Certificate from MA Historical Commission on file.
This land along the east side of Stevens Street was once large meadow and part of the Abraham Marland’s homestead estate at 29-33 Shawsheen Rd. Marland established the Marland Mills in 1807 and built his mansion house in 1813, living there until his death in 1849. His son-in-law Francis Cogswell and wife Mary Sykes (Marland) Cogswell bought the house from her mother’s estate in 1855 owned until 1880.

The Smith & Dove Manufacturing Co. purchased the property in August 1887 converting the homestead into a tenement house for operatives in their mill. In 1907 they developed Brechin Terrace in the back field and yard of the Marland-Cogswell house.

The field on Stevens St. (once named Marland St.) was a meadow pasture until 1941.
With the purchase of the Smith & Dove Co. in 1927, by the Ludlow Co., the property holdings were placed into the Smith & Dove Tenements, Inc. and the property was sold off to private owners. The name was later changed to Andover Home, Inc. in 1928.

The loss of many jobs when the company moved and the stock market crash in 1929, left many properties unsold, vacant and some foreclosed on by the banks. The remaining properties were purchased by Virgil D. Harrington, a purchasing agent for Phillips Academy. Harrington then transferred the remaining property to the Indian Ridge Co. Inc. of which he was treasurer.
Indian Ridge Co. drew up plans in Aug. 1941 to sub-divide the former pasture into new house lots. (See Plan #1374) These lots, eight in all, were marked A through H along Stevens Street. Lot A remained vacant at the corner of Stevens St. and Shawsheen Rd.

Lots B – H were sold to Ronald J. White of Reading, MA who then built the Cape style homes. On Feb. 20, 1942 the deeds were transferred to White who had completed four houses and sold back to the Indian Ridge Co. lots H-G-F. E on Feb. 20, 1942. The remaining lots B-C-D were transferred on Jan. 27, 1943. On March 25, 1943 Gertrude Barnard Bergstrom, widow of Francis Bergstrom, purchased all eight lots and the seven homes. It appears that she was to rent them as income properties and sold off a few. The 1943 Andover Directory lists on two residents in the homes Lealand & Mary Cook at #70. He was employed by GE. At #80 was Benjamin & Doris Miller., he an operative at Marland Mills. The rest of the houses are vacant at the time the publication. Gertrude sadly died on April 21, 1944 at age 80 and her estate went to her son Phillips B. Bergstrom of Cleveland, Ohio. Phillips began the sale of all the remaining homes.

Gertrude Bergstrom did sell the home, the second one sold to Percy L. & Mary T. Cook on Sept. 9, 1943. Cook owned just four years then selling to Robert E. Thom of Lawrence on Oct. 17, 1947 who transferred the deed to both he and his wife Claire in May 1948. They owned for 9 years selling to Arthur J. & Dorothy P. Smith Jr. on Apr. 9, 1956.