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. Most of the streets in the new Village were named for Castles & Cathedrals in Great Britain Canterbury Street takes its name from Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, England is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. Founded in 597, the cathedral was completely rebuilt from 1070 to 1077. Seat of the Church of England. Canterbury Street was one of the first roads to be laid out in Shawsheen Village.

This home was built as part of the Shawsheen Village development from 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 leased through the Homestead Association with offices in the Post Office building in Shawsheen Square, later moved into the Administration Building.

Each home incorporated 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, window boxes all added the “icing on the cake, of the 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. Many of the original screen porches have been enclosed for an additional room. Wood also incorporated two family duplexes in every section of the new Village.

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. 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 properties held in the Arden Trust were deeded to the Phillips Corporation of Portland Maine for liquidation.

One of the first occupants of record to lease the home in 1923 were Louis A. & Gertrude B. Holt. Louis was a automobile salesman in Lawrence, MA. Their son J. Randolph was also an auto salesman. Holt would then buy the home on May 15, 1926. They took a mortgage through the Lawrence Savings Bank in 1926b, but with the Great Depression, lost the home to the bank on June 7, 1933.

William F. Bird purchased the property on Oct. 10, 1935 and on Sept. 2, 1938 placed the home in both his and wife Lauretta F. Bird, names. William b. 1901 was in sales, as listed in the directories. Lauretta was born in 1903, a housewife. The 1961 directory lists a daughter Barbara A. b. 1932 a teacher and a son William Jr. b. 1936 working at Western Electric. The Bird family owned for 33 years.