Billerica

Billerica
Nickname : America's Yankee Doodle Town
Billerica Location in Massachusetts
Basic data
Foundation :	1655
State :	United States
State :	Massachusetts
County :	Middlesex County
Coordinates :	42 ° 33 ′  N , 71 ° 16 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 33 ′  N , 71 ° 16 ′  W
Time zone :	Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents :	38,981 (as of: 2000)
Population density :	580.9 inhabitants per km 2
Area :	68.3 km 2  (approx. 26 mi 2 ) of which 67.1 km 2  (approx. 26 mi 2 ) is land
Height :	76 m
Postcodes :	01821, 01862
Area code :	+1 351/978
FIPS :	25-05805
GNIS ID :	0618217
Website :	www.town.billerica.ma.us
First Parish Church

Billerica is a city in the state of Massachusetts in the United States .

geography

Geographical location

Billerica covers an area of ​​68.3 km², 2.1 km² of which is water. The city is located about 35 km northwest of Boston and about 10 km south of Lowell on US Highway 3 . The two rivers Shawsheen River and Concord River run through Billerica . Both rivers are ecologically heavily polluted. In 2007, for example, the city was fined $ 250,000 for discharging sewage into the Concord River . According to the Environmental Protection Agency , the city dumped too much phosphorus into the river, resulting in greatly increased nutrient levels and, consequently, excessive growth of aquatic plants that shape the river's appearance.

Neighboring communities

Billerica is in close proximity to Chelmsford, Lowell, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Burlington, Bedford, and Carlisle.

City structure

The city consists of the nine boroughs of North Billerica, South Billerica, East Billerica, West Billerica, Billerica Village, Pinehurst, Riverdale, Nuttings Lake and River Pines.

history

From around 1000 BC In the area of ​​today's Billerica was a burial place of North American natives . In the early 1630s there was a prayer town called Shawsheen. In 1638 John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley were granted this land. However, due to financial difficulties, the settlement was delayed. It was not until 1652 that about a dozen families from Cambridge and the village of Charlestown and later other families from Woburn settled here.

Since many of the new residents were originally from Billericay , Essex , England , they chose the name Billerica for their new settlement. The city was founded in 1655.

The oldest house still in existence is the Manning Rectory , which was built in 1696. The federalism critic William Mannig , Ava Pollard, who was first killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill , and Thomas Ditson, who was tarred and feathered by the British during a stay in Boston , lived here. Because of this event, the song Yankee Doodle took on a meaning of national pride in Billerica. Nowadays the city celebrates the Yankee Doodle Weekend annually in September .

Between 1795 and 1852, the oldest canal in the United States - the Middlesex Canal - flowed through Billerica. This canal was the main route of transportation for goods between Boston and Lowell. Hence, Billerica got the nickname Gateway to Lowell .

In 1835 a rail link from Boston to Lowell was built through the boroughs of North Billerica and East Billerica. A train station was built in both parts of the city . North Billerica Railway Station is still in operation today and is used by many commuters . Operations in East Billerica ceased in 1965. The station was rebuilt and is now a private residence. The Bedford – North Billerica railway line, which has been largely closed since 1962 and on which the last passenger trains had already run in 1933 , also runs through the city .

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

The railway companies MBTA Commuter Rail connects with the Lowell Line the station of North Billerica with the Boston North Station . The Lowell Regional Transit Authority operates Billerica's public transportation .

education

There are six elementary schools , two middle schools and one high school in the village .

economy

Pan Am Railways is headquartered in Billerica , a regional railroad company that also operates freight on the Boston-Lowell line. The head office is located in the Billerica Shops complex , the main railway workshop, located in the north of the city. The research center of EMD Serono, the US subsidiary of the German pharmaceutical company Merck , is also located in Billerica . The Bruker Corporation is headquartered in Billerica.

Town twinning

Billerica has been a sister of the English city of Billericay since 1998.

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

• Tom Fitzgerald (* 1968), ice hockey player and official
• Brad Gowans (1903-1954), jazz musician
• Elizabeth P. Peabody (1804-1894), educator and writer

Personalities who have worked on site

• Gary DiSarcina , former professional baseball player
• Tom Glavine , professional baseball
• Bob Miller , former professional ice hockey player
• Julius Sumner Miller , scientist
• Asa Pollard, first fallen in the battle of Bunker Hill

Web links

Commons : Billerica, Massachusetts  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Concord River Pollution Costly for Massachusetts Town , Environmental News Service report, June 14, 2007. (No longer available online.) Formerly original ; Retrieved December 9, 2008 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
2. ^ Hobson, Archie: Cambridge Gazeteer of the United States and Canada , Cambridge University Press, New York 1995, p. 62
3. ↑ Google Maps. In: Google Maps. Retrieved June 30, 2016 .