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57-471: The river runs generally northward through the towns of Bedford , Billerica , Wilmington , Tewksbury , Andover , and Lawrence , where it joins the Merrimack. Like its parent, the river has played an important role in the development of the area, including industrial development, with many mills built to take advantage of the river's power. Today there are trails and parks located along several sections of

114-496: A state senator . Among the wealthiest Salem merchants of his day, Pickman used his own clipper ships to trade with the Far East in an array of goods ranging from indigo and coffee to pepper and spices, and was one of the state's earliest financiers, backing everything from cotton and woolen mills to railroads to water-generated power plants. Pickman also helped found what is today's Peabody Essex Museum . Dudley Leavitt Pickman

171-617: A clerk for Chief Customs Collector Major Joseph Hiller. After working briefly for Hiller, Dudley Leavitt Pickman left the Customs Service in 1799 to go to sea as a ship's supercargo – business agent for the owner. Pickman embarked on a merchant's career as a young man. He helped found the East India Marine Society (today's Peabody Essex Museum ) of Salem in November 1800. (Joining two months prior

228-612: A collection of the founders of Salem's East India Marine Society in 1799. In the Massachusetts Historical Society is a copy of William Shakespeare 's Twelfth Night from the library of Dudley Pickman Leavitt – a copy of the first publication in America of the English playwright's work. Dudley Leavitt Pickman's son William Dudley Pickman continued the family trading enterprises, eventually moving

285-584: A difficult ten-week voyage, they landed on the shores of the New World , with Salem and Boston Harbor being the Arabella's earliest destinations. In 1637, the General Court of Massachusetts granted some 2,200 acres (9 km ) of land, including Huckins Farm land to the first governor, John Winthrop, and to Deputy Governor Thomas Dudley. The following year, the two men agreed to divide

342-438: A noted mountaineer and porcelain expert, who published several books on the subject. Along with his friends Harold Stirling Vanderbilt , Francis Bacon and Frederic Allen, Pickman played the first game of contract bridge in its modern form. He married the widow of Boston businessman Alexander Lynde Cochrane. In its obituary of Dudley Leavitt Pickman Jr., The New York Times noted the lawyer and author's service as trustee of

399-488: A trustee of Salem's Peabody Museum . Dudley Leavitt Pickman's daughter Elizabeth became the second wife of Salem merchant Richard Saltonstall Rogers , whose first wife Sarah Crowninshield died young. Pickman's daughter Catherine Saunders married Boston merchant Richard S. Fay. One of Pickman's sons, Edward Motley, attended Harvard Law School , and became a Boston writer. His son Dudley Leavitt Pickman Jr. attended Noble and Greenough School , Harvard College, where he

456-641: Is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. The population of Bedford was 14,161 at the 2022 United States census . The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information from Abram English Brown's History of the Town of Bedford (1891), as well as other sources such as The Bedford Sampler Bicentennial Edition containing Daisy Pickman Oakley's articles, Bedford Vital Records, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Town Directories, and other publications from

513-404: Is located in the heart of Bedford's Historic District and across from Wilson Park at 4 Great Road. Built by Stearns around 1800, it is a fine example of Federal architecture , which features brick ends, four chimneys and a doorway arched in glass and wrought iron . A carriage house is attached to the main house, and, until 1895, a structure which was known as The Boston Cash Store also resided on

570-699: Is named for John Glenn, formerly the Superintendent of Schools in Bedford, not for the U.S. Senator and astronaut. The Davis and Lane (and former Page) schools are named for local officers who took part in the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775. Bedford is slightly northwest of the intersection of I-95 (also known as MA-128 ) and MA-4 / MA-225 (which cross in Lexington ). Important roads through town include US-3 (an expressway ) and MA-62 . The town

627-594: Is partially located in Bedford, is operated the Lincoln School District . Dependents of active duty military living on the base are sent to Bedford High. High school students living on the base who are not dependents of active duty military personnel are sent to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School District . There is a METCO program, where students from Boston come to

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684-594: Is present-day Huckins Farm ) to Job Lane (1) , a skilled artisan and house builder, in exchange for a house that Lane built for him in Connecticut. (Note: The numbers appended to the names of Lane family members indicate the generation number beginning with Job Lane (1), who immigrated from Mill End , Rickmansworth, England.) Upon his death, he passed all of this land to his son, John Lane (2), who left it to his three sons, John Lane (3), Job Lane (3), and James Lane (3). John Lane and his wife, Catherine (Whiting), lived on

741-474: Is represented by Ken Gordon in the Massachusetts House of Representatives . Bedford Public Schools operate Bedford's public school system. It consists of four buildings: Lt. Eleazer Davis Elementary (K–2), Lt. Job Lane Elementary (3–5), John Glenn Middle School (6–8), and Bedford High School (9–12). The on-post K-8 school of Hanscom Air Force Base , a base which

798-659: Is served by the 62 and 62/76 lines of the MBTA 's bus service. The MBTA operates the Route 351 express bus service, from Alewife; the bus terminates at Oak Park Drive, Bedford Woods, and EMD Serono ; this service operates only on the morning and evening weekday rush-hour times and connects to the Red Line at Alewife. Bedford is served by Hanscom Field ( IATA : BED , ICAO : KBED ), a civilian airport , adjacent to Hanscom Air Force Base . A snowstorm on January 10, 1977, prompted

855-662: Is the oldest known surviving intact battle flag in the United States. It is celebrated for having been the first U.S. flag flown during the American Revolutionary War , as it is believed to have been carried by Nathaniel Page 's outfit of Minutemen to the Old North Bridge in Concord for the Battle of Concord on April 19, 1775. Though the flag previously had a border of silver tassels,

912-804: The Belisarius 's captains, died at age 36 after being kicked in the stomach by a horse.) Pickman soon founded his own trading firm. He and his partners owned an array of clipper ships including the brig Endeavor , the Malay , the Borneo , the Belisarius , the Herald , the Coromandel , the Persia , the Friendship and others. The ships traded with India , Zanzibar , Madagascar , Sumatra , Java ,

969-570: The Belisarius . Before the ship went to pieces in a gale in the Bay of Tunis in April 1810, the 94-foot (29 m) clipper made repeated voyages to India and Sumatra with several captains in command and Pickman acting as supercargo. The clipper ship's voyages prompted Salem cleric Dr. William Bentley to call her "one of the richest ships of our port". (Captain Samuel Skerry, the most renowned of

1026-561: The Philippines , Malaya and other far-flung trading ports. Initially a partner of the Salem trading firm of Stone, Silsbees, Pickman & Allen, Pickman later became one of two partners of the firm of Silsbee & Pickman, one of the largest Salem trading houses, operated by Nathaniel Silsbee and Pickman. Pickman made much of his early fortune from trade with India. He later helped finance some Indian factories as an owner. His firm

1083-504: The 2022 census , there were 14,161 people, 5,540 (2017 -2021) households with 2.51 persons per household. The population density was 1,052.8 inhabitants per square mile (406.5/km ). There were 4,708 housing units in 2020 at an average density of 342.7 per square mile (132.3/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 72.3% White , 3.2% African American , 0.2% Native American , 18.5% Asian , 0.% from other races , and 3.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.5% of

1140-651: The 303(d) list of the Clean Water Act . The removal of the Marland Place Dam (originally built in the 1700s) and Balmoral Dam (originally built in the 1920s) allowed alewife and blueback herring to spawn upstream to the Ballardvale Dam in spring 2017, for the first time in over 200 years. 42°42′19″N 71°08′25″W  /  42.7053°N 71.1403°W  / 42.7053; -71.1403 Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford

1197-717: The Altmann Conservation Area, named after Madeleine Altmann and source of much of her video art . The early settlers called this area along the Concord River the "Great River Meadow" because they could harvest hay along the grass banks when the water retreated each summer. Today, this 12-mile (19 km) stretch of freshwater wetlands is a sanctuary for migratory birds and wildlife. Deer, cottontail rabbit, fox, raccoon, muskrat, beaver, weasel and over 200 species of birds may be seen here. This traditional saltbox-style home at 295 North Road dates back to

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1254-613: The Bedford Historical Society. The land now within the boundaries of Bedford was first settled by Europeans around 1640. In 1729 it was incorporated from a portion of Concord (about 2/5 of Bedford) and a portion of Billerica (about 3/5 of Bedford). In 1630, John Winthrop and Thomas Dudley of the Massachusetts Bay Company arrived aboard the Arabella from Yarmouth, England . After

1311-629: The Bedford schools, starting in kindergarten and staying with the class until graduation. Bedford is also part of the school district of Shawsheen Valley Technical High School which is in nearby Billerica . The former Center School was deactivated in the 1970s, and is today the Town Center and Recreation Department Nathaniel Page School was similarly deactivated in about 1982 and today is a condominium community. Davis, Lane and Page elementary schools were all k–6 at one time. John Glenn Middle School (originally called Bedford Junior High School)

1368-874: The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, as well as his avocation as "a noted mountain climber". Pickman, who died at his residence at 38 Beacon Street on Beacon Hill , was 87. The Pickman family intermarried with other prominent early Salem and Boston families, including that of Joseph Story Fay, the Crowninshields , the Pickerings , the Rodmans, the Silsbees, Rogers, Saunders and Motleys and others. The family also later owned an estate located near Two Brothers Rocks in Bedford, Massachusetts , so named because

1425-634: The Concord River which forms part of the town's borders, the Shawsheen River flows through town. Vine Brook flows from Lexington through Burlington and into the Shawsheen in Bedford. In the 1840s, a large paper mill was built on Vine Brook that supplied many of the jobs in town. Bedford has a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Dfa under the Köppen climate classification system), with high humidity and precipitation year-round. At

1482-757: The Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. In 2009 the site was restored for an Eagle Scout project in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, and the Bedford Historic Preservation Commission. The area around the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 as the Two Brothers Rocks–Dudley Road Historic District . Access to the site is possible through

1539-560: The Pickman land, Huckins Farm, was sold to a developer for condominium development in 1987, and other parcels including the large Pickman house (Stearns Farm) were sold to private parties. By the rude bridge that arched the flood, their flag to April's breeze unfurled - here once the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard 'round the world. The Bedford flag on display at the Bedford Free Public Library

1596-564: The appearance of the British fort at Calcutta : " Fort St. George is a handsome brick fortification. It appears very strong, but is probably too much extended to make as able a defense as might otherwise be done." Pickman kept journals on several of his other voyages as supercargo and then owner, and as its charter required, these journals were filed with the East-India Marine Society of Salem. These early documents show

1653-654: The corner of Chestnut and Pickering Streets in Salem was later known as the Shreve-Little House (and later still as the Baldwin-Lyman House). Pickman married on September 6, 1810, Catherine Saunders, daughter of Salem merchant Thomas Saunders and his wife Elizabeth (Elkins) Saunders. Dudley Leavitt Pickman was a longtime member of Salem's old North Church. His portrait is owned by the Peabody Essex Museum , where it forms part of

1710-417: The early 18th century and was built by Job Lane (3), the grandson of one of Bedford's earliest settlers, Job Lane (1), a master carpenter. Job Lane (3) was a church deacon and also a town officer. His son Job Lane (4) was a Minuteman; he was wounded in the battle of Concord. The house and grounds, not far from Huckins Farm, has been restored and is open to the public from 2–4 pm on the second and fourth Sunday of

1767-908: The end of passenger service on the Lexington Branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad (see additional notes under Boston and Lowell Railroad ). The line was embargoed four years later. In 1991, the branch was railbanked by the Interstate Commerce Commission. It is now used for the Minuteman Bikeway . In the early 20th century, the Middlesex & Boston Street Railway line ran generally down Great Road (Routes 4 and 225 ), with lines from as far west as Hudson running into Lexington and beyond. Other historic transportation systems through Bedford included

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1824-677: The first three trustees of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House National Park site in Cambridge , Massachusetts. Dudley Leavitt Pickman Jr. continued the family's tradition of making gifts of significant family heirlooms and antiques to the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, including a teapot by silversmith John Coburn bearing the Pickman family coat of arms . Born in Geneva, Switzerland , in 1885, Dudley Leavitt Pickman Jr. also became

1881-480: The land about 1870. Huckins was respected for his good judgment and was honored with various offices in town. Maps c.  1875 indicate that what is now known as Dudley Road was once called Huckins Street. Samuel Huckins lived there until his death in 1892. He had a son, Henry, who was born in 1849, and was living in Bedford in 1910. In the late 19th century, Dudley Leavitt Pickman, descendant of an old Salem merchant family , and his wife Ellen fell in love with

1938-407: The land on the other side of the other rock. They named the rocks "The Two Brothers". Over the years, the two men had many differences; however, they learned to work together and even considered themselves "brothers" by their children's marriage. The rocks have come to symbolize the men's spirit of cooperation and democracy. The Two Brothers Rocks can still be seen near the banks of the Concord River in

1995-618: The land so that the parcel south of the two large boulders by the Concord River (Brothers Rocks) belonged to Governor Winthrop and north of the Rocks was to belong to Deputy Governor Dudley. Later, Dudley became governor. Dudley's son Rev. Samuel Dudley and Winthrop's daughter Mary were married; thus Brothers Rocks were so named because of this marriage of families. Governor Winthrop's grandson, Fitz John Winthrop, in 1664, sold 1,200 acres (5 km ) of this land (including what

2052-565: The land. They bought a substantial parcel (mostly Winthrop's land and a portion of Dudley's grant). Huckins Farm was a part of this purchase. A direct descendant of both Winthrop and Dudley, Pickman bought the land without knowledge of the Winthrop-Dudley grant. He discovered later that he had purchased his ancestors' lands. About 1889, he had the Two Brothers Rocks inscribed with the names "Dudley" and "Winthrop" as well as

2109-472: The month, May through October. Early on the morning of April 19, 1775, an alarm sounded warning the people of Bedford that British soldiers were marching from Boston to Concord. Their captain, Jonathan Willson, told them, "It is a cold breakfast boys, but we'll give them a hot dinner." The Fitch Tavern is located in Bedford center, a little over a mile from Huckins Farm. The ruins of this old mill over Vine Brook (on Wilson and Old Burlington Road) were added to

2166-545: The narrow-gauge Billerica and Bedford Railroad and the Middlesex Turnpike . Dudley Leavitt Pickman Dudley Leavitt Pickman (1779–1846) was an American merchant who built one of the great trading firms in Salem, Massachusetts , during the seaport's ascendancy as a trading power in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Pickman was a partner in the firm Devereux, Pickman & Silsbee and

2223-466: The national historical register in 2003 ( see photo ). A 1972 "Bedford Landmark Tour" says, "Site of the Wilson mills dating from about 1685; mills, dam, and pond passed from the Wilson family about 1770 to Oliver Bacon, then bought by Jonas Gleason (1782) and by Simeon Blodgett (1816); through the years, the site was operated as a grist mill, a saw mill, and later a cider mill." The Elijah Stearns Mansion

2280-404: The population. There were 5,540 (2017 -2021) households, of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

2337-563: The property. It was the first store in the village at the time. It also became the first post office for the town when Elijah Stearns was appointed postmaster in 1825. Later, in 1867, the building became the Bedford Public Library. The building which housed the store, post office, and library has since been moved to 22 Loomis Street. The home is part of the Bedford Center Historic District which

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2394-700: The river, and a preservation effort is carried out by the Shawsheen River Watershed Association. In June 2001, the Merrimack River Watershed Council determined that the Shawsheen River failed to meet water quality standards. This situation was largely attributed to stormwater runoff via town, private and state storm drain systems. As a result of increased pollutants, major portions of the Shawsheen River are now listed as impaired waters on

2451-597: The shipping interests to Boston but retaining a counting house in Salem. William Dudley Pickman married Caroline Silsbee, daughter of Salem merchant Zachariah F. Silsbee. William Dudley Pickman's partner in the Boston-based firm was his son Dudley Leavitt Pickman, who became a fixture in Boston business and social circles, and a large donor of family art and antiques to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts , as well as

2508-452: The site, and after she died, he married Hannah Abbott. Upon his death in 1763, their son, Samuel Lane, inherited the land now known as Huckins Farm. Some time after Samuel Lane died in 1802, the house was removed and Peter Farmer built the present farmhouse in the 1840s. It is known that Peter and Dorcas Farmer had two children in the late 1820s and 1830s. Later, Banfield succeeded Farmer as the owner. Samuel W. Huckins, born in 1817, settled on

2565-401: The tassels were cut from it to adorn the dress of Page's daughter. The Latin motto on the flag, "Vince Aut Morire", means "Conquer or Die." When Governor Winthrop and his Deputy Thomas Dudley viewed their lands in early 1638, they decided to use two great stones on the eastern bank of the Concord River to divide the property. Winthrop claimed the land to one side of one rock; Dudley claimed

2622-632: The vast reach of the large Salem trading houses. In 1799–1800, for instance, Pickman noted that the Belisarius had traveled first to the island of Tenerife , back to Salem, then on to Madras and Tranquebar , India, before returning to the Massachusetts port loaded with her bounty. The following year, Pickman kept the journal of the voyage of the ship Anna , captained by Benjamin Swett, which sailed from Boston to Sumatra and back in 1801. Pickman made his early career out of repeated trips on

2679-502: The year 1638, as noted in the Bedford Town Report in 1889. The land was used as a dairy farm and apple orchard, in addition to the fields, pasture land, bog garden, and ponds. Chestnut trees lined the old road between the fields. A portion of Dudley Road was named Chestnut Avenue around that time. Today's Dudley Road and Winthrop Avenue in Bedford, as well as Pickman Drive, are named for these families. A large portion of

2736-411: Was $ 101,081. Males had a median income of $ 65,697 and females $ 45,181. The per capita income was $ 39,212. About 1.4% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over. The town uses an open town meeting as its legislature . The executive branch consists of a Select Board who oversee a Town Manager. Bedford

2793-415: Was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.04. 23.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males. The median household income was $ 87,962 and the median family income

2850-534: Was a large investor in many early railroad companies. In 1818, Pickman purchased 50 shares of the Suffolk Bank , a clearinghouse bank on State Street in Boston . Pickman was an active merchant, writing to politicians such as Henry Clay to promote his mercantile interests and arguing for the need for protective tariffs. Pickman also frequently corresponded with other powerful merchants and statesmen such as Paine Wingate and Samuel Curwen . Pickman

2907-453: Was born at Salem, Massachusetts, in May 1779, the second son of Salem's chief Naval Officer, William Pickman (1748–1815) and his wife Elizabeth (Leavitt) Pickman, daughter of Dudley Leavitt , an early Congregational minister in Salem, and his wife Mary (Pickering) Leavitt, sister of United States Secretary of State Timothy Pickering . William Pickman secured his son a position in 1799 as

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2964-491: Was heavily involved in nearly all aspects of Salem's municipal and business life. He served with Leverett Saltonstall and Nathaniel Bowditch as trustees of the estate of Simon Forrester. A ship captain born in Ireland, Forrester had become one of the pioneers of Salem merchant shipping and became one of Salem's leading merchants and philanthropists. The large brick mansion built for Pickman by architect Jabez Smith in 1819 at

3021-685: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 13.9 square miles (36 km ), of which 13.7 square miles (35 km ) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ), or 0.94%, is water. Bedford is approximately 15 miles (24 km) from the coast. Bedford is a relatively circular town. Its neighbors, clockwise, starting from 12 o'clock, are Billerica , Burlington , Lexington , Lincoln , Concord and Carlisle . In addition to

3078-420: Was president of the Hasty Pudding Club , and Harvard Law School , practiced law in Boston and lived in a 40-room granite mansion, staffed by five servants and designed by architect Stanford White at 303 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston , as well as in Beverly, Massachusetts . He served as a director for a number of public companies, including a subsidiary of Calumet and Hecla Mining Company and as one of

3135-475: Was so influential that was known in Salem as "The Old East-India Company". As Pickman's business investments took off, he became an active financier, and owned interests in emerging industries across New England . He was a founding investor in the companies that developed the water power and owned much of the real estate in Lowell , Manchester and Lawrence . He was also a large stockholder in many cotton and woolen mills in Massachusetts and New Hampshire , and

3192-406: Was the eminent Salem merchant Elias Hasket Derby as well as Nathaniel Bowditch ). In 1804 the East-India Marine Society moved to the Pickman Building on Essex Street, which had been specially fitted for the society. Early in his career, Pickman traveled to India as supercargo on a ship belonging to several Salem merchants. In his diary of the journey, Journal of the Belisarius , Pickman noted

3249-429: Was the home of a Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) . It was the part of an initiative by the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide mail order prescriptions to veterans using computerization at strategic locations throughout the United States. It has moved to the Lowell area as a result of the Veterans Administrations Cares Mission and is no longer in Bedford. As part of the Middlesex 21st District, Bedford

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