Major Bibliographical References (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.) Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data: - preliminary determination of individual listing (36 - State Historic Preservation Office CFR 67) has been requested - Other State agency - previously listed in the National Register - Federal agency - previously determined eligible by the National - Local government Register - University - designated a National Historic Landmark X Other - recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey Name of repository: # Eriends of Bedford Depot Park, Inc., Bedferd, MA _ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record #.
NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page OMB No. 1024-0018 Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts 8. Statement of Significance Bedford Depot Park Historic District illustrates the establishment and growth of railroad operations in the town from the 18/0s onward. The introduction of both standard-gauge and narrow-gauge railroad lines in the 1870s, and the expansion of passenger and freight service on standard-gauge lines in the late 1880s, established the depot area as a bustling industrial and freight center, the largest in Bedford's history.
The district's two buildings, the passenger depot and freight house, are unique survivals of railroad-related activity in Bedford, where railroad operations were scaled back by 1931, reduced further in the post-World War II era, and eliminated entirely in 1977. Recent acquisition of the district's buildings by the town of Bedford is part of a larger plan to establish a small public park in the depot area, which is situated at the terminus of one of the most heavily patronized rail trails in the United States. Retaining integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, the Bedford Depot Park Historic District meets Criteria A and C and Criteria Consideration B for moved properties of the National Register of Historic Places at the local level. Bedford is a suburban town situated in the Concord River valley, about sixteen miles northwest of Boston.
The town was incorporated in 1729 from parts of Concord (1635) and Billerica (1655). Bedford was a location of early English settlement. Mill sites and houses survive near the Concord River, which forms the town's western boundary, and the headwaters of the Shawsheen River in the eastern part of town. During the Colonial period, Bedford had a productive agricultural economy, with dairying a major specialty. By virtue of its location on the principal route to Concord from the northeast, Bedford was closely associated with the opening events of the American Revolution; seventy-seven men from Bedford fought at the Old North Bridge in Concord on April 19, 1775. The town center began to take shape soon after incorporation, eventually becoming a well-preserved, Federal-period core with its meeting house (1816-1817) and high-style residences.
Industrial and commercial activity in Bedford began in earnest in the first quarter of the 19" century, with shoe manufacturing (1805) and the mining of ochre (1812) for making yellow ochre mineral paint. The 1830s brought rapid growth, fueled by the expansion of local industry, which then included the production of handmade shoes, the manufacture of coarse paper and blinds and sashes, tanning and currying, and the mining of "Bedford rubies." In the northern part of town at Bedford Springs, a resort hotel (demolished) operated by 1842. This commercial enterprise was significantly enlarged in the late 1850s with the addition of the eleven-acre, manmade Fawn Lake. Bedford constructed a combined Town Hall and central school building at the Town Center in 1856.
The Late Industrial period brought major transformations to Bedford's landscape, when the Boston & Lowell Railroad (chartered 1830) began railroad service to Bedford in the early 1870s. In 1870, the Boston & Lowell acquired the Lexington & Arlington Railroad, a line that had opened in 1846 between the town center in Lexington and the brick yards in West Cambridge (later known as Arlington), where passengers would transfer to the nearby Fitchburg Railroad's main line to continue to Boston. Originally known as the Lexington & West Cambridge Railroad, the railroad changed its name in 1867, when the town of West Cambridge changed its name to Arlington. Soon after acquiring the Lexington-Arlington line, the Boston & Lowell built new tracks from the Arlington station (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Page 2 connecting to its own Boston-bound main line at Somerville Junction in North Somerville. Under the ownership of the Boston & Lowell, the number of daily passenger trains on the Lexington-Arlington branch line increased, and Sunday service was added. In 1872, the Boston & Lowell created a subsidiary corporation, known as the Middlesex Central Railroad, for the purpose of extending its Lexington branch line eight miles beyond the original terminus in Lexington, passing farther west through Bedford to Concord Center. The groundbreaking was held on August 1" of that year. Six months later, the town of Bedford purchased $20,000 of stock in the Middlesex Central line.
The railroad opened the extension on August 4, 1873. A temporary depot building alongside the track (exact location unknown) at Bedford was replaced the following year with the Passenger Depot, 80 Loomis Street (1874, MHC #179, Photo 2, see sketch map). In its original location, the passenger depot occupied a site on the north side of the railroad right-of-way, west of South Road. With the establishment of the Bedford depot in 1874, the town of Bedford widened and straightened South Road, the principal roadway connecting the station with the town's institutional core near The Great Road. Shortly thereafter, Loomis Street was opened as an easterly approach to the station from The Great Road, ending at South Road near the passenger depot.
In 1879, the Middlesex Central extended the Lexington branch line another two and one-half miles farther west from Concord Center to Reformatory Station, across from the prison in Concord. Construction in 1877 of the Billerica & Bedford Railroad established Bedford as a railroad junction and spurred considerable expansion of the depot area. The impetus for the line came from the residents of Billerica, the town directly north of Bedford. Billerica had been largely bypassed by railroad construction in the second and third quarters of the 19" century: the Boston & Lowell Railroad passed through North Billerica, two miles from the town center, and the Middlesex Central Railroad, the Boston & Lowell subsidiary, skirted Billerica to the south.
The town [Billerica] was an island between two great arteries of commerce, and the citizens were clamoring for an inexpensive railroad of their own to connect Billerica with its extremities and the outside world. Such a line, it was reasoned, would be justified by the outbound traffic to Lowell, Concord, Lexington and Boston, while no doubt a considerable inbound tourist traffic could be generated for the summer hotel at Bedford Springs. ["Born and Buried," reprinted in Bedford Depot Park News, December 1996] Locally, the line would serve the shipping and receiving needs of farms and industry. The Billerica & Bedford Railroad, the first two-foot, common-carrier, narrow gauge railroad in the nation, began operating August 31, 1877.
["Research tells of first B&B run," Bedford Depot News, July 1997] The line extended 8.63 miles between the stations at North Billerica and Bedford Center, passing through the resort that operated on Fawn Lake at Bedford Springs from the early 1840s to 1913. George E. Mansfield of Hyde Park, Massachusetts, a narrow-gauge enthusiast who believed that two-foot-gauge railroads were the wave of the future, persuaded the residents of Billerica to adopt his "hitherto untried scheme." [Karr, 59] Mansfield eventually was named the railroad's general manager. Dr. William Richardson Hayden, a chemist and pharmacist who acquired the hotel at Bedford Springs in 1856, was an officer in the Billerica & Boston corporation. The Billerica & Bedford was financed by private investors and attracted worldwide attention.
["Bedford's two-footer was the country's first;" Karr, 59; Bedford inventory] (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page 3 OMB No. 1024-0018 Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Narrow-gauge railroads were thought to be cheaper to construct, maintain, and operate than railroads of conventional width. The narrow-gauge line would be cheaper because the rails and ties would be smaller, less land was required for the right-of-way, and the smaller rolling stock was less expensive to build and required less coal to operate than the conventional rolling stock.
["Bedford's two-footer was the country' s first;" Karr, 59-60] The Billerica & Bedford line featured twin locomotives, Ariel and Puck, of the patented Forney type, "distinguished by the extension of the engine frame in back of the firebox to accommodate the normal tender requirements for fuel and water while utilizing a four-wheel swiveling truck beneath for support." ["Born and Buried," reprinted in Bedford Depot Park News, March 1997] Other rolling stock included two forty-foot passenger cars known as Fawn (a combination baggage coach seating twenty people) and Sylvan (seating thirty). One of the line's nine flat cars was outfitted with a boxcar body; others were converted to form gondolas for hauling coal, gravel, and other supplies.
["Born and Buried," reprinted in Bedford Depot Park News, May 1997] The east-west standard-gauge line of the Middlesex Central Railroad and the north-south narrow-gauge line of the Billerica & Bedford Railroad merged at a point south of Loomis Street and east of South Road. In 1877, the passenger depot (1874) was moved from its original location on the west side of South Road to the junction, where it served passengers from both lines. The same year, the Billerica & Bedford Railroad constructed an engine house, now known as the Ereight House, 120 South Road (a/k/a 84 Loomis Street, 1877, MHC #180, Photo 3, see sketch map). Measuring about 22 feet by 36 feet, the building housed the railroad's diminutive twin locomotives on two tracks inside, and incorporated a built-in 15,000-gallon wooden water tank.
The former engine house is the only building surviving from the Billerica & Bedford Railroad. ["Freight house closer to restoration," Bedford Depot News, July 1999] The Billerica & Bedford Railroad was considered functionally sound, and daily revenue exceeded operating expenses. However, under-capitalization during the building phase ultimately led to the bankruptcy of the corporation, the closing of the railroad, and the sale, in June 1878, of the rolling stock. The rolling stock was delivered to the Farmington, Maine area where it was used in the operation of the Sandy River Railroad. Some of the track later was used in the narrow-gauge line of the Edaville Railroad in (South) Carver, Massachusetts. The mid-1870s was a period of economic crisis nationally.
The Middlesex Central line opened in Bedford just one month before the prestigious Philadelphia banking firm of Jay Cooke & Company failed due to overspeculation on railroad stocks. The Panic of 1873, brought about "chiefly by unrestrained speculation in railroad construction and wildcat investment schemes in a variety of ventures," involved a ten-day closing of the New York Stock Exchange and led to the worst economic depression the nation had experienced up to that time. More than 18,000 business failures were recorded in 1876-1877 alone, and many railroad corporations became insolvent during the period. The depression nationally began to lift in 1878. [Buck, p. 45; Johnson, p. 613] That George Mansfield succeeded in persuading the residents of Billerica and private investors to build the narrow-gauge line on the heels of the country's worst depression is significant.
After operations on the Billerica & Bedford narrow-gauge line ceased, the Boston & Lowell Railroad acquired the engine house and converted the building for use as a freight house on its standard-gauge line. Research suggests the building, like the passenger depot, was first located on the opposite (west) side of South Road adjacent to the tracks, and moved to its present position sometime after its acquisition by the Boston & Lowell. An important fixture in the (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Section number 8 Page 4 community for many years, the freight house served as the holding area for packages and large deliveries transported by rail.
Incoming deliveries such as grain and outgoing shipments of farm products were crucial to Bedford's economy. New cars, boats, and prefabricated trusses for local buildings were among the items delivered to Bedford for pick-up at the freight house. On May 31, 1885, the Boston & Lowell Railroad opened passenger and freight service over a new standard-gauge line built in the right-of-way of the defunct narrow-gauge railroad. Henceforth, the Lexington Branch of the Boston & Lowell ran from Boston to North Billerica via Bedford; at one time trains were run between Boston and Lowell using this route. The Boston & Lowell trackage linking Bedford with Reformatory Station in Concord became known as the Reformatory Branch.
In 1887, the Boston & Maine Railroad acquired both standard-gauge lines, including Bedford's passenger depot and freight house, when the corporation absorbed the Boston & Lowell Railroad. Bedford's expanded rail connections spawned a number of industries and other railroad-dependent businesses in the area of the depot in the late 19* and early 20" centuries, particularly on Loomis Street and South Road near the depot. Most of the industrial buildings, however, were demolished by the mid-20 century. Beginning in the 1880s, the area had a grain elevator and a pickle factory, as well as a series of wholesale and retail dealers of grain, hay, coal, and lumber. Adjacent to the railroad junction was Bedford Lumber and Manufacturing Company, later known as Middlesex Lumber & Supply.
At the time of its establishment in 1891, Bedford Lumber was the largest industry ever founded in the town, employing fifty people. The company manufactured building materials such as doors and window sash, and was a dealer of lumber, grain, hay, and coal. Also in the vicinity of the Bedford depot was a canning factory, a manufacturer of pile wire knives for carpet looms and wrought iron novelties, a textile company that dealt in wool waste, and a short-lived enterprise that manufactured razor blades. A livery service operated in the depot area until the 1920s. Trains changing direction in Bedford used a wye, located on the western side of South Road outside the district. The wye (not extant) was trackage in a Y-shaped plan that ran south of the line.
Trains headed down one leg of the Y in a southerly direction, then backed up the opposite leg in a northerly direction in order to return to the main track. Bedford Depot acquired greater importance in the regional transportation network with the May 1902 introduction of the Concord & Boston Street Railway, a subsidiary of the Lexington & Boston Street Railway. At the town center, the line left The Great Road, one of Bedford's principal transportation arteries, to swing by the depot via South Road and Loomis Street before continuing eastward on The Great Road. Later the same year, the street railway line was extended up North Road to Billerica, ultimately connecting to Lowell. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Boston & Maine Railroad scaled back its service through Bedford Depot.
On the Reformatory Branch between Bedford and Concord, passenger service was discontinued on April 24, 1926, though the section between Bedford and Concord Center remained open for freight traffic. A similar reduction in service occurred on the Lexington Branch line through the former narrow-gauge right-of-way, where, on December 31, 1931, the Boston & Maine ended passenger service between Bedford and North Billerica. The railroad kept this 8.63-mile section of track open for freight traffic. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page 5 OMB No.
1024-0018 Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts The post-World War Il years brought the construction of new limited-access highways that facilitated automobile travel to Bedford and precipitated the end of the town's railroad era. In the state's construction of its "circumferential highway" around Boston (the present State Route 128), the section from Lexington near Bedford's eastern town line southward to State Route 9 in Wellesley was built from 1949 to 1951. The new Route 128 allowed auto-borne travelers to bypass congested town centers and fueled the postwar expansion of the Boston suburbs. In the northeast corner of Bedford, U. S. Route 3 was constructed in 1953 in an effort to bypass the 1920s path of the highway through town centers north of Bedford.
[Bedford inventory] By the 1950s, reduced demand for train service from Bedford to Boston brought decreases in the number of trains running on the line, from three round trips a day in 1950 to a single run each way, per day, eight years later. Steam locomotives were replaced in 1956 with self-propelled Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs), which did not need to be turned around at Bedford, the end of the line. When first introduced on the line, three-car RDC trains were used, though the railroad cut back to two-car trains by the mid-1960s and single-car trains in the 1970s. [Bedford Depot News, December 1999] Boston & Maine formally abandoned both lines west and north of Bedford in 1962. A year later, the town of Bedford acquired those portions of the two right-of-ways that are within town boundaries. The Boston & Maine Railroad operated its freight house at Bedford until 1953.
Bedford's station agent was recalled, and less-than-carload freight was transferred to Lexington. The freight house was then sold to a private party. In the years since the end of the period of significance, the freight house has been used as a grain store, a local meeting place for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and a bakery and sandwich shop. The town of Bedford acquired the building in 1999. [Bedford Depot News, June 1996; "About the Freight House" leaflet] As for Bedford's passenger depot, the 1962 Sanborn fire insurance map indicates the building no longer served as a railroad station at that time and instead was used as a "motor freight station." [1962 Sanborn] At that time, the Boston & Maine was running just two trains (one inbound to Boston and one outbound) per day to Bedford. The building was converted to offices for commercial tenants, a use that remains today.
The town of Bedford acquired the depot, with the freight house (see above), in 1999. While the passenger depot was no longer used by the railroad, passenger train service to Bedford did continue until 1977. On December 26, 1976, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) acquired the commuter rail assets (both the rail corridors and the rolling stock) of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and awarded the Boston & Maine a contract to operate commuter rail service on the MBTA's behalf. The Boston & Maine retained the trackage rights to run freight over its former lines. Fifteen days after the purchase, a snowstorm on January 10, 1977 blocked the Lexington branch, and the unplowed condition of the branch line made it difficult for the outbound train from Boston to Bedford to reach its destination.
After several days of no service, the MBTA announced that passenger service on the Lexington branch would be discontinued due to the relatively high cost of operation and low patronage. The last freight train ran on the branch line on January 31, 1981. In 1991, the Lexington branch right-of-way was "rail-banked" to permit construction of the Minuteman Bikeway through the towns of Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford. The bikeway is considered an interim use of the railroad corridor, which is being retained by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for possible mass transportation needs in the future. The land along the bikeway's 10.5 miles is leased to the three towns. The rail-trail conversion was fueled (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Section number 8 Page 6 by the Clear Air Act of 1977 and funded by the Commonwealth at a cost of $2 million. In 1992, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy named the Minuteman Bikeway "America's 500" Rail-Trail." The bikeway has proven to be one of the most heavily patronized rail-trails of nearly eight hundred in the United States. ["The Minuteman Bikeway" brochure; Bedford Depot News, December 1995, June 1996] The former narrow gauge right-of-way is now known as the Narrow-Gauge Rail-Trail, which begins at Loomis Street north of the historic district.
Preservation Planning A non-profit membership organization, the Friends of Bedford Depot Park, Inc., works closely with the town of Bedford on the preservation effort at the local level. Formed in January 1995, the Friends organization is dedicated to preserving and honoring Bedford's railroad history, establishing the small park in the historic depot area, and promoting the Bedford community and the Depot Park project (see below). The Friends group publishes a monthly newsletter, and its volunteers staff the museum, gift shop, and food concession that currently operate in the historic freight house. Fund-raising merchandise and refreshments are sold to visitors on the adjacent Minuteman Bikeway.
Proceeds from the sale of beverages and food items are deposited into a revolving fund, established in March 2001 by Town Meeting, to be used for the future park and related historic preservation efforts. In May 1996, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, the regional planning agency for the Boston area, selected the town of Bedford's proposed Minuteman Bikeway/ Depot Park Transportation Enhancement Project for reimbursement funding under the federal and state governments' Transportation Enhancement Program. In addition to town acquisition of the passenger depot and freight house, which was accomplished in 1999, the project calls for landscape beautification, improved signage and public amenities for pedestrians and cyclists such as restrooms and water fountains, period-style benches and lighting, and increased public parking area for cyclists and commuter bus patrons.
Exteriors of both the freight house and the passenger depot are to be restored. At the freight house, the ground floor will house a public display area for photographs and artifacts pertaining to local railroad history. A reconstituted platform on the south elevation, adjacent to the Minuteman Bikeway, will provide access to a retired Boston & Maine Railroad passenger car, RDC #6211 (1955, MHC #903, Budd Company, manufacturer). This self-propelled rail diesel car, which was acquired from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), is typical of the RDCs that operated over the railroad line to Bedford for more than twenty years beginning in 1956. The Boston & Maine Railroad had the largest fleet of RDCs in the world. Soon after the MBTA acquired the Boston & Maine's commuter rail assets in 1976, the agency began converting the RDCs into unpowered trailers and control cars.
Not only was RDC #6211 never converted, but the car was neither sold nor scrapped as others were in the late 1980s, and eventually became the last Budd RDC in the MBTA's possession. [Bedford Depot News, July 1995] RDC #6211 will be moved from a temporary storage location (across South Road from the Depot Park Historic District) to its new location adjacent to the freight house, and restored. [Bedford Depot News, July 1999] The Budd Car is significant to Bedford's railroad history and will enhance the historic value of the Bedford Depot Park Historic District in the future. However, the car is not proposed for inclusion in the historic district at this time, because of its current location outside district boundaries, and its construction date, which postdates the district's period of significance.
Cost over-runs have caused the Depot Park project to be divided into phases for implementation. In September 2001, the Massachusetts Highway Department advertised the site work for bid. This work will cover the basic construction (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Section number Page 7 of the park: landscaping, lighting, benches, rail car siding, and parking lots. Currently, building and rail car restorations and the beautification of landscaping on the east side of the building are slated for implementation during a future project, as the town of Bedford anticipates submitting another funding request under the Transportation Enhancement Program.
In a separate but related project, the town has funded the preparation of the National Register nomination for the Bedford Depot Park Historic District. National Register listing would promote the educational value of the district and enhance the municipal park project currently underway. Archaeological Significance While historic archaeological resources may exist in the Bedford Depot Historic District, they probably have limited research value indicating they might contribute minimally to the significance of the district. Construction features associated with moving the freight house and depot to the district and evidence of utilities may exist, however, they should be documented on construction plans for the facilities and other written documents.
Stratigraphic evidence may also exist that describes the fill sequence and surface preparation of the Boston and Maine Railroad right-of-way and later Minuteman Bikeway. These activities should also be replicated in other areas of those structures and may also be documented in design and as built construction plans and other historic records. Stratigraphic evidence of the Boston and Maine Railroad right-of-way surface and the Minuteman Bikeway may also have limited research value. (end) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 9 Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Page 1 9. Major Bibliographical References Adams, Robert E.
"Born and buried in six months [Billerica & Bedford Railroad]." Originally published in Trains (September 1959); reprinted in five installments in Bedford Depot News, December 1996-July 1997. Bedford Depot News. The official newsletter of Friends of Bedford Depot Park, Inc. Published monthly from March 1995 to present. Bedford Historic Preservation Commission. Communitywide Historic Properties Survey, Bedford, Massachusetts. [cited in district nomination as "Bedford inventory."] Bedford Historical Society, 1999. "Bedford's two-footer was the country's first." Bedford Depot News, Volume 2, Issue 10 (October 1996), 1 ff. Bradlee, Francis B. C. The Boston and Lowell Railroad, the Nashua and Lowell Railroad, and the Salem and Lowell Railroad. Salem, Mass.: The Essex Institute, 1918. Brown, Abram English. History of the Town of Bedford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Bedford: By the Author, 1891. Buck, James E., ed. The New York Stock Exchange. The First 200 Years. Essex, CT: Greenwich Publishing Group, 1992. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth. Historical Data Relating to Counties, Cities, and Towns in Massachusetts. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1997. Friends of Bedford Depot Park, Inc. "Significant dates in our local railroad history. Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford, Massachusetts." [timeline] Revised 02/24/99 for Bedford Historical Society meeting. "About the Depot Park project." Via www.bedforddepot.org. Similar information included in leaflet, "About the Freight House," distributed at freight house museum and shop. Johnson, Thomas H. The Oxford Companion to American History. NY: Oxford University Press, 1966. Karr, Ronald Dale. Lost Railroads of New England. 2"d edition.
Pepperell, Mass.: Branch Line Press, 1996. Maps and Atlases 1857 Map of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Based upon the trigonometrical survey of the state, the details from original surveys under the direction of Henry F. Walling. Boston: Smith & Bumstead. 1875 County Atlas of Middlesex, Massachusetts (Frederick W. Beers). NY: J.B. Beers & Co. 1889 Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Boston: George H. Walker & Co. 1894 Plan of Centre of Town of Bedford, Mass. Albert C. Wood, C. E. 1906 Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Vol. II. Boston: George H. Walker & Co. 1916, 1929, 1940, 1962. Fire Insurance Maps, Bedford, Massachusetts. NY: Sanborn Co. (continued) Bedford Depot Park Historic District Name of Property Middlesex County, Massachusetts County and State 10. Geographical Data Acreage of Property less than one acre UTM References See continuation sheet.
(Place additional UTM references on a continuation sheet) 1. 19 Zone 2. Zone 312840 Easting 4706020 Northing Easting Northing 3. zono Easting Zone Easting _ See continuation sheet Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.) Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.) 11. Form Prepared By name/title. Kathleen Kelly Broomer, Preservation Consultant, with Betsy Friedberg, NR Director, MHC organization. Massachusetts Historical Commission - date _ June, 2003 street & number__220 Morrissey Boulevard telephone _(617) 727-8470 city or town Boston _ state _Massachusetts _ zip code 02125 Additional Documentation Submit the following items with the completed form: Continuation Sheets Northing Northing A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location.
A sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources. Photographs Representative black and white photographs of the property. Additional items (Check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items) Property Owner (Complete thisitem atthe request of the SHPO or FPO.) name Town of Bedford street & number_ 10 Mudge Way telephone (781) 275-1111 city or town Bedford . state Massachusetts zip code_ 01730 Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 470 et seg.).
Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18.1 hours per response including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.0. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127; and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Project (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503.NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018 (Rev. 10-90) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Section number 9/10 Page 2/1 Massachusetts Historical Commission.
Inventory of Historic and Archaeological Assets of the Commonwealth. -. MHC Reconnaissance Survey Report: Bedford. March 1980. "The Minuteman Bikeway. A guide of America's 500" Rail-Trail. Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford, Massachusetts." Friends of the Minuteman Bikeway, 1999. (end) 10. Geographical Data Verbal Boundary Description The boundary of the nominated district is shown on the accompanying detail of the Town of Bedford assessor's map. The district encompasses about one-half acre at the southeast corner of South Road and Loomis Street, immediately adjacent to the Minuteman Bikeway. Boundary Justification The boundary includes the two parcels associated with the passenger depot and the freight house.
(end) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number Page District Data Sheet OMB No.
1024-0018 Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Assessor's Map/Parcel 63/162 MHC # HistoricName Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford, Massachusetts Address Date Style Resource Status Type 179 Middlesex Central RxR 80 Loomis St 1874 (Boston & Lowell RxR) Bedford Passenger Depot 63/162a 180 Billerica & Bedford RxR Engine House (later Boston & Lowell RxR Freight House) 120 South Rd 1877 84 Loomis St) Number of Resources Within District Buildings Sites Structures Objects Total Contributing 2 0 Noncontributing 0 0 0 2 0 Victorian B eclectic C Victorian B eclectic C NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service OMB No.
1024-0018 National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Bedford Depot Park Historic District Bedford (Middlesex Co.), Massachusetts Section number photos Page 1 Photographs Historic Name: Location: Photographer: Bedford Depot Park Historic District Loomis Street and South Road, Bedford, Massachusetts K.K. Broomer July 2001 Location of Negatives: Bedford Historic Preservation Commission Photograph # View 1 View E showing Freight House (center), Passenger Depot (center left, rear), Minuteman Biktricay (right), and adjacent contemporary construction (lcf, not in boundaries of historic 2 Passenger Depot, Middlesex Central Railroad (Boston & Lowell Railroad), 80 Loomis Street. View SE toward Minuteman Bikeway. The northernmost of the depot's two train order signals is visible on the roof in this view.
3 Boston & Lowell Railroad Freight House (formerly Billerica & Bedford Railroad Engine House), 120 South Road (a/k/a 84 Loomis Street). View SE toward Minuteman Bikeway. toNorth Billerica Billerica & Bedtord RxR(1877-1878, namow qauge) Bosten & Lowell RXR, Lexington Branch (1885, standard gauge) boston &maine RxR, Lexington Branch (1887) now Narow Gauge Rail Trail (northward from loomis St) Loomis Street Railroad Avenue. south Road passenger Depot : FreightHouse - to lexington to concorá - middlesexCentral RXR (1813) Boston §Lowell RXR, Reformatary Branch(1B65), Boston E maineRxR, Refonnatony Branch (1BB7) now minuteman Bikeway (eastward from Sauth Road) BEDFORD DEPOT PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT BEDFORD, MIDDLESEX CO., MASS.
September 2001 Not to scale ....Distret boundaries -- Railroad right-of-way x Railtrail terminus UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE JATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET REQUESTED ACTION: NOMINATION PROPERTY Bedford Depot NAME : MULTIPLE NAME: STATE & COUNTY: MASSACHUSETTS, Middlesex DATE RECEIVED: 7/08/03 DATE OF 16TH DAY: 8/08/03 DATE OF WEEKLY LIST: DATE OF PENDING LIST: 7/23/03 DATE OF 45TH DAY: 8/22/03 REFERENCE NUMBER: 03000791 REASONS FOR REVIEW: APPEAL: REQUEST: N SAMPLE: COMMENT WAIVER: N /ACCEPT RETURN ABSTRACT/ SUMMARY COMMENTS: DATA PROBLEM: N LANDSCAPE: N LESS THAN 50 YEARS: N PERIOD: PROGRAM UNAPPROVED: N SLR DRAFT: N NATIONAL: REJECT 8/2/030ATe Pntered in the National Begister RECOM./CRITERIA REVIEWER TELEPHONE DISCIPLINE DATE DOCUMENTATION see attached comments I/N see attached SLR Y/N BEDFORD DEPOT PARK BOSTON & MAINE RAILROAD FREIGHT HOUSE Bedford Depot Park Histonic District voom's street and south koad Bedford(middlesex County), Mass.
KkBvoomer suly 2001 Neg: Bedford Hist. Pres. Comm. Photo lof 3 ViluE showing freisht Wouse (ceuter), passeuger dupot (ceuter minuteman Bikeway (right), and adjaceut construction (lef boundanies of distritt). Bedford Depot Park Historic Distriet loowis street aud south Road Bedford (middlse coreutu), mass. Ik broomer tuly 2001 Neg: Beaford Hist. Pres. Comm. Photo 2 of 3 Passenger Depot, middlesex central Kxe (Boston & loweu Re view st toward munuteman Bikeway. The horthemmost two train order siguals visible on roof inthis villw. BED Bedford Depot Park Histonic District vomis street and South Road Bedford (middlesa Countu), mass. KK Bromer 2001 Meg: Bedford Hist. Pres. Comm. Puoto 3of 3 Boston S Lowel RxR Freigut house (Fonmerln Billeniae & B Railroad Elgine house) 120 South Road Calk/a B4 Lomis villosE toward minuteman Bikeway.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Massachusetts Historical Commission July 2, 2003 Ms. Carol Shull National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 1201 Eye Street, NW, 8th floor Washington, DC 20005 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed please find the following nomination form: Bedford Depot Park HD, 80 Loomis Street and 120 South Road, Bedford (Middlesex), MA The nomination has been voted eligible by the State Review Board and has been signed by the State Historic Preservation Officer. The owners of the property in this Certified Local Government community were notified of pending State Review Board consideration 60 to 90 days before the meeting and were afforded the opportunity to comment.
Sincerely, Detay tredher National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission Enclosure cc: Donald Corey, Bedford Preservation Commission Richard T. Reed, Town Administrator Gordon Feltman, Board of Selectmen Kathleen Kelly Broomer, Preservation Consultant Richard Joly, Planning Director Neil Leary, James Shea, Friends of Bedford Depot Park 220 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, Massachusetts 02125 (617) 727-8470 - Fax: (617) 727-5128 www.state.ma.us/sec/mhc
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