The Shawsheen Mills No. 1 and No. 2 buildings of Andover, MA's Shawsheen Village district is a set of buildings steeped in history, beginning with its first owner and builder, William M. Wood.
In the book, Mills, Mansions, and Mergers, written by Edward G. Roddy, the rural community of Frye Village changed its name to Shawsheen Village in 1918 after Mr. Wood purchased much of the farmland there. The master plan was to expand his American Woolen Company from neighboring Lawrence into Andover where he would build an entire community for his "white collar" employees. "By relocating his managerial personnel to this idyllic locale, Wood assumed they would be happy and content and this would contribute even more to the success of the firm," Roddy writes.