44 - 50 Stevens Street

Architectural Description: 

Multi - family tenement house
24 rooms. similar to tenements on North Main Street built in 1884 by M.T. Stevens Co. for workers in the Marland Mill factory

Historical Narrative: 

The land along Stevens Street was once large pasture and meadow and extended to Abraham Marland’s homestead estate at 29-33 Shawsheen Rd. Marland established a cotton mill in 1807 on the Shawsheen River at Abbott Village which continued until 1811 when he began production of woolen goods. In 1821 “Marland leased from Peter C. Brooks of Boston a mill privilege on the Shawsheen, together with new buildings erected on the site of what had been a powder mill. This is now known as Marland Village.
The buildings, which were leased for a term of twenty years, comprised a brick mill, the oldest of the present buildings, and a row of brick tenement houses.”
In 1828 Marland bought the entire property, his purchased included the mill privilege, old paper and grist mills, and thirty acres of Land. In 1834 the business was organized under the name Marland Manufacturing Company. Abraham Marland was the president until his death on Feb. 20, 1849.
Nathan Frye succeeded Marland as the company president from 1849-1879. . He was born in Andover and began working at the mill as a boy of 14. Nathaniel worked his way to the top. He built a fine mansion on North Main St. and Railroad Streets.

The company defaulted on an 1873 loan from the Andover Savings Bank and the mill was sold at auction to Moses T. Stevens on North Andover in 1879. Stevens began improvements at the mill in 1884 relocating the road, building a causeway across the mill pond, a new bridge, and operative housing on North Main Street and Stevens Street.

August 8, 1884 AA pg2 col 7 Article on Marland Village, new tenements and new road and bridge.

In 1896 the Marland Mill operation employed 200 operatives and manufactured 875,000 lbs. of wool yearly. In 1902 the company was now M. T. Stevens & Sons, Co. and later became known as J. P. Stevens & Co. Inc. When the purchased the Marland Manufacturing Company, the property included the tenement housing on Marland Street, later renamed Stevens Street in 1904. In 1953 the Stevens Co. divested itself of all its housing stock in Marland Village which was then subdivided into separate parcels and sold to public residents. Approval of the subdivision plan #2620 was by the Andover Board of Appeals in Nov. 1952.

Alexander & Margaret C. Campbell purchased the property from J. P. Stevens on May 25, 1953. Campbell then sold to
Benjamin F. Cameron on May 25, 1953. Cameron held the property for seven years then selling to Donald I. & Barbara Richmond on Aug. 30, 1960. The Richmond family placed the property into the ARCO Properties trust on June 26, 2007.

Bibliography/References: 

Essex County Registry Deeds, Salem, MA
Essex Northern Registry Deeds, Lawrence, MA
Andover Advertiser AA
Historical Sketches of Andover, S. Bailey 1880
Business History of Andover, 1896 Anniversary Souvenir.
Andover Historical Society files.
Andover Valuation and directories

Owners;
Peter C. Brooks
Abraham Marland – 1828 - Feb. 20, 1849
Nathan Frye – Feb. 1849 - July 19, 1879
Moses T. Stevens Co. July 19, 1879 – b. 56 p. 482
M. T. Stevens & Sons Co. – Sept. 1, 1902 – b. 197 p. 180
J. P. Stevens & Co. Inc. – after 1946
Alexander & Margaret C. Campbell - May 25, 1953 - b. 776 p. 94
Benjamin F. Cameron - May 25, 1953 - b. 776 p. 94
Donald I. & Barbara Richmond - Aug. 30, 1960 - b. 922 p. 50
ARCO Properties - June 26, 2007 - b. 10810 p. 155

Inventory Data:

StreetStevens St
PlaceMarland Village
Historic DistrictAndover Village Industrial NRH District
Historic NameMarland Mills Worker Housing
Present Useresidence/apartments
Original Useresidence - mill housing
Construction Date1884-1890
SourceERDS, ENRDL
Architectural StyleOther
Foundationstone and brick
Wall/Trimclapboards/vinyl covered
Roofasphalt
Conditiongood
Acreage0.41437 arce
Settingresidential
Map and parcel54-17
Recorded byStack/Mofford, James Batchelder
OrganizationAndover Preservation Commission
Date entered1975-77, 7/2014

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