The population of Bedford was 14, at the United States census. The land now within the boundaries of Bedford was first settled by Europeans around After 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. The following year, the two men agreed to divide 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 [ 3 ] 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 , sold 1, acres 5 km 2 of this land including what is present-day Huckins Farm [ 4 ] 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.
John Lane and his wife, Catherine Whiting , lived on the site, and after she died, he married Hannah Abbott. Upon his death in , their son, Samuel Lane, inherited the land now known as Huckins Farm. Some time after Samuel Lane died in , the house was removed and Peter Farmer built the present farmhouse in the s. It is known that Peter and Dorcas Farmer had two children in the late s and s. Later, Banfield succeeded Farmer as the owner.
Samuel W. Huckins, born in , settled on the land about Huckins was respected for his good judgment and was honored with various offices in town. Maps c. Samuel Huckins lived there until his death in He had a son, Henry, who was born in , and was living in Bedford in In the late 19th century, Dudley Leavitt Pickman, descendant of an old Salem merchant family , [ 5 ] and his wife Ellen fell in love with the land. They bought a substantial parcel mostly Winthrop's land and a portion of Dudley's grant.
