/29 |
Dated March 23, 1874, acknowledged before Dudley Foster, for $1,500: "a certain parcel of land lying in the southerly part of Billerica ... containing four acres", north-west on the county road leading from Bedford to Billerica, north-east on the town road, south on land of the late Sampson Spalding, "together with the buildings thereon standing. Being the same premises conveyed to me by David Gove, deed dated April 26, 1862 ... Book 30 Page 586."
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| July 22, 1879 | Deed | George W. Hill of Somerville (wife Annie M. Hill releasing) | John K. Abbott of Cambridge | 1879: George W. Hill to John K. Abbott (straw) | 134/563 |
Dated January 31, 1879, for one dollar and other consideration: "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon lying in the southerly part of Billerica ... containing five acres", same bounds, "meaning to convey the same premises conveyed to me by Caroline Crawford ... March 23rd 1874", subject to two mortgages "to one Hill amounting to seven hundred and twenty seven dollars". A straw deed.
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| July 22, 1879 | Quitclaim Deed | John K. Abbott of Cambridge (wife Isabella J. releasing) | Anna M. Hill, wife of George W. Hill, of Somerville | 1879: Abbott to Anna M. Hill | 134/564 |
Dated February 1, 1879, for one dollar: the same five acres "with the buildings thereon", meaning the premises conveyed to Abbott by George W. Hill the day before, subject to the two Hill mortgages of $727, putting the place in Mrs. Hill's own name.
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| March 24, 1881 | Warranty Deed | Anna M. Hill of Lynn, in her own right, and George W. Hill her husband | Charles H. Hill of Billerica | 1881: Anna M. and George W. Hill to Charles H. Hill, the five acres that held the station lot | 144/231 |
Dated March 23, 1881, acknowledged before Dudley Foster, for $920: "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon situated in said Billerica ... in the southerly part, and containing five acres", north-west on the county road leading from Bedford to Billerica, north-east on the town road, south on land late of Sampson Spalding, "meaning to convey the same premises conveyed to me by John K. Abbott ... Book 134, Page 564", excepting "two mortgages running to said Hill, which are a part of said consideration". The mortgagee took the place in settlement.
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| November 6, 1884 | Right of Way | Charles H. Hill of Billerica (Sophia C. Hill releasing dower and homestead) | The Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation | 1884: second Hill right of way, $250, for the Bedford and Billerica branch | 170/330 |
Dated November 3, 1884, for "Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars and other good and valuable considerations": a second grant in the same form of "the right of way across all my land in said town of Billerica which is included within the location of the Bedford and Billerica branch", two rods wide, on the Location Plan of October 1, 1884, void unless a standard gauge railroad between the tracks in Bedford and in Billerica was built and running within a year. Acknowledged before Dudley Foster; recorded November 6, 1884. (Later deeds cite it as "January 3, 1884", a slip for November 3.)
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| May 2, 1885 | Right of Way | Charles H. Hill of Billerica (his wife releasing dower and homestead) | The Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation | 1884: Charles H. Hill grants the Boston and Lowell a two-rod right of way for the branch | 173/409 |
Dated September 24, 1884, for "one dollar and other good and valuable considerations": "the right of way across all my land in said town of Billerica which is included within the location of the Bedford and Billerica branch of the Boston & Lowell Railroad Company", as shown on the "Location Plan of the Bedford and Billerica branch of the Boston and Lowell R.R." dated October 1, 1884, "said location being two rods in width". On condition that the railroad "within one year from the date hereof construct and operate over my said land a standard gauge railroad between its present tracks in said Bedford and in Billerica", and "should the operation of this railroad ever be discontinued the land shall revert to myself heirs or assigns". Acknowledged before Frederic A. Morey; recorded May 2, 1885.
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| July 22, 1885 | Warranty Deed | C. H. [Charles H.] Hill of Billerica (his wife releasing dower and homestead) | The Boston and Lowell Railroad Corporation | 1885: Hill sells the railroad the 15,361 sq ft station lot on the Bedford Springs Road | 175/509 |
Dated July 20, 1885, for "One Dollar": the station lot, "a certain piece or parcel of land situated in said Billerica in that part thereof called South Billerica", beginning "in the southerly line of the Bedford Springs Road so called at its intersection with the easterly right of way line of the Bedford and Billerica Railroad", then S 5-5 W "parallel with and sixteen and one half feet distant easterly from the centre line of said Railroad" about 406 feet to a stone wall, N 79-49 E about 41 1/2 feet, N 5-5 E 302 feet, and on a curve of 200 feet radius about 104 feet back to the road; "Containing fifteen thousand three hundred sixty one square feet", shown on a plan by George H. Tompson, Civil Engineer, recorded with it. Witnessed by Wallace V. Adams and William H. Coolidge; recorded July 22, 1885. Later deeds of the Hill homestead except this parcel.
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| June 3, 1892 | Warranty Deed | Charles H. Hill of Billerica (wife releasing dower and homestead) | A. W. Albert Lakemann of Boston and Anna M. Miller Lakemann, his wife, tenants by the entirety | 1892: Hill sells the rest of the five acres to the Lakemanns, excepting the railroad lot | 233/407 |
Dated May 19, 1892, for $1,700: "a certain parcel of land with the buildings thereon situated in said Billerica in the southerly part thereof", north-west on the County Road leading from Bedford to Billerica, north-east on the town road, south on land late of Sampson Spaulding "by a crooked line as the wall now stands, containing five acres", subject to rights of way Hill had granted the Boston and Lowell Railroad in 1884 for its Bedford branch. The grantees paid the 1892 taxes.
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| December 31, 1952 | Deed | Boston and Maine Railroad (by R. M. Tedgar, Vice President) | A private couple of Boston, as tenants by the entirety | 1952: Boston and Maine sells the old station lot, 14,731 sq ft (Plan 82-110A) | 1214/65 |
Dated December 5, 1952, for "one dollar and other valuable considerations": the former station lot, beginning "on remaining land of the Boston and Maine Railroad at a point sixteen and five tenths (16.5) feet Easterly of the center line of location of the Lexington Branch of said Railroad ... on the Southerly side of Spring Street", by A. W. Lakemann land and Hosmer land, 386.48 feet along the railroad, "about fourteen thousand, seven hundred thirty-one (14,731) square feet", Plan Book 82, Plan 110A (June 1952). The railroad kept a 100-year exemption from damage "to any buildings ... caused by fire ... from locomotive engines", reserved the Western Union pole line, required the buyers to fence, and took their release of all claims "on account of ... the elimination of the existing grade crossing at said Spring Street and the tracks of said Railroad". No building is named. The buyers resold it in 1954 with the Lakemann homestead (N. 1276/351).
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| December 31, 1954 | Quitclaim Deed | A private couple of Boston | William Mikulsky of Billerica | 1954: the station lot (Parcel 3) and Lakemann land to William Mikulsky | 1276/351 |
Dated November 4, 1954: the same three parcels "with the buildings thereon", the five-acre house lot reciting the 1892 Hill deed, plus a 14,731-square-foot strip of former Boston and Maine Railroad land on Plan Book 82, Plan 110A. Mikulsky (d. by 1987; Suffolk Probate 489322) held the house until his heir sold Parcel 1, "five (5) acres more or less" with the buildings, in 1987 for $162,000. The new owners had it surveyed in 1988 (Plan Book 167, Plan 61) and divided; the house stands on Lot 2 (0.93 acre) of that plan. Later sales 1989 and a 2012 family transfer.
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| August 17, 1967 | Quitclaim Deed | A private couple of Billerica (owners on Plan 105-30) | Thomas Waters, Trustee of Countryside Construction Trust (declaration of November 24, 1965, Book 1809, Page 160) | 1967: Lots A and B (Plan 105-30) to Countryside Construction Trust | 1809/162 |
Recorded August 17, 1967, "for consideration paid": "Two (2) certain parcels of land, with the buildings thereon, if any", Lots A (34,527 square feet, "WESTERLY by land of Boston and Maine Railroad ... three hundred eighty-six and 48/100 (386.48) feet") and B (36,183 square feet) on "Plan of Land, Billerica, Mass.", March 2, 1967, Walter E. Sampson & Assoc., Plan Book 105, Plan 30; subject to Reading Co-operative Bank mortgages of April 7, 1967 ($1,500 on Lot A, $11,500 on Lot B). "Being the same premises conveyed to us by deed of Carl C. Tirone, et ux, dated April 6, 1967 ... Book 1790." Lot A takes in the old station lot and the part of the Lakemann five acres east of it: William Mikulsky sold both to a builder in November 1966 (N. 1776/333) and the builder sold them in April 1967.
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| January 26, 1968 | Quitclaim Deed | Thomas Waters, Trustee of Countryside Construction Trust | A private couple of Spring Street, Billerica, as tenants by the entirety | 1968: Lot A, the station site, with the new house, to private owners | 1832/24 |
Dated and recorded January 26, 1968, "for consideration paid" ($37.00 in excise stamps): "A certain parcel of land, with the buildings thereon", Lot A on Plan Book 105, Plan 30, by Spring Street in four measures, Lot B 302.78 feet, and "land of Boston and Maine Railroad" 386.48 feet, 34,527 square feet, "Being a portion of the premises conveyed to me, as Trustee", Book 1809, Page 162. The trust had built the present house on the lot in 1967. The buyers sold it in 1994 to a private owner (N. 7211/208), who holds it today (assessor parcel 95-116-0, 0.793 acres).
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted; Probate # is a Middlesex probate case, Ctf a Land Court certificate of title.