North Billerica is an unincorporated

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of the town of

Billerica Billerica (, ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. History In the early 1630s, a Praying India ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, one of the nine sections (hamlets) that make up the Town of Billerica. It is the home to Faulkner and Talbot mills and the North Billerica Train Depot. The

Middlesex Canal The Middlesex Canal was a 27-mile (44-kilometer) barge canal connecting the Merrimack River with the port of Boston. When operational it was 30 feet (9.1 m) wide, and 3 feet (0.9 m) deep, with 20 locks, each 80 feet (24 m) long and between 10 and ...

was built through the village in 1783 and the

Boston and Lowell Railroad The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine R ...

was put through in the 1840s. North Billerica has its own ZIP Code (01862) and post office which also takes in the village of West Billerica and parts of River Pines.

History

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a building on Station Street, next to the depot, that served as the North Fire Station, Town Hall Annex, and Post Office. The building was called Union Hall. It served North Billerica as the local Social Club with dances and shows being held on the second floor. It closed down in the 1960s after the Fire Station was relocated a mile away to Lowell Street and the Town Hall Annex was closed. The Post Office was moved to the intersection of Old Elm Street, Lowell Street, and Talbot Avenue at the North Billerica Common. This intersection is still referred to as 'Post Office Square' by the town's older residents. The Union Hall was torn down and the land is now part of the train station parking lot. The North Billerica station, built in 1867, was completely renovated in 1998. It served as a flag stop on the Boston and Lowell Railroad's main line and was the starting point for the old narrow gauge Billerica and Bedford Railroad. It still serves commuters today as a regular stop on the

MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...

Lowell Line The Lowell Line is a railroad line of the MBTA Commuter Rail system, running north from Boston to Lowell, Massachusetts. Originally built as the New Hampshire Main Line of the Boston & Lowell Railroad and later operated as part of the Boston & M ...

. The area is also home to

Iron Horse Park Iron Horse Park (formerly known as the Billerica Repair Shops) is the name of the former repair facilities of the Boston and Maine Railroad repair facilities in North Billerica, Massachusetts. History In 1913, the Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) ...

, a former train repair facility.

Contemporary North Billerica

The

Concord River The Concord River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Merrimack River in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. The river drains ...

flows through North Billerica, and by the old Talbot and Faulkner Mills is the Mill Pond and Dam marking the area where the old Middlesex Canal crossed over the river - and provided the majority of the water to carry the canal from Lowell to Charlestown. The Middlesex Canal Museum is located inside the old Faulkner Mills and plans are underway to build a Middlesex Canal Park along the Mill Pond from the Dam around to Canal bridge on Rogers Street. The Billerica Mills Historic District lies entirely within the village's unofficial boundaries. North Billerica is also home to the oldest remaining homestead in Billerica, the Manning Manse, built in 1696. The Manse is located on Chelmsford Road ( MA Rte 129) about a quarter mile east of

US Route 3 U.S. Route 3 (US 3) is a United States highway running from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through New Hampshire, to the Canada–US border near Third Connecticut Lake, where it connects to Quebec Route 257. Massachusetts Route 3 connects t ...

and the

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

town line. It is the place where

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

from

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

stayed before and after the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

in April 1775. It was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1994. Today, this tavern is rented by a private business operating a restaurant and lounge. North Billerica also has the

Chelmsford Forum The Chelmsford Forum is a multi-use indoor sport and concert venue, actually located in Billerica, Massachusetts, United States, just across the town line of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The venue was formerly home to the UMass Lowell River Haw ...

Ice Rink on Rte 129 at the Chelmsford town line that is actually owned by the town of Chelmsford. It was privately owned when first built in the 1960s and was owned by the

University of Massachusetts Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public u ...

("University of Lowell") from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, when the school changed venues to the new Tsongas Arena in Lowell. The school played its hockey games at the rink while still allowing high school and youth hockey teams to use the facilities. It was sold to Chelmsford after the Commonwealth of Massachusetts passed a bill to allow a city or town to own land in another city or town. North Billerica is the headquarters location of Potpourri Group Inc. (PGI), a multi-channel direct marketer which as of June 2018 includes 15 brands (e.g., Magellan's travel apparel and gear). And they Have school in town.

Government

North Billerica is governed by the Billerica Town Meeting Assembly and Board of Selectmen. The town's second, along with portions of the eighth and eleventh voting precincts, make up most of North Billerica.

Education

Students from North Billerica are served by the Billerica Public Schools as well as the Shawsheen Regional Vocational Technical High School. The only school located in North Billerica is the Hajjar Elementary School at Rogers and Call Streets. (The Dutile Elementary School has a North Billerica address but is located in the River Pines section of town.)

References

External links

* {{authority control Billerica, Massachusetts Villages in Massachusetts Villages in Middlesex County, Massachusetts