Built in 1735 (First Period). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. 18 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1886.
One of 1,353 National Register listings published here for Middlesex County · listed in 1990 · category: Building · built in 1735, First Period.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 77 fires within 5 miles of John Bickford House between 2003 and 2020, burning about 233 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 18 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 16 |
| Smoking | 14 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 6 September 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 21 September 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 15 September 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | LYNNFIELD |
| 12 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | DANVERS |
| 8 August 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MIDDLETON |
| 7 August 2016 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MIDDLETON |
| 4 August 2015 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | AMESBURY |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 497 specimens collected within 10 miles of John Bickford House between 1898 and 1975: 242 Plantae, 218 Animalia, 27 Fungi, 6 Unrecorded, 4 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A B. Proper, A. E. Sears, A. F. Newton and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Trientalis borealis Raf. | 1900 | A. P. Chute | |
 | Cantharellus infundibuliformis (Scop.) Fr. | 1898 | not recorded | Melrose. |
 | Cordyceps capitata (Holmsk.) Link | 1898 | Conant, [?] F. | Middlesex Fells |
 | Esox americanus Gmelin, 1789 | 1898 | E. Preble | Maple Meadow Brook near Wilmington, Massachusetts |
 | Gloeocystis rupestris (Lyngb.) Rabenh. | 1898 | F. S. Collins | Pine Banks Park, on wet perpendicular cliff |
 | Gloeocystis vesiculosa Nägeli | 1898 | F. S. Collins | Pine Banks Park, on wet perpendicular cliff |
 | Lentinus tigrinus (Bull.) Fr. | 1898 | J. F. Conant | Middlesex Fells. |
 | Oedogonium borisianum (Le Clerk) Wittr. | 1898 | F. S. Collins | Pine Banks Park, in roadside pool |
 | Aphanochaete repens A.Braun | 1900 | F. S. Collins | Middlesex Fells, Wright's Pond, on Oedogonium, etc. |
 | Batrachospermum gelatinosum (L.) DC. | 1900 | F.S. Collins | Malden |
 | Betula alleghaniensis Britton | 1900 | E. F. Williams | |
 | Betula nigra L. | 1900 | not recorded |
All 497 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of John Bickford House: 10 past producers, 4 producers, 1 unknown, 1 plant. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Titanium, Metal, Titanium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferro Ceramic Grinding--Wakefield | Silica | Plant | ||
| Heffron Asphalt Co--Wilmington, Ma. | Titanium | Past Producer | ||
| Heffron Asphalt Corp | Titanium, Metal | Past Producer | ||
| Danvers Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Essex Bituminous Concrete Products | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| North Wilmington Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Peabody Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Acme Concrete Co. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Benevento Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Camillieri Corp Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names North Reading, the town this property stands in, in 8 storm reports between 2004 and 2020: 6 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Reading | $15,000 | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Reading | $15,000 | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Reading | $10,000 | A tree and wires on Route 162 were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Reading | $5,000 | A tree on North Street was downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Reading | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Reading | $1,000 | At 118 PM EST, a tree was down across Haverhill Street in North Reading. |
| September 2020 | Flood | North Reading | - | In North Reading, Marshall Street at Parker Drive was impassable due to flooding. |
| March 2012 | Hail | North Reading | - | no account filed |
United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is reproduced in full on its own page, word for word and never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.
The whole case file for this property - 1,756 words, 11 pages, reproduced complete.
Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 90000177, 11 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Rev. Daniel Putnam House | 0.6 miles | 1990 |
 | Jerry Nichols Tavern | 2.2 miles | 1984 |
 | Nathaniel Batchelder House | 2.3 miles | 1984 |
 | Carroll-Hartshorn House | 2.4 miles | 1984 |
 | Batchelder House | 2.4 miles | 1984 |
 | Pratt House | 2.5 miles | 1984 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 90000177 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Middlesex County | All 1353 listed properties in this county. |
Block
