Billerica

From the bartenders at the local watering holes to neighbors at the town of Billerica’s annual festival, you’ll find a lot of friendly faces in Pinehurst. <br><br>This unincorporated village on the southeast side of town bordering Burlington boasts a community of longtime residents, a busy thoroughfare with several beloved bars and restaurants, and easy access to transportation on Route 3A, which meets up with I-95. As part of the working-class town of Billerica, Pinehurst residents are part of an engaged community that comes together to work on big projects like new playgrounds, celebrate at annual events honoring its Revolutionary War history and to watch high school football games, says Deb Burke, a Realtor with Compass and native of Billerica. <br><br>“Billerica is a cottage community of Boston. It was always seen as blue collar, but it has grown exponentially in the last 15 years,” says Burke. “The community has a lot to offer as far as the schools, the senior center, the playgrounds and commuting.”<br><br>Home prices in Pinehurst are a bit higher than in the rest of Billerica, likely because of its proximity to the nearby town of Burlington with its regionally significant mall. Despite its incorporation during Colonial times, many of the early American houses here have been knocked down and rebuilt into more modern structures, Burke says. Hip-roofed ranch-style houses built in the 1950s can cost around $800,000, whereas colonials built in 2008 can cost $900,000. Sprawling colonial barns built in the 1970s go for around $700,000. <br><br>Students in Pinehurst can attend the Billerica Public Schools. Ditson Elementary and Locke Middle both earn a B-plus from Niche, but the district's crown jewel is the B-rated Billerica Memorial High School, which opened in late 2019 and serves about 1,700 students. Designed in part to reflect a community center, the new school has a gymnasium, dining commons, an auditorium, an athletic complex and a green designed to resemble a quad, all on one campus. Some of its prominent programs include the robotics team, the drama department and the business and entrepreneurship club. It also has an athletics department that maintains a healthy rivalry with nearby Chelmsford, Burke says. <br><br>If the outdoors are calling your name, there are plenty of places to soak in nature in Pinehurst and beyond. The Bicknell Town Forest, located in Pinehurst next to Ditson Elementary School, is a great place for hiking, mountain biking, walking your dog, riding your horse or going cross country skiing or snowshoeing. The big one, however, is Great Brook Farm State Park in nearby Carlisle, which Burke says gets crazy busy on the weekends. Senior citizens can enjoy painting, ceramics, dance classes and more at the Billerica Council on Aging. <br><br>Every year, Pinehurst and the larger Billerica community come together to celebrate the town’s connection to the American Revolution. The third weekend of September is known as “Yankee Doodle Homecoming” in Billerica. It’s held in honor of a Billerica farmer and aspiring Minuteman, Thomas Ditson Jr., who got caught up with British soldiers while in Boston looking for a musket. The English soldiers tarred and feathered him and paraded him through the streets of Boston, playing “Yankee Doodle” on their fife and drums. It was after that that the song became a badge of honor for the colonists, and to this day Billerica is known as the state’s Yankee Doodle town. <br><br>At the festival, there is a parade every year, plus a fun-filled afternoon with tons of vendors, local organizations, demonstrations and food and a Colonial Minutemen Encampment. It’s a lively event, says Burke, and the whole community gets involved.<br><br>“The first year I was there they had so many dump trucks throwing candy to people, and as time went on, more people got involved with floats,” she says. <br><br>Along Pinehurst’s main stretch of Boston Road, you’ll find a smorgasbord of chain restaurants, grocers like Market Basket and some local eateries. Check out the Emerald Rose for bangers and mash, Guinness-marinated steak tips and Irish egg rolls in a cozy pub setting. Just down the street, Newtowne Grill has draft beers, cocktails and bar favorites like nachos and chicken parmesan. Neighbors go to both places for comfort, Burke says, because they know them well. Soon, you could, too.