Shawsheen Village was named after the Native American name for the river Shawshin, which means Great Spring. All the streets in the Village were named for Castles & Cathedrals in Great Britain. Carisbrooke St. takes its name from Carisbrooke Castle, Newport, Isle of Wight, England. An Elizabethan artillery fortress, Charles I was imprisoned here before his execution. It is also a Royal summer residence.

Prior to Shawsheen Village this area was known as Frye Village. The town of Andover purchased land from York Street to the Boston and Maine Railroad for the use of a Town Farm or Alms House in 1807.

This home was built as part of the Shawsheen Village development 1918 – 1924 by William M. Wood, President of the American Woolen Company. Wood hired about eight different architects to design the homes and structures for the village. Homes were sold or leased through the Homestead Association who had offices in the Post Office building on the corner of North Main & Poor Streets.

A walk down Carisbrooke Street does not disappoint. 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 and some have garages to the rear. Many have enclosed the open porches for additional rooms on the interiors. The wide street and mature landscape add to the charm of the neighborhood.

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.

One of the first occupants of record to lease the home in 1926 were Gayton & Ethel M. Abbott. Gayton was a clerk with the American Woolen Co.

This house was sold to Henry Lester & Anna Gunton Utley on Aug. 7, 1935. H. Lester purchased the Shawsheen Laundry building at 8 Haverhill St. on Dec. 26, 1935. Henry known as Lester was the president of the laundry company. Utley later sold his business and home to Ralph C. & Cecilia A. Price on Apr. 4, 1947. (The sited deed for this transaction is not incorrect) Price owned the home for three years then sold to John W. McCarthy Jr. on June 1, 1950.