Billerica, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Billerica, Massachusetts | |
| Nickname: "America's Yankee Doodle Town" | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Middlesex County |
| Settled | 1637 |
| Incorporated | 1655 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Representative town meeting |
| Area | |
| - Town | 26.4 sq mi (68.3 km²) |
| - Land | 25.9 sq mi (67.1 km²) |
| - Water | 0.5 sq mi (1.3 km²) |
| Elevation | 250 ft (76 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Town | 38,981 |
| - Density | 1,505.9/sq mi (581.4/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 01821 (Billerica), 01862 (North Billerica) |
| Area code(s) | 351 / 978 |
| Website: http://www.town.billerica.ma.us/ | |
Billerica (IPA: [bɪl.'ɹɪ.kə]) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,981 at the 2000 census. Its name is pronounced "bill-RICK-a", rather than rhyming with America, as some might be led to believe.
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[edit] History
Billerica was settled in about 1638 when Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop and Lt. Governor Thomas Dudley were granted land along the Concord River in the wilderness the native Americans called Shawshin (Shawsheen today; see Shawsheen River.). They called their lands Shawsheen Plantation and by 1650 families moving inland from Cambridge and Charlestown Village (later Woburn) settled in the area. Most of the families that settled at Shawsheen Plantation were from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. The town was incorporated as Billerica in 1655, on the same day as nearby Chelmsford and Groton. The oldest remaining homestead in the town is the Manning Manse, built in 1696, and later the residence of William Manning (1747–1814), the author of "The Key of Liberty," a critique of Federalist policies. Other notable Revolutionary War era residents included Asa Pollard (1735–1775), the first soldier killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and Thomas Ditson (born 1741), who was tarred and feathered by the British in 1775 while on a visit to Boston. The song "Yankee Doodle" was written to honor him. The town now celebrates "Yankee Doodle Weekend" every September.
Billerica also has a Native American burial site dating back to 1000 B.C.
The oldest canal in the United States, the Middlesex Canal, which flowed through Billerica between 1795 and 1852, was used to transport goods between Lowell and Boston.
In the 1840s, the Boston and Lowell Railroad's main line was built and passed through the town's villages of North Billerica and East Billerica. Stations were built in both locations and North Billerica Station is still an active Commuter Rail Station. Trains stopped taking passengers at East Billerica in 1965 and the station was remodeled and is now a private home.
[edit] Narrow gauge
In 1876 a man named George Mansfield came to Billerica to pitch the idea of building a two-foot gauge railroad from North Billerica Station to the new Bedford Station on the Middlesex Central Line in neighboring Bedford. That year the Billerica and Bedford Railroad was formed and the line was built. It was opened in August of 1877 and was 8.6 miles in length. Cost overruns killed the line after one year and the railroad went bankrupt and was sold. In 1885 the Boston and Lowell put in a standard gauge line along most of the original right of way. They followed the old narrow ROW from Bedford Depot to Billerica's Nuttings Lake Village. There, rather than run the line over the steep Indian and Town Hills, they deviated to the west of Billerica Center and met the original ROW at the bottom of the north side of town hill and continued on the original path to North Billerica. The Boston and Maine Railroad took over the line in 1887. South Billerica, Turnpike (Nuttings Lake), Billerica and Bennett Hall were the station stops on the line along with North Billerica, none of the stations still stand. Passenger service stopped on the last day of 1931 and the line was used as a freight line until it was abandoned from Bedford Depot to Billerica Depot in 1962. The line was further abandoned from Billerica Depot to Bennett Hall about 1980. The track was removed from Boston Road (Rte 3A) to Bedford Depot, it is still in place from Rte 3A to the North Billerica Station for trains to have access to the railroad repair shops in North Billerica. Trains run maybe once a month on the track now and it is completely overgrown with vegetation in front of the Marshall Middle School and also in a few spots along its way to North Billerica.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 68.3 km² (26.4 mi²). 67.1 km² (25.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (1.90%) is water.
Billerica is located about 22 miles north-northwest of Boston along Route 3, positioning it a short distance from both the Route 128/Interstate 95 high-technology belt around Boston to the south, and the city of Lowell, 6 miles to the north. This has established Billerica as the border between Greater Lowell and the much larger Greater Boston region.
Billerica has several small neighborhoods that form nine villages (or sections) of town. Those villages are North Billerica, South Billerica, East Billerica, West Billerica, Billerica Village (aka: Billerica Center), Pinehurst, Riverdale, Nuttings Lake and River Pines.
Some of the neighborhoods that form these sections of town are Garden City (North Billerica); The Pines (Pinehurst); Indian Hill (Nuttings Lake); Rio Vista (West Billerica); Pattenville (East Billerica); Fox Hill District aka FHD (East Billerica); Riverhurst (South Billerica); Pinedale (Pinehurst); Riverside (West Billerica); Webb Brook (Riverdale) and Glad Valley (Billerica Village).
[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 38,981 people, 12,919 households, and 10,244 families residing in the town. The population density was 581.3/km² (1,505.9/mi²). There were 13,071 housing units at an average density of 194.9/km² (504.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.68% Caucasian, 1.11% African American, 0.10% Native American, 2.76% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.54% of the population.
There were 12,919 households out of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.7% were non-families. 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 103.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $67,799, and the median income for a family was $72,102. Males had a median income of $47,014 versus $33,862 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,953. About 2.8% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
The Billerica Public Schools are made up of six elementary, two middle, and one high school.
The high school colors are green and white and the athletics teams play in the highly competitive Merrimack Valley Conference. Their nickname is "Indians".
[edit] Public schools
- Ditson Elementary School (Cook Street)
- Dutile Elementary School (Treble Cove Road)
- Harjjar Elementary School (Rogers & Call Streets)
- Kennedy Elementary School (Kimbrough Road & Carline Drive)
- Parker Elementary School (River Street)
- Vinning Elementary School (Lexington Road)
- Marshall Middle School (Floyd Street)
- Locke Middle School (Allen & Baldwin Roads)
- Billerica Memorial High School (River Street)
[edit] Vocational school
Billerica is also home to the Shawsheen Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School (Cook Street). This vocational school serves Billerica and four of its neighboring towns (Bedford, Burlington, Tewksbury & Wilmington). Shawsheen Tech's colors are purple and white and they compete with several other voc-tech schools and a few smaller town schools in the Commonwealth Athletic Conference. Their mascot is the Ram.
[edit] Notable residents
- Gary DiSarcina - Former professional baseball player
- Tom Fitzgerald - Former professional hockey player
- Tom Glavine - Professional baseball player
- Bob Miller - Former professional hockey player
- Todd Sinclair - Professional wrestling referee
- B. J. Snowden - Musician
