06/15/2026
I had the pleasure of speaking tonight at open mic at the Select Board Meeting about the Great Deed.
In 1636, Billerica, named for the town of Billericay in Essex County England, was known as the Shawshin Wilderness. It was twice as large as the Billerica we know today and a favorite territory for Native Americans. Billerica originally included parts of the current Tewksbury, Wilmington, Bedford, Carlisle and Lowell.
On November 2, 1637, The General court granted Lt Governor Dudley One Thousand Acres and Governor Winthrop Twelve Hundred acres. Two Great Rocks were called the Two Brothers because of their children’s union. The Two Rocks are on the East Bank of the Concord River just over the line in Bedford.
On June 2, 1641, the Shawshin Wilderness (aka Billerica) was granted to Cambridge provided they make a village of at least TEN families to be established within THREE years.
Cambridge was not ready to deal with the difficulties of a new settlement SO FAR into the wilderness.
This brings us to the Great Deed of 1654 from Cambridge to Billerica and Billerica was incorporated in 1655
The Great Deed is why we are here today.
This Historical Document redefined the boundaries and privileges of the settlers, it emphasizes the importance of Community and Cooperation. The Deed highlights the settler’s commitment to self-governance and local authority. This document serves as the legal foundation of Billerica.
Over time this GREAT DEED became a memory A FORGOTTEN CORNERSTONE of our being. The dust settled and time moved on PAPER WITHERED TO DUST. BUT thanks to Kathy Meagher, a local Resident who understands the imperative need to preserve our roots. MS MEAGHER sourced a grant to have the Great Deed Restored to its original glory, preserved for another 350 YEARS and Revived for the next generation to learn our roots.
Unfortunately, Covid changed our lives, but the restoration WORK continued. Kathy continued the effort, obtained the grant for this project and more. Not only did the grant cover the Restoration of the Great Deed, but she also had the foresight to have a museum quality large scale replica created with the understanding this would be displayed in or around the Town Clerk’s area. While the original remains safe in an archived protected case.
The restoration took time, and when the Great Deed was returned to Billerica in June of 2020, daily life did not allow gathering of residents to acknowledge the gift we have been given.
I implore you (Select Board Members), as the County begins to celebrate its 250th Birthday you take the lead and honor Billerica’s Roots at the same time and find a location near the Clerk's Office.
Here is the original news article 6years ago! https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nedcc.org%2Fabout%2Fnedcc-stories%2Fbillerica-deed%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNDM3NjI2MzE2OTczNzg4AAEe9I4dAMT08agHmM8_-vEQb-3u7joME7UWCcT5QuRXalhpkzT-0FBT4OBo1v4_aem_78GVZX4IxFIrfwkTbFbR6w&h=AUA2d0N5Ag-BvQf7-eUwykDGDXthVxOn28e2bLYeqyvZ269WH6RR6Th0k7qdTgSAJ4rUYqfYDnL8g0u3FO6n2wBc0YT73H036ipXElQNZamio2ITh5OkBQjBwz6X&s=1
