2 Riverina Road

Architectural Description: 

The Colonial style look of the building was done to blend with the surrounding buildings in the Shawsheen Village business area. The brick used matched that of the Shawsheen Laundry building.

Historical Narrative: 

Shawsheen Village was named after the Native American name for the river Shawshin, which means Great Spring. Prior to Shawsheen Village this area was known as Frye Village. All the streets in the Village were named for Castles & Cathedrals in Great Britain. Riverina Rd however is the exception.
"Riverina takes its name from the Australian rich lands where the finest wools in the world are grown and is the name of a large territory in Australia."
George M. Wallace, who lived in Aberfoyle, was the private secretary, close friend and confidant of William M. Wood. Wallace was the agent for the Riverina Mills, in Medford, MA from 1918-1926. It was Wallace’s suggestion to Wm. M. Wood that the waste wool of the company’s mills could be reclaimed for the manufacturing of carpets. The Riverina Mill was extremely successful under his direction.

The entrance to Riverina Rd from Haverhill St. was once the site of the Smith & Dove Mill, the first mill in the country built for the production of linen threads from flax. The street and this building now occupy the site of that mill on the west side of the river.

This building was not part of the original Shawsheen Village development 1918 - 1924 by William M. Wood, President of the American Woolen Company. Homes and stores were leased through the Homestead Association who had offices in the Post Office building on the corner of North Main & Poor Streets. Most of the business blocks were held in the Arden Trust by the Wood family.

After the death of William M. Wood on Feb. 2, 1926 most of the residential and commercial buildings were then sold. Some were held by the Wood family in the "Arden Trust" and others with the American Woolen Company, which had been deeded the property in December 1920. The A.W.Co. Board of Directors authorized its President, Lionel J. Noah, to deliver all deeds, as deemed necessary to the Textile Realty Co. for sale on Dec. 29, 1931.

The Textile Realty then transferred ownership to the Andover Shawsheen Realty Company on June 30, 1932, holding the mortgage on the properties. T. Edwin Andrew, treasurer, was authorized to sell or lease the properties. With the Great Depression sales were sluggish and most of the homes were rented until the economy rebounded.

This site was once a portion of the property developed for the Shawsheen Laundry building built next door on Haverhill Street. That site held a right of way to the Hussey property which, in the days of Frye Village, held the Husseys family laundry building. It backed up to the traceway out of Hussey's Pond on Poor St. into the Shawsheen River. Portions of the tunnel still exist and were discovered last year (2014) when Hussey's Pond mysteriously drained one night. The plugged entrance to the old trace gave way.

The Shawsheen Market was however in Wood's plans to have an up to date market in the village. The market was first located in the Post Office building in Shawsheen Sq. The market occupied the north end of the building with entrances at 344 North Main Street and on Poor Street.
May 14, 1920 AT – Shawsheen Market Opens Tomorrow – Manager William Kenney formerly of Houghton & Dutton of Boston assisted by Miss Glenzel of Lawrence as cashier and Alex McLauchlan of Red Spring Road as head cutter, assisted by Harry Chipman of Malden, formerly with Arthur Dorr of Boston
and Mrs. Elizabeth Merrick of Shawsheen Village.

The market was taken over by Victor Stelandre of Lawrence in 1930. Stelandre had operated his business on South Broadway for 17 years before moving to Shawsheen Village. The Merrimack Mutual Insurance Co. bought the PO building and needed space to expand. Stelandre's daughter Martha C. Robinson purchased the portion of the Shawsheen Laundry lot on March 14, 1940. The one story market building was built and opened on Friday July 12, 1940. Martha Robinson was the store manager. Martha died in 1951 and the building was then sold to George & Marie McCracken on July 6, 1951.

Bibliography/References: 

Essex County Registry Deeds, Salem, MA
Essex Northern Registry Deeds, Lawrence, MA
Andover Maps, 1852, 1872, 1888, 1906, 1926
Andover Street Directories
Andover Townsman
Mills, Mergers and Mansions, by Edward Roddy 1982
See Map plan #704 - American Woolen Company - Sept. 1927
#880 - June 1932 - Textile Realty Company lot #

Owners;
John Smith & Peter Smith – Dec. 29, 1841 –b. 335 leaf 99
Smith & Dove Manufacturing Co. – July 1, 1864 - b. 677 leaf 259 Salem deed
Robert Braisford, General Degreasing Co. – July 21, 1902 – b. 197 p. 32
Beacon Trust Company. – Dec. 23, 1904 – b. 217 p. 80
Daniel C. Smith –Mar. 28, 1909 – b. 258 p. 446
Arlington National Bank – June 11, 1909 – b. 274 p. 565
James E. McGovern – July 17, 1909 – b. 275 p. 400 – mgt sale
Henry P. Binney, Trustee of A. W. Co. – Aug. 14, 1909 - b. 277 p. 310
American Woolen Company, Wm. M. Wood Pres. - Dec. 30, 1920 -435 p. 215 parcel 1
Textile Realty Co., Lionel J. Noah, Pres. A.W.Co. - Dec. 30, 1931 - b. 563 p. 351
Henry L. Utley - Dec. 26, 1935 - b. 595 p. 587
Martha C. Robinson - March 14, 1940 - b. 629 p. 133 - portion of lot
Martha C. Robinson estate, Frank A. Robinson Extr - June 11, 1951 - Probate
George & Marie L. McCracken - July 6, 1951 - b. 752 p. 462
Chester T S. & Irene M. Harnden - July 30, 1958 - b. 877 p. 227
Frank C. & Mary D. Coco - May 13, 1965 - b. 1033 p. 291
Coco Corporation - July 20, 1965 - b. 1030 p. 47
Mary D. Coco - June 11, 1968 - b. 1107 p. 376
Marion A & Frank C. Coco - June 12, 1973 - b. 1230 p. 283
Frank C. Coco - Jan. 4, 1977 - b. 1300 p. 427
Charles A. Coco - July 23, 1981 - b. 1520 p. 152
Timothy Gillespie - June 24, 2003 - b. 7943 p. 198

Inventory Data:

StreetRiverina Rd
PlaceShawsheen Village - Frye Village
Historic DistrictShawsheen Village NRH District
Historic NameShawsheen Market building
Present UseSalon & residence
Original UseGrocery Market
Construction Date1940
SourceERDS, ENRDL, assessers' rec./style-njs
Architectural StyleColonial Revival
Foundationconcrete
Wall/Trimbrick/wood
Roofasphalt/gravel- flat
Major AlterationsSecond story added in 2003 - 2004, condo conversion into two units.
Conditionexcellent
Acreage0.069 acres
Settingcommercial/business/residential
Map and parcel52-3
Recorded byStack/Mofford, James Batchelder
OrganizationAndover Preservation Commission
Date entered1975 - 1977, 7/26/2015

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