Miscellany Mondays: On the road again! (part 2)

There have been quite a few hotels, inns, and other rest houses in Andover’s history. Guest writer Aditi Kuppuraj explores two of them in this 2nd of two posts.

Today we’re pleased share the second post by guest History Buzz writer Aditi Kuppuraj. A senior at Andover High School, Aditi started volunteering in her junior year. You can read her first post here (link).

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There have been quite a few hotels, inns, and other rest houses in Andover’s history. Though many of these establishments have since closed down, been repurposed, or completely demolished to make room for today’s projects, they are still an integral part of Andover’s rich history.

While I was doing research on Andover’s hotel scene, I found four hotels which piqued my interest, and I hope you will feel the same.

This post focuses on two hotels: the Andover Inn and the Shawsheen Manor Hotel

This next hotel is one you might have heard of, as it is still standing today. The Andover Inn, located on 4 Chapel Avenue, has quite an interesting history.

The Mansion House

But let’s start the story with another inn - the Mansion House, also on the Phillips Academy campus which had served visitors to both the Academy and the Theological Seminary. Originally built in 1782 as the home of the Phillips family it was in use as a hotel from 1817 until it was destroyed by fire in 1887.

Mansion House, Phillips Academy 1885 c. ACHC 1990.600.2

The fire at the Mansion House left the campus without a hotel and the trustees looked at the former home of Calvin Stowe and Harriet Beecher Stowe on Chapel Avenue as a replacement. The building was remodeled and opened in 1888, reusing the name “The Mansion House.” A large wooden addition was added in 1894 and the name changed to the “Phillips Inn.”

A picture of the Phillips Inn, taken October 14th, 1907. ACHC 1989.634.4

Brochure, The Phillips Inn, 1900 c. ACHC 2019.014.1

Starting in the 1920s, the Phillips Academy campus underwent a period of modernization and rebuilding. In 1929, the former house of Harriet Beecher Stowe was moved to 80 Bartlett Street. This move was quite expensive, costing $50,403 ($873,295 today). In its place a new inn was built.

Phillips Inn/Andover Inn, 1940c. ACHC 1992.1434.1

The funding for this new project was granted by Thomas Cochran and donations from the Phillips Academy Alumni. The new inn had 40 guest rooms on the second and third floors, as well as telephones available in all rooms.  In 1945, management of the hotel was transferred to a company known as “Threadway Inns,” who renamed the hotel to “Andover Inn.”

Postcard, interior lobby of the Andover Inn. ACHC 2005.038.1

A postcard showing the hotel’s beautiful garden. ACHC 1988.630.1.

Andover Inn. ACHC 1988.629.1

Our final hotel is the Shawsheen Manor.

Formerly known as the Smith Manor, it was initially occupied by John Smith, an emigrant from Scotland, who founded the Smith & Dove Milling company. He lived in the Frye Village, on which is known today as Shawsheen Village. In 1834, he converted the Frye Farm, on North Main Street, to a house. Throughout the years of the Smith family’s ownership, the house underwent several renovations.

A full view of the Smith house and John Smith’s property. ACHC 1911.0124.1.

Photograph of an early car, with the Smith Mansion in the left background, to the right can be seen the Smith and Dove mill chimney. ACHC 1911.0163.6

The house became vacant following the Smith family’s move to a home on Central Street. In 1910, the Smith House was bought by the American Woolen Company. William M. Wood, president of the American Woolen Company, converted the house into a rest house for the workers in his factory. It became a hotel and restaurant in 1921.

An image of the Shawsheen Manor in its earlier years, circa 1945. ACHC 2001.076.5.

Later, the hotel would be under many new ownerships and name changes. In 1965, the Shawsheen Manor Trust bought the hotel, which is then turned into the Parker Tavern and later into the Parker House. The name is reverted to Shawsheen Manor in 1977. This would be the establishment’s final name change. Eleven years later, it would shut down.

A white-glazed china plate from the Parker House Restaurant (Shawsheen Manor). ACHC 1989.012.3

A postcard of the hotel. ACHC 1988.637.2.

The demolition of this hotel was a subject of much controversy. Many in the town did not want the hotel to be demolished, citing its historical importance. There was no Demolition Delay By-law in place at that time and the building contents were auctioned off and the building razed. The loss of such an historic structure set in motion the adoption by the Town for the current by-law. The Shawsheen Manor’s influence exceeded its lifespan, although in an unfortunate way.

The land where the Shawsheen Manor once stood. The old sign from the hotel’s restaurant is still intact at the time of the photo. ACHC 1996.018.2.

Thank you Aditi sharing these two stories with us! Please leave a comment below. We love hearing from History Buzz readers!

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~Elaine