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A−History
History · Billerica

Billerica dates to 1652, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns · #211 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 137 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1790.

1652founded
9on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
12famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Billerica’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Billerica began

When was Billerica founded?

1652

Billerica dates its founding to 1652 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 1,191 in 17902020 census: 42,119374 years

How historic is Billerica?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1797.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Billerica’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Billerica is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #211 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Billerica’s overall grade.
Founding era1652, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194010.2% of homes (±1.8) · typical MA town 21.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register9 listings, 169 historic buildings, 40.2 per 10,000 residents · typical MA town 46.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder
Massachusetts towns of 2,500+ (283)Ahead of 26%

Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Billerica’s 40.2 sits near the middle of its state (44% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 169 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1652.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Billerica’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Billerica, and 10 old place names are still on the map.A historic districtThe Billerica Mills Historic District takes in 108 historic buildings.Older than the countryEstablished in 1652, 124 years before the Declaration of Independence.On the map since 18868 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1987. Watch Billerica change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Billerica’s post office has been open since 1797. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Billerica
1797–today
North Billerica
1852–today
East Billerica
1877–1922
South Billerica
1878–1904
Nutting Lake
1917–today
Shawsheen
1917–1929
Pinehurst
1929–today
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East BillericaNorth BillericaNutting LakePattenvillePinehurstRio VistaRiver PinesRiversideSouth BillericaThe Pines
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Billerica
Fox HillNorthSouth

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

9 listings protect 169 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
169
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Middlesex Canal
Middlesex CanalBillerica Town Common DistrictSabbath Day House, built 1765Manning Manse, built 1696Billerica Mills Historic DistrictDeacon Samuel Hill House, built 1725Dutton-Holden Homestead, built 1724Howe School, built 1852Two Brothers Rocks-Dudley Road Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival4
Federal3
Italianate3
Colonial Revival3
Colonial3
Second Empire1
Middlesex CanalDistrict
Billerica Town Common DistrictFederal
Sabbath Day HouseCape Cod · Built 1765
Manning ManseColonial · Built 1696
Billerica Mills Historic DistrictFederal
Deacon Samuel Hill HouseFirst Period · Built 1725
Dutton-Holden HomesteadColonial · Built 1724
Howe SchoolGreek Revival · Built 1852
All 9 listings
Two Brothers Rocks-Dudley Road Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2010

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Timeline

Billerica, 1652 to 1952

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 17th century
  2. 1652
    FoundingBillerica is established
  3. 1696BuiltManning Manse is built
  4. 18th century
  5. 1724BuiltDutton-Holden Homestead is built
  6. 1725BuiltDeacon Samuel Hill House is built
  7. 1765BuiltSabbath Day House is built
  8. 1778Born hereJoseph Richardson is born here
  9. 1797Post officeThe Billerica post office opens
  10. 1799In the archive1799 stage ConstitutionalTelegraph Boston Nov30
  11. 19th century
  12. 1852Post officeThe North Billerica post office opens
  13. 1877Post officeThe East Billerica post office opens
  14. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  15. 1890In the archiveEast Billerica station in the late 19th century
  16. 20th century
  17. 1909Born hereJulius Sumner Miller is born here
  18. 1920In the archiveRhode Island Locomotive Works
  19. 1922Post officeThe East Billerica post office closes
  20. 1936In the archiveLand Utilization Town of Billerica - DPLA - 5b31248e4845ea6c474811dfaf7b2f26
  21. 1941In the archiveHistoric American Buildings Survey Frank O. Branzetti, Photographer Mar. 31, 1941 (a) EXT…
  22. 1952Born hereJim Todd is born here
The story

How Billerica came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Billerica.

Read it all →

In the early 1630s, a Praying Indian village named Shawshin was at the current site of Billerica, commonly spelled Shawsheen today, as in the Shawsheen River. In 1638, Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop and Lt. Governor Thomas Dudley were granted land along the Concord River in the area, and roughly a dozen families from Cambridge and Charlestown Village had begun to occupy Shawshin by 1652. The settlers chose the name Billerica because some of the families originally came from the town of Billericay in Essex, England. The town was incorporated as Billerica in 1655, on the same day as neighboring Chelmsford and nearby Groton. The original plantation of Billerica was divided during the colonial period into the towns of Billerica, Bedford, Wilmington, and Tewksbury. Though Billerica made it through King Philip's War (1675–1678) without any by Native American attacks, it would suffer…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Billerica, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1790s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1790s1 item
1799 stage ConstitutionalTelegraph Boston Nov3017991799 stage ConstitutionalTelegraph Boston Nov30Document
1890s–1940s17 items
East Billerica station in the late 19th century1890sEast Billerica station in the late 19th centuryRhode Island Locomotive Works1920Rhode Island Locomotive WorksLand Utilization Town of Billerica - DPLA - 5b31248e4845ea6c474811dfaf7b2f261936Land Utilization Town of Billerica - DPLA - 5b31248e4…Historic American Buildings Survey Frank O. Branzetti, Photographer Mar. 31, 1941 (a) EXT.- VIEW, LOOKING NORTHWEST - A…1941Historic American Buildings Survey Frank O. Branzetti…Historic American Buildings Survey Frank O. Branzetti, Photographer May 13, 1941 (a) EXT.- SIDE and REAR, LOOKING NORTH…1941Historic American Buildings Survey Frank O. Branzetti…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. Sorting spikes1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. Dismantling a railroad wrecking crane1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. Dismantling a railroad wrecking crane1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. From end of yard looking towards shop1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. From end of yard looking towards shop1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. From end of yard looking towards shop1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. Bolts, from the smallest to the largest, and according to …1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. Some of the metal scrap which will have to be assorted acc…1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. Sorting iron washers according to size. Many of these will…1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. Tremendous piles of spikes will be sorted out according to…1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massachusetts. Tremendous piles of spikes will be sorted out according to…1942Boston and Maine railroad shops at Billerica, Massach…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Billerica on the map, 1886 to 1987

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Billerica. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Billerica on the 1886 USGS mapBillerica on the 1893 USGS mapBillerica on the 1921 USGS mapBillerica on the 1935 USGS mapBillerica on the 1941 USGS mapBillerica on the 1950 USGS mapBillerica on the 1979 USGS mapBillerica on the 1987 USGS map1886Lowell sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Billerica.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

East Billerica station in the late 19th century
Retake this viewEast Billerica station in the late 19th century, 1890s

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Billerica’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Billerica, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,0001800185019001950200042,119

Grew from 1,191 people in 1790 to 42,119 in 2020, more than tenfold.

19 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Billerica’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

12 famous people were born in Billerica

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
B
Brett MaronAmerican soccer player · b. 1986
J
Julius Sumner MillerAmerican physicist · b. 1909
J
Jim ToddAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1952
J
Joseph RichardsonAmerican politician · b. 1778
Onslow StearnsAmerican politician · b. 1810
D
Dean JenkinsProfessional ice hockey player · b. 1959
Help out

Finish Billerica’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEast Billerica station in the late 19th…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Wilmington10 historic placesA−Bedford14 historic placesACarlisle2 historic placesB+PinehurstIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townChelmsford6 historic placesA−Burlington3 historic placesB

Questions about Billerica’s history

What year was Billerica founded?

In 1652, according to Wikidata. Billerica’s post office opened in 1797, and the first U.S. census counted 1,191 people here in 1790.

How does Billerica rank for history?

Billerica is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns, #211 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Billerica?

9 listings: 5 buildings and 4 historic districts with 137 contributing buildings. 169 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Billerica?

10% of Billerica’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1973.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (12), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.