14 River Road

Architectural Description: 

Style: Vernacular Colonial Rev.

Architectural significance: This two-story residence was built as a barn and moved to its present site in the 1920s, when it took on its paired 6/1 windows and center entrance. Its most distinctive, and at first glance puzzling feature, is its shallow pitched roof, which it retains from its period of use as a barn. On its east end, an enclosed frame porch extends across the facade.

Historical Narrative: 

Historical significance:

Martha A. Doyle daughter of Albert & Eliza Doyle sold the family estate to Henry T. Wheeler of Lowell, MA on Jan. 18, 1879. Wheeler owned the property for ten years then sold to Herman Yunggebauer, a butcher from Lawrence, MA for $500. on Mar. 23, 1889. The property list listed with buildings. Ellen M. Donovan and William E. Hayden held mortgages on the property. When Herman Yunggebauer sold to Thomas J. McEneaney on May 3, 1900 Herman reserved "for the term of ten years from date hereof, to enter upon said premises and use any slaughter house situated there on for slaughter and dressings of such animals as he may desire to kill for use in his meat shop."

Henry P. Lannan (c. 1859 - 1929) acquired the property in 1904 from Thomas J. McEneaney. Lannan was also a butcher, and may have built two barns and a carriage shed further up the hillside. Lannan moved to Lawrence, however, about 1916. Paul and Helen Fortuna recalled that for a number of years, Lannan would come out to River Road each Sunday to get his buggy to take his wife to church. Probably in 1921 (the date the assessor's office gives for the house), Lannan moved one of the barns to the roadside, converting it to the present residence. The Fortunas remember that Lannan rented it to a group of Italians in the 1920s, who set up a still in the house, finally busted up by the police. Henry's son George A. Lannan of North Andover purchased the mortgage from the Andover Savings Bank on May 25, 1925. for $850.

George then sold the property on Feb. 3, 1931 to Alcide Jean, wife Alice, who two years later sold on Sept. 1, 1933 to a 34-year old electrical maintenance engineer in Lawrence's Arlington Mill, Ernest Fieldhouse and wife Edith. Fieldhouse retired to Maine in 1963, selling the property to Henry and Anastasia Richardson on July 1, 1963.

The Richardson family continue as owners of record in 2016

Bibliography/References: 

Essex Northern Registry Deeds, Lawrence, MA
Interviews with Henry V. Richardson (14 River Road), and Paul and Helen Fortuna (20 River Road), 24 Oct. 1987.
Andover Street Directories. Andover Historical Society.
Map plan #828 - George Lannan - Jan. 1931

Owners;
Albert G. & Eliza Doyle
Albert G. Doyle estate, Eliza Doyle heir
Eliza Doyle estate; heirs children - Martha A. Doyle
Henry T. Wheeler - Jan. 18, 1879 - b. 54 p. 76
Herman Yunggebauer - Mar. 23, 1889 - b. 99 p. 440
Ellen M. Donovan - Nov. 23, 1894 - b. 136 p. 572 - mtg deed
William E. Hayden - Nov. 23, 1894 - b. 136 p. 573 - mtg. deed
Herman Yunggebauer - Oct. 10, 1896 - b. 151 p. 584
Thomas J. McEneaney - May 3, 1900 - b. 179 p. 475
Henry P. Lannan - June 3, 1904 - b. 212 p. 435
Andover Savings Bank - May 28, 1925 - b. 512 p. 478 - mtg
George A. Lannan - Jan 5, 1931 - b. 556 p. 123 - mtg sale
George A. Lannan - Jan. 5, 1931 - b. 557 p. 315
Alcide Jean, wife Alice - Feb. 3, 1931 - b. 557 p. 75
Ernest & Edith Feildhouse - Sept. 1, 1933 - b. 572 p. 5
Henry V. & Anastasia M. Richardson - July 1, 1963 - b. 988 p. 469
Anastasia M. Richardson estate, Henry V. heir - died Oct. 6, 1993
Henry Richardson to Pamela Richardson - May 4, 2004 - b. 8757 p. 153 life estate

Inventory Data:

StreetRiver Rd
PlaceNorth District - West Parish - West Andover
Historic DistrictNot Applicable
Present UseResidence
Original UseBarn
Construction Date1900 - 1904
SourceECRDS, ENRDL, style-njs
Architectural StyleOther
Foundationstone
Wall/TrimAsbestos shingles
Roofasphalt - low gable
Major AlterationsConversion to residence (1921) replacement windows, vinyl siding
Conditiongood
Moved?Yes
Move Details1921
Acreage0.570 acre
Settingresidential
Map and parcel127-17
Recorded byPeter H. Stott; Org.:BU OPA, James Batchelder
OrganizationAndover Historical Society, Andover Preservation Commission
Date entered25 Oct 1987, 1/21/2016

Map: