54 York Street

Architectural Description: 

Split entry ranch

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.

York Street takes its name from York Minster Cathedral , seat of the Archbishop of York, second highest office in the Church of England. The Gothic Church is one of the largest in Northern Europe. There is also a York Castle, in York, England. A Norman castle built by William I

The north end of York St. was once part of the Walter Kaye property, and Smith & Dove Manufacturing Co. The Kaye home was moved to 26 Haverhill St. for construction of York St. Some homes nearer the entrance of Brickstone were first built in error on the entrance way to Wood’s Shawsheen Mills. Wood, away on tour in Europe, upon his return, saw the homes and said, “removed those home immediately” and so they were relocated to York St.

This home was built in 1987 and was not part of the Shawsheen Village development 1918 – 1924. William M. Wood, President of the American Woolen Company hired about eight different architects to design the homes and structures for the village. Homes were leased through the Homestead Association who had offices in the Post Office building on the corner of North Main & Poor Streets.

A walk down York Street will find a mix of the old and new as Wood moved a few older homes in Frye Village to sites on York St. and Balmoral St. Each home incorporates a different look, style and design modifications, most noticeable with the front door entrances. Decorative details on the corner boards and a variety of ornamental trellises add to the “icing on the cake, of the maintained original designs. Most of the homes now sport a variety of different colors no longer all white with green shutters as dictated in the original deeds.

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 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 many homes were rented until the economy rebounded.

This parcel marked "A" on map #880 was an empty lot and not developed until 1987. In 1962 the Andover Shawsheen Realty Company was dissolved and then became the F.M. & T.E. Andrew Realty Trust on Dec. 20, 1962. F.M. was Frank M. Andrew of Methuen and T. E. was T. Edwin Andrew Jr. of North Andover. Other Trustees were James Eaton of Andover and Leola P. Andrew of North Andover. T. Edwin Andrew was the treasurer of the Andover Shawsheen Realty Co. with their offices in the Aberdeen Merchants Building at 362 North Main St. The company later moved to Lawrence.

This house was built by Treacy Builders, Inc, Stoneham, MA who purchased the lot on Oct. 11, 1985 for $9100. The house is a Split Entrance style home, sometimes referred to as a Raised Ranch, as the main living area is located on the top floor, with a family room, basement and garage on the lover level. This plan was a popular design of the 1950s and 1960s in Andover and can be found in many modified exterior facades. The wood pattern on the gambrel portion of the facade is a nod to Tudor design.

The home was sold to Eunsang Yoon & Soonhae Yoon on Sept. 29, 1988 who owned for 12 years. It was then purchased by
Mingchi Wang & Meifeng Wang on May 26, 2000. Wang owned for seven years then selling to David Jaworski & Jin Fan on June 28, 2007, the current owners of record in 2015.

Bibliography/References: 

Essex County Registry Deeds, Salem, MA
Essex Northern Registry Deeds, Lawrence, MA
Andover Maps, 1852, 1872, 1888, 1906, 1926
Andover Street Directories
Mills, Mergers and Mansions, by Edward Roddy 1982
See Map plan #704 - American Woolen Company - Sept. 1927
#880 - June 1932 - Textile Realty Company lot #
#11261 - Treacy Builders, Inc.

Owners;
Fannie S. Smith
Walter A. Kaye - July 7, 1907 - b. 250 p. 315
Henry P. Binney, Trustee of A. W. Co. - Mar. 25, 1916 - b. 362 p. 171
American Woolen Company, Wm. M. Wood Pres. - Dec. 30, 1920
Textile Realty Co., Lionel J. Noah, Pres. A.W.Co. - Dec. 30, 1931 - b. 563 p. 334
Andover Shawsheen Realty Co. - June. 30, 1932 - b. 565 p. 87 - 32th parcel
F.M. & T.E. Andrew Realty Trust - Dec. 20, 1962 - b. 975 p. 469 - Trust
Treacy Builders, Inc, Stoneham, MA - Oct. 11, 1985 - b. 2060 p. 147
Eunsang Yoon & Soonhae Yoon - Sept. 29, 1988 - b. 2818 p. 142
Mingchi Wang & Meifeng Wang - May 26, 2000 - b. 5757 p. 285
David Jaworski & Jin Fan - June 28, 2007 - b. 10814 p. 34

Inventory Data:

StreetYork St
PlaceShawsheen Village - Frye Village
Historic DistrictNot Applicable
Historic NameEunsang & Soonhae Yoon House
Present Useresidence
Original Useresidence
Construction Date1987 - 1988
SourceERDS, ENRDL, assessers' rec./style-njs
Architectural StyleOther
Architect/BuilderTreacy Bulders, Inc. - Stoneham, MA
Foundationconcrete
Wall/Trimclapboard/wood/vinyl covered
Roofasphalt - gable
Conditiongood
Acreage0.331 acre
Settingresidential/commerical
Map and parcel35-25
Recorded byJames S. Batchelder
OrganizationAndover Preservation Commission
Date enteredJuly 22, 2015

Map: