Frye Village stories: the John Smith family (part 3)
A Shawsheen Village 100 Story
Before Shawsheen Village Frye Village Stories: the homes of John Smith, Peter Smith, and John Dove
In 1834, John Smith bought the old Frye estate on North Main Street, which was likely erected by Captain Reuben Frye in c.1796.
Smith converted it into a mansion house.
ACHC #2012.058.2
Improvements to the mansion – paint, changes to the roof, porches, additions, and paint – were reported on regularly in the Andover Townsman.
John's son, Joseph Warren Smith modernized the house and left it to his wife Fannie Smith.
ACHC #1911.0163.2, the John Smith mansion
By 1907, Joseph W. Smith and his family moved to Central Street and sold the Smith Mansion to George P. Binney, a trustee agent for the American Woolen Company.
As part of William Wood’s vision for his planned community of Shawsheen Village, the Smith Mansion became a vacation rest house for “old and valued employees of the company,” and later a hotel and restaurant. After changing hands a number of times, and along the way changing names: Parker Tavern, Parker House, and finally Shawsheen Manor.
ACHC #2001.076.5, Shawsheen Manor
Shawsheen Manor closed in 1988 and plans to the demolish the building for the current business mall were presented to the Town of Andover. The Andover Preservation Commission and most of the residents of the Shawsheen Village wanted the building saved. However, there was nothing the Town could do to stop the demolition of the Manor. The building contents were auctioned off and the building was razed.
The loss of such an historic structure set in motion the adoption by the Town of the current Demolition Delay By-law.
Before Shawsheen Village
There's a lot more Smith & Dove in Frye Village to come! You can jump ahead in the story and read more in Sarah Loring Bailey's 1880 book Historical Sketches of Andover. You can also learn more about Shawsheen Village on our website.
Next Frye Village story: The homes of Peter Smith and John Dove.