Exterior House Painter Billerica MA

Billerica, Massachusetts
Town
Billerica Public Library
Seal
Motto:  America’s Yankee Doodle Town
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Billerica, Massachusetts Location in the United States
Coordinates: 42°33′30″N 71°16′10″W / 42.55833°N 71.26944°W / 42.55833; -71.26944Coordinates: 42°33′30″N 71°16′10″W / 42.55833°N 71.26944°W / 42.55833; -71.26944
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Middlesex
Region	New England
Settled	1652
Incorporated	May 29, 1655
Named for	Billericay
Government
• Type	Representative town meeting
• Town Manager	John C. Curran
Area
• Total	68.3 km2 (26.4 sq mi)
• Land	67.1 km (25.9 sq mi)
• Water	1.3 km2 (0.5 sq mi)
Elevation	76 m (250 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	42,119
• Density	620/km (1,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	01821 (Billerica), 01862 (North Billerica)
Area code	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-05805
GNIS feature ID	0618217
Website	www.town.billerica.ma.us

Billerica (, UK: /bɪləˈrɪki/ (listen)) 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 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.

The oldest remaining homestead in the town is the Manning Manse built in 1696, which was also 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” supposedly became a term of national pride instead of an insult because of this event. The town now celebrates “Yankee Doodle Weekend” every September.

Transportation

MBTA Commuter Rail provides service from Boston’s North Station with the North Billerica station on its Lowell Line. The southern portions of the town are also geographically close to the Wilmington (MBTA station) and the Anderson Regional Transportation Center in Woburn. The Lowell Regional Transit Authority provides bus service in parts of Billerica. Route #3 (South Lowell) services the North Billerica MBTA station and the North Billerica Business Center. Route #13 (Billerica via Edson) services Boston Road (Massachusetts Route 3A) from North Billerica to Pinehurst. Stops along the way include the North Billerica MBTA Station, Pollard Street, High Street, Billerica Center and Town Hall, the Billerica Mall, and Towne Plaza, and a shopping center located in Riverdale. Route #14 (Burlington Mall/Lahey Hospital & Medical Center) services Route 3A until Billerica Center, where it continues onto Concord Road and the Middlesex Turnpike.

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 station on the MBTA Commuter Rail. Trains stopped taking passengers at East Billerica in 1965 and the station was remodeled and is now a private home.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.4 square miles (68 km), of which 25.9 square miles (67 km²) are land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km) (1.90%) is water.

Billerica is located 20 miles (32 km) north-northwest of Boston along the Northwest Expressway (Massachusetts) portion of U.S. Route 3, positioning it as the border between Boston’s inner suburbs to the south and the Merrimack Valley region to the north. The town is also situated less than 3 miles (5 km) from the Massachusetts Route 128/Interstate 95 High-Technology belt to the south and less than 2 miles (3 km) from the Interstate 495 (Massachusetts) outer belt highway to the north.