Billerica, MA
| Billerica, Massachusetts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Town | ||
.jpg)
|
||
|
||
| Motto: America's Yankee Doodle Town | ||
 Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts |
||
 Billerica, Massachusetts
|
||
| Coordinates: 42°33′30″N 71°16′10″W / 42.55833°N 71.26944°WCoordinates: 42°33′30″N 71°16′10″W / 42.55833°N 71.26944°W | ||
| Country | United States | |
| State | Massachusetts | |
| County | Middlesex | |
| Settled | 1652 | |
| Incorporated | 1655 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Representative town meeting | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 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 (2010) | ||
| • Total | 40,243 | |
| • Density | 1,500/sq mi (590/km2) | |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
| ZIP code | 01821 (Billerica), 01862 (North Billerica) | |
| Area code(s) | 351 / 978 | |
| FIPS code | 25-05805 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618217 | |
| Website | www.town.billerica.ma.us | |
Billerica /bɪlˈrɪkə/ is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,243 according to the 2010 census. It borrows its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.
In the early 1630s, a Praying Indian village named Shawshin was at the current site of Billerica, commonly spelled Shawsheen today, such 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 into the towns of Billerica, Bedford, Wilmington, and Tewksbury during the colonial era.
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 Libberty, a critique of Federalist policies. Other notable Revolutionary War era residents included Asa Pollard (1735–75), 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.
...
Wikipedia