Events
Drag to move through time, scroll or pinch to zoom, and click an event to read about it.
GovernmentWarDisasterBorder changeConstructionIndustryCommunityDevelopment
| Event | Type | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Incorporation of Billerica | Government | May 29, 1655 |
| King Philip's War | War | June 20, 1675 to August 12, 1676 |
| Smallpox Outbreak of 1690 | Disaster | 1690 |
| Indian Raid of 1692 | War | August 1, 1692 |
| Indian Raid of 1695 | War | August 5, 1695 |
| Queen Anne's War | War | May 4, 1702 to April 11, 1713 |
| Dummer's War | War | July 25, 1722 to December 15, 1725 |
| Annexation of the Wamesit Purchase to Chelmsford | Border change | June 13, 1726 |
| Set-off of Bedford | Border change | September 23, 1729 |
| Set-off of Wilmington | Border change | September 25, 1730 |
| Set-off of Tewksbury | Border change | December 17, 1734 |
| King George's War | War | March 15, 1744 to October 18, 1748 |
| French and Indian War | War | May 28, 1754 to February 10, 1763 |
| Smallpox Outbreak of 1760 | Disaster | December 1, 1760 |
| Stearns Farm Transfer to Bedford | Border change | February 26, 1767 |
| Ditson Affair and the Alarm of 1775 | War | March 8, 1775 |
| American Revolutionary War | War | April 19, 1775 to September 3, 1783 |
| Set-off of Carlisle | Border change | April 28, 1780 |
| Building of the Middlesex Canal | Construction | June 22, 1793 |
| Building of the Middlesex Turnpike | Construction | June 15, 1805 |
| Smallpox Outbreak of 1811 | Disaster | 1811 |
| Rise of the North Billerica Woolen Mills | Industry | April 10, 1811 to October 15, 1884 |
| War of 1812 | War | June 18, 1812 to February 17, 1815 |
| Building of the Boston and Lowell Railroad | Construction | June 25, 1835 |
| Mexican-American War | War | May 13, 1846 to May 30, 1848 |
| Civil War | War | April 12, 1861 to May 26, 1865 |
| Billerica and Bedford Railroad | Construction | August 31, 1877 |
| Prohibition and the Liquor License Question | Government | 1881 to 1933 |
| Memorial Day in Billerica | Community | 1888 to present |
| Union Hall Fire of 1891 | Disaster | February 22, 1891 |
| Town Hall Fire of 1893 | Disaster | November 3, 1893 |
| Spanish-American War | War | April 21, 1898 to December 10, 1898 |
| Street Naming of 1899 | Government | March 27, 1899 |
| Dickenson Block Fire of 1903 | Disaster | January 21, 1903 |
| Opening of the Boston and Maine Shops | Construction | February 9, 1914 |
| Billerica Garden Suburb and the Growth of Pinehurst | Development | June 14, 1914 |
| World War I | War | April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918 |
| 1918 Influenza Epidemic | Disaster | 1918 |
| Great Depression | Industry | October 29, 1929 to December 7, 1941 |
| Closing of the Boston and Maine Shops | Industry | 1931 to 1988 |
| Opening of the Middlesex County House of Correction | Construction | December 31, 1931 |
| Flood of 1936 | Disaster | March 12, 1936 |
| New England Hurricane of 1938 | Disaster | September 21, 1938 |
| Gardner Parker Hall Fire of 1940 | Disaster | February 26, 1940 |
| World War II | War | December 7, 1941 to September 2, 1945 |
| Postwar Housing Boom | Development | 1946 to 1975 |
| Korean War | War | June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953 |
| Hurricanes Carol and Edna | Disaster | August 31, 1954 |
| Flood of 1955 | Disaster | 1955 |
| Opening of Route 3 | Construction | 1955 |
| Adoption of Representative Town Meeting | Government | March 10, 1956 |
| Closing of the Talbot Mills | Industry | 1964 |
| Vietnam War | War | August 7, 1964 to April 30, 1975 |
| First Parish Church Fire of 1967 | Disaster | December 27, 1967 |
| Flood of 1968 | Disaster | 1968 |
| Opening of Shawsheen Valley Technical High School | Construction | September 14, 1970 |
| Home Rule Charter of 1972 | Government | March 4, 1972 |
| Bedford Line Change of 1973 | Border change | 1973 |
| Blizzard of 1978 | Disaster | February 6, 1978 |
| Flood of 1979 | Disaster | 1979 |
| Home Rule Charter of 1979 | Government | March 3, 1979 |
| Iron Horse Park Superfund Site | Industry | 1984 |
| Closing of the Faulkner Mills | Industry | 1987 |
| Flood of 1987 | Disaster | April 9, 1987 |
| Street Renaming of 1988-1991 | Government | February 22, 1988 to January 7, 1991 |
| Gulf War | War | August 2, 1990 to February 28, 1991 |
| Yankee Doodle Homecoming | Community | September 20, 1991 to present |
| Town Manager Charter Amendment of 1997 | Government | April 5, 1997 |
| Widening of Route 3 | Construction | April 1, 2001 to December 31, 2005 |
| September 11 attacks | War | September 11, 2001 |
| Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq | War | October 7, 2001 to August 30, 2021 |
| Flood of 2010 | Disaster | 2010 |
| Expansion of the Middlesex County House of Correction | Construction | June 28, 2014 |
| COVID-19 Pandemic | Disaster | March 13, 2020 to May 11, 2023 |