The current house at 277 Lowell has all the earmarks of the influence of Mr. William M. Wood, President of the American Woolen Co. His development of Shawsheen Village embraced the Colonial Revival style of all his buildings of the 1920’s. This farmhouse was an exact replica of the house at Wood’s Clover Farm and also a house recently razed in 2011 at #325 Lowell St. The farmhouses at #97 & #60 Argilla Rd. are similar in design and also built by Wood and were held in the Arden Trust. All were Colonial Revival with center entrances, open porches on the sides and front entrance with similar floor plans and interior details.

Emeline L. Mathews owned the property for 26 years from June 1894 to Oct. 1920. Emiline sold to Moses E. Smith of Lawrence, MA. Smith soon after sold the property to the American Woolen Co. in March 1922. Smith may have been an agent for William Wood, who had been purchasing large tracts of land in West Andover to build his company farms to supply his new ideal neighborhood Shawsheen Village. Three sister farms were built in this area. Wild Rose Farm was directly across the street from this property. The main drive into the farm is the current Wild Rose Drive entrance off Lowell Street. The Clover Farm was razed for the construction of the former Rolling Green Hotel about 1960, now Hamilton Green Apartments. The Shawsheen Stock Farm at 60 Argilla Rd had Ayrshire cows and the pasture land is now much of the fairways of Indian Ridge Country Club.

It has been suggested that Mr. Wood moved the former Frye house, which stood on this location, to the opposite side of Lowell Street and attached it to an existing home on the corner of Lovejoy Rd. at # 290 Lowell St. A photograph at the Andover Historical Society shows a much older home than the current Greek Revival modified cape there today. The rear ell appears to be the original house turned 90 degrees.

In 1926 a Charles C. & Bridget Bliven are living at #277. Charles is listed as a farmer and in 1928 as a farmhand. He may have worked at the Wild Rose Farm. In 1930 the house is vacant. After the death of Mr. Wood in February 1926 all the real estate holdings of the American Woolen Co. in Andover and those of the Arden Trust were liquidated over the next few years. This house was sold to three people, one a Mr. C. Leroy Ambye was the former Superintendent of the American Woolen Co. farms. It was then sold to Lusia Barberian wife of Daniel Barberian one of the many Armenian families who had settled in Andover after escaping the genocide in their former homeland. Agnes & Leon Davidson where renting the farmhouse in 1932 and then purchased it from Barberian in July 1938. Leon ran “Leon’s Spa” and confectionary at 125 Main Street Andover that would later take the name of Birdsall’s “Coffee Mill”. Leon later became manager of the Andover Country Club. Leon died on Oct. 24, 1959 at the age of 62. Agnes later sold to James W. & Lucille Fiorenza in 1962 who developed the Nob Hill Rd. neighborhood. They were long term residents here for 38 years. Stergios Papadopulos and wife Ann M. Whynot Popadopulu purchased the property on Jan. 5, 2000 and sold in 2010 to the current owners.

Historical narrative:
Charlotte Helen Abbott (1844-1921), a native Andover historian states in her Dane genealogy that “John Dane, who married Mary Moody about 1760, was a tanner and had his tan yard at the east end of the Goodell home, where he lived. The vats were on the site of the Goodell gardens; They were sold to Timothy Frye, the tanner but the tanning was stopped when Tim’s house burned down.” The property at 277 Lowell Street belonged to Timothy and Persis (Frye) Frye in 1830 and included a house, barn and eleven acres. Timothy Frye was one of the 37 proprietors of “The Westerly Meeting-House Co.” created on March 17, 1826 to build the West Parish Church. 40 shares were created and Timothy pledged one. He was elected vice president of the company. The church was dedicated on Dec. 26, 1826 His wife Persis and daughter Persis were charter members received on Dec. 5, 1825. Timothy died in March 1854 at the age of 92 and wife Persis about 1858. His son Gilbert Frye b. March 10, 1811 later acquired the property. The 1850 Andover Valuation schedule assessed the house at $550, the barn $75 and 11 acres $180. Gilbert Frye was married to Hannah B. and they had three children, Charles Gilbert b. 1844, Mary S. b. 1846 and George A. b. April 1852 died Aug. 26, 1853 age 1y 5m. Wife Hannah died nine days later on Sept. 4, 1853. Both are interred at West Parish Cemetery. Sadly Gilbert’s loss may be the reason he sold the homestead the following April 1854 to Calvin Edwin Goodell.

Calvin was born in Vermont on Feb. 4, 1808 was living in Boston at the time he married Harriett Lovejoy of Andover on April 5, 1836. Harriet was born in Andover July 20, 1808, daughter of James B. & Hannah Lovejoy. They were living in Woburn in 1850. They joined West Parish Church by letter on Jan. 4, 1857. They had one daughter Susan Elizabeth Goodell b. 1849 also joined West Parish Church in Sept. 6, 1863 at age 14. She later married Moses L. Farnham b. 1846, a Civil War veteran. Calvin & Harriet purchased the former Nathan Abbott house just east at 242 Lowell St. on May 13, 1871. Calvin died in Feb. 1894 and Harriet on March 19, 1898. They are interred at West Parish Cemetery as are their daughter and son-in-law. Calvin & wife Harriet (Lovejoy) were married in Andover on April 5, 1836. They sold the Frye house on Mar. 15, 1872 to Mary Ann (Clement) Lovejoy for $650. Mary was the wife of William Bailey Lovejoy who lived next door at the corner of Lowell and Greenwood Rd. now #293. Mary owned the house for 17 years before selling to Caroline M. Bartlett on February 15, 1889. Mary died eight months later on Oct. 3, 1889.

Caroline Bartlett wife of John Bartlett had the property for five years then selling to Emeline L. Mathews on June 25, 1894. Emiline had the Frye house for 26 years then selling to Moses E. Smith of Lawrence, MA. Smith then sold to the American Woolen Co. in March 1922.