Church Street Construction, Detours to Begin Monday

Road will only be open to one-way traffic.

(Editor's note: The following information was published by the Town of Wilmington DPW.) Residents are advised that effective Monday, April 29, due to construction, Church Street from Route 38 to the Town Common will be open for one-way traffic only, east-bound to Middlesex Avenue, according to the town web site. Westbound traffic will be diverted to Middlesex Avenue from the Town Common to Route 38.  The traffic impact will be in place Monday through Friday 7AM to 3:30PM. Construction is expected to take approximately eight weeks and impact Church Street from the Town Common to Adelaide Street.  Specific closures and detours for residential feeder streets along Church Street will be adjusted as the construction progresses. Every effort …

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Foghorn Leghorn

9:33 pm on Saturday, April 27, 2013

Dum..de..dum..dum..do..da..do..da..dum..dum.. I say dum dum   more ›

Then and Now

Then and Now: Fire Department

After a long time on Church Street, the department moved down the road.

In this Then and Now we take a glimpse into the history of the Wilmington Fire Department. Unlike the Police Department, the Fire Department stayed put for the most part. In this Then photo, taken around 1906, you see one of the first photos of the department ever taken. The Wilmington Fire Department had just formed in 1903 after a Special Town Meeting was called to address the lack of firefighting equipment and abilities of the town. In this meeting, the town voted to form a fire department and give them a house on Church Street, where the Post Office stands today and can be seen in this Now photo. There was also a barn and corral for the firemen's horses built a bit later on. The original Fire Department consisted of 23 volunteer …

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Fire Consumes Duplex Home on Church Street

A blaze at 8 Church Street consumes the two-apartment home and very probably the pets inside.

Fire consumed the two-story duplex at 8 Church Street this afternoon and one dog and two cats were known to be inside, said Wilmington Fire Chief Edward Bradbury; however no people were reported injured. Heavy smoke permeated the area and police blocked off traffic from the intersection of Church and Main Street down to Adelaide Street (near the Police and Fire Station). The call came into the Fire Department at about 1:28 p.m. from a passing police car, said Chief Bradbury. Six fire engines from three different towns–North Reading, Tewksbury, and Andover–and Wilmington's new ladder truck, were all on the scene. Town Manager Michael Caira also made a visit. The downstairs resident, 44-year-old Denise Dausch, was not home when the fire …

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Lisa Spinelli

8:45 am on Thursday, December 16, 2010

My sincerest condolences to Scott and his friends and family. I do feel for him and Ms. Dausch's loss(es)–especially regarding the pets. I certainly hope you all reach your donation goals. Thanks for posting!   more ›

Then and Now

Then and Now: Main Street

A lot has changed on the main thoroughfare in Wilmington over the years.

This postcard, courtesy of Ernie Botte, is a photograph of Main Street (Route 38) at the intersection of Route 62 (Church Street), looking toward the Wilmington Plaza during the early part of the 20th Century, around the 1910s.  The first building on the right of this picture burned down and when a new building popped up it housed the Center News. That building was then taken over by Ames News in the 40s and 50s. Now stands the building where Classic Upholstery, Harvey Windows and Doors, Body Express etc...stands. The second building on right is incredibly still there and is home to Benny Harrison's Radio and TV. The fourth, small, building was Bob Michaelson's Shoe Store, then became Scottie's Donuts. The fifth building was the former …

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