Talk:Billerica, Massachusetts

message: The list of Notable Residents could be expanded to include the Mannings and probably several others. References to various towns, people and places could be made Wiki links. (Careful--Wikipedia already has an entry for William Manning, but it's a guy who lived in England at about the same time. Disambiguation would be needed.) 
There is no mention of the famous residence dedicated to correcting the morally impaired.
I would do all this work myself, but tempus fugit, and besides, the margins of the page are too small.
As for pronunciation, I've heard Bill-RICK-uhh, Bill-RICK-er, Bill-a-RICK-a, and (from people who say Woe-burn, Have-er-hill and Wors-sh-chester) Bil-LER-ih-cah. Only Bill-RICK-uhh sounds right to my Wilmingtonian ears. Snezzy 04:05, 5 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I agree that the article needs further improvement - we should be as proud of the article as we are of our town.  I've been meaning to make some improvements for some time using literature and other information I have at hand.  (Maybe even illustrate it with some of my photos?)  When I get some time, I'll start working on it.  Maybe others have some concrete ideas of what they'd like to contribute, too? --Ericdn (talk) 18:23, 8 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Improvements needed 

message: This page currently states that Billerica was settled in 1638. There is no evidence that the area was settled that early, I am guessing that the date instead refers to the granting of land to Winthrop and Dudley.  The first indication of settlement is about 1652. Rogbarn 19:19, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Quoting from Henry Hazen's book "History of Billerica" (1883, reprinted 2005):Regarding the first land grants in Billerica:"...2 November [1637], the Court makes a large grant of land which fell within the bounds and bore important relations to the settlement of Shawshin. [...] This grant was enlarged and located 1638, May 2nd, as follows: - 'It was ordered by this prsent Coart that John Winthrope, Esqr, the prsent Governor, shall have 1200 acres of land whereof 1000 was formerly granted him, & Thomas Dudley, Esqr, the Deputy Governor, his 1000 acres granted to him by a former Courte'..." (Hazen, 3-4)Regarding the actual settlement of Billerica, including the mysterious "Shawsheen House", which apparently was occupied before the actual settlement of Billerica began:"This brings us to the settlement of the Shawshin wilderness, unless the Shawshin House, already mentioned, but of which we know so little, constituted an exception.  In what year, at what place, or by whom the settlement was begun, is not known.  It is probable that Henry Jefts was here in 1652, for his infant daughter, Hannah, died in the town 'ye first weeke' of May, 1653; the earliest event noted in the Town Records.  [...] And in October, 1654, a petition to the General Court bears fourteen signatures, and 'the most of' the 'petitioners are already seated' here." (Hazen, 15)So, you're exactly right about the dates.  I'll make the necessary changes on the article page.  I'm not at all a fan of the "history" section - it looks like it was just copied out of a textbook. --Ericdn (talk) 17:11, 7 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  History 

message: Hey all, I'm the WikiProject Cities assessor of this article. If feedback is what you want and need, come to my talk page and give me a holler! --Starstriker7(Dime algoor see my works) 01:56, 25 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: WikiProject Cities assessor

message: In my ongoing (but, unfortunately, very infrequent) effort to improve the quality of the article, I added a photo of the present library (my own photograph) to the beginning of the article above the infobox.  I was torn between a photo of this building and the Unitarian Church (which I also have a very good photo of), but I ultimately decided on this one, as the building was also the town hall for roughly a century.  If, however, the article ever gets a good religion section, I am more than willing to share this photo, located here, for the article, too. --Ericdn (talk) 03:30, 9 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Added photo: library 

message: I added a cleanup tag to the Education section.  It needs some substantial rewriting to bring it up to the level of an encyclopedia article.  Any help to improve the article is very welcome; otherwise, it will get added to my to-do list. --Ericdn (talk) 03:51, 9 March 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: My first major cleanup of this section is completed.  I added several sources from the web, as well as cleaned up the table and the various texts.  Certainly, this section needs a more thorough history... still on my to-do list. --Ericdn (talk) 07:43, 9 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Education 

message: I moved two paragraphs from History (Middlesex Canal and Boston & Lowell Railroad → MBTA), as well as Narrow Gauge, to Transportation.  Narrow Gauge still needs to be substantially rewritten. --Ericdn (talk) 07:53, 9 March 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Transportation 

message: The remaining reference seems to be a typo in the transcription.  If you click on the Page images link, it refers to Billerica Mills, not "Billerica Hills". See  Faolin42 (talk) 00:55, 9 July 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  hills in Billerica 

message: these two areas play a significant role in billerica whether people want to realize it or not. just take a look at the billerica police departments website. i feel at least a small section should be added — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.20.18.139 (talk) 19:15, 3 February 2012 (UTC)
replies: text: A police blotter is not a newspaper and does not reflect the actual crime rate. Crimes happen in every town.--24.147.75.237 (talk) 16:39, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  drugs/crime 

message: Where have all the references to pollution gone (the town having to pay for their illicit dumping in our rivers, et al)? Furthermore, our superfund site, Iron Horse park had a page in the not too distant past if I remember, and now hasn't even a mention. As one of the most polluted pieces of real estate in the United States, and one of the last that is completely accessible to humans and wildlife, I find this rather off-putting. Could anyone share some insight? Thanks.
71.234.39.35 (talk) 05:11, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Environment 

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I have just added archive links to  on Billerica, Massachusetts. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add  after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add  to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20150608134709/http://www.boston.com/businessupdates/2013/04/18/emd-serono-plans-increase-billerica-work-force-ups-its-headcount/Iaj1M4E4wvkrFMvhhudeSI/story.html to http://www.boston.com/businessupdates/2013/04/18/emd-serono-plans-increase-billerica-work-force-ups-its-headcount/Iaj1M4E4wvkrFMvhhudeSI/story.html
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20150201215702/http://www.boston.com/business/markets/articles/2010/06/29/67m_bomb_screening_deal_lifts_ase/ to http://www.boston.com/business/markets/articles/2010/06/29/67m_bomb_screening_deal_lifts_ase/
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20101205014641/http://www.middlesexsheriff.org:80/about_newbhoc.htm to http://www.middlesexsheriff.org/about_newbhoc.htm
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/20150202090442/http://www.billericahistorical.com/Pollard_house.htm to http://www.billericahistorical.com/Pollard_house.htm
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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The border between Billerica and Tewksbury is a single point, where the Towns of Billerica, Chelmsford, and Tewksbury, and the City of Lowell meet. The Wikipedia articles claim that the boundary is "in the middle of the Concord River," while the official zoning and assessment maps of the municipalities, as well as USGS topographical maps, all locate the point on the east bank of the river. I corrected the article, and my edits were promptly reverted. So I added a "" tag instead, and that was also immediately reverted. I challenged the unsupported claim with a tag, and being unable to provide evidence, the reverting editor simply deleted the tag. If I add the "" tag again, I ask that the reverting editor to engage in this discussion before reverting. My sources for the east bank location are official maps of municipal agencies and the US federal government. What are your sources for the "middle of the river" location?
Clarification: The border between Billerica and Lowell is a single point. The border between Chelmsford and Tewksbury is also at that same point. The section title is incorrect, but I am retaining it because it is mentioned in a relevant edit summary.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1000:B070:C50F:D1C7:4B7A:F6B2:F673 (talk) 15:02, 6 March 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Location of border withTewksbury