By Meredith McCulloch
Volunteers from the Historic Preservation Commission have completed work begun several decades ago to provide more accurate dates in the Assessors’ database and on the walls of Bedford’s historic houses. The team has searched legal records in Bedford and at the state Registry of Deeds to verify the dates for every building constructed before 1943.
Some dates in the Assessors’ records go back many decades, and may simply be a guess made years ago. The dates are important for historical accuracy and for enforcement of by-laws that protect historic buildings.
Houses built prior to January 1, 1943 may be subject to a demolition delay under the Town bylaws. If a house is considered historically significant, a demolition delay provides time to seek alternatives to destruction of the building. For more information, click to read Bedford’s Demolition Delay Bylaw
The Historic Preservation Commission encourages owners of houses built prior to 1943, and which maintain their architectural integrity, to obtain an historic marker listing the date. A marker placed on the property will encourage appreciation of the town’s historic architecture.
The project has extended over many years, beginning with research by the late Town Historian Ina Mansur and carried forward by her late husband and Town Historian Larry Mansur. Carrying the work to completion have been John Linz, Don Corey, Alethea Yates, Neal Leary and the late Bob Slechta and the late John Brown.
One house once assigned the wrong date is at the intersection of Page Road and Shawsheen Avenue. It was believed at one time that it was the original trading house for exchange with local Native Americans, and it was called “the oldest house in Bedford.” That may have been the site of the “Shawshine House,” as it was called, but research shows the house there today was not built in the 17th century, but in 1730. According to Don Corey, a member of the Commission, the oldest house in Bedford is one belonging to Patricia Leiby on Old Billerica Road, dated 1671.
Accurate information is also important should the owner apply for listing on the Nation Register of Historic Places or seek grants for maintenance of the property.
With the research completed, the Historic Preservation Commission is now reviewing the Assessors’ records of over 400 houses so the dates can be verified.
To learn more about the Historic Preservation Commission or about acquiring a plaque for a Bedford building, visit www.bedfordma.gov/historic-preservation-commission
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