Arden is a historic estate at 276 N. Main Street in
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...
, United States. It was the home of two of Andover's most important mill owners, John Dove and
William Madison Wood
William Madison Wood (June 18, 1858 – February 2, 1926) was an American textile mill owner of Lawrence, Massachusetts who was considered to be an expert in efficiency. He made a good deal of his fortune through being hired by mill owners to tu ...
(the latter being the founder of the
American Woolen Company
The American Woolen Company is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of men’s and women’s worsted and woolen fabrics. Based in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, the company operates from the 160-year-old Warren Mills, which it acquired from Lo ...
).
History
The site where Arden was built was originally occupied by the c. 1678 Josiah Barnard House, which was described in 1829 as one of the nicest houses of its time. This house was torn down in 1846 to make way for the construction of Arden. It was built for John Dove, a Scottish immigrant who established the first flax mill in Andover with Peter Smith and established
Smith & Dove Co. with Peter Smith and his brother,
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
. The builder was Jacob Chickering, a leading local builder, who may have had design guidance for Theodore Voelkers. Dove's family held the property until 1891.
The buyer of the house was William Wood, who went on to found the
American Woolen Company
The American Woolen Company is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of men’s and women’s worsted and woolen fabrics. Based in Stafford Springs, Connecticut, the company operates from the 160-year-old Warren Mills, which it acquired from Lo ...
, and to develop the planned community of
Shawsheen Village to the north. The estate is still in the hands of Wood's descendants.
[ It was listed on the ]National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1982.
Description
The -story wood-frame house is built with elaborate Gothic Revival style decorations. The gable ends are decorated with bargeboard molding, and the porches are supported by elaborate groupings of columns. The house also has a particularly elaborate port cochere.[
]
See also
*
*
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Houses in Andover, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Andover, Massachusetts
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Essex County, Massachusetts