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.

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.
York St. and Burnham Rd. were an old Frye Village way to the Alms house, a brick factory and a connecting route to the center of town prior to the construction of the Essex Turnpike, now Route 28 or Main St.

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

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 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. 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.

One of the occupants of record to lease the home in 1925 were George H. & Mary Winslow. George Winslow was the general manager of the Homestead Association, a subsidiary Realty division of the American Woolen Company, in charge of selling and or leasing the new homes in Shawsheen Village. Winslow had been living at 125 Haverhill St. in 1916, prior to construction of the Village then moved to 388 North Main St. Winslow then purchased an A.W.Co. Lovejoy farm at 289 Lowell St on March 30, 1925. George became the Andover Town Clerk on September 20, 1930, a position he held for 30 years. Wife Mary was a charter member of the Shawsheen Woman’s Club and active in many charitable organizations in town.

After Winslow moved out Mrs. Elizabeth P. Smith, widow of James Smith, then leased. Elizabeth purchased the home on July 19, 1935. Elizabeth P. Smith died on Feb. 7, 1942 and son James Lewis Smith inherits the property through his mother's Will. In 1943 Lewis Smith and James Lewis Smith are both listed as employees of W. R. Hill Hardware on Main St. in Andover center. Mercedes B. is employed at GE. James Lewis Smith sold to Lucie L. Hancock on Dec. 15, 1943. Lucie then sold five months later to Arnold A. & Ruth C. Weiner on Apr. 10, 1944.