Name: Bank of America Columns

 Address: 233 Lawrence Street

 Date: c1838/1888

 History: In 1888, Mrs. Mary Low sold the George Waldo House (233 Lawrence St) to Edward F. Searles, retaining a lifetime lease. Searles removed the adjacent Welch House, tore down the old barn, and made improvements to the house. He laid out a small park along Lawrence Street to the corner of Park Street. There, according to the Methuen Transcript, he installed the two Corinthian columns from the Bank of America in New York, each weighing 20 tons, which were delivered to Methuen in 1888. It is uncertain when the columns were erected, but it may have been as late as 1897.

 Address: 233 Lawrence Street

 Date: 1825

 History: According to an original deed, George A. Waldo bought land on Lawrence Street in 1812 or 13. The house was built in 1825, two years after the marriage of George A. Waldo and Almira Bodwell. In a reminiscence in the Methuen Transcript written in 1883, Rev. Henry Jewell said that Waldo came from Vermont, was engaged in the shoe business in the early 1830s, and did much to build up the village. William Barnes in his reminiscences written in 1905 mentions the Waldo Block of c. 1845, which was burned to the first floor in the late 1840s and then sold to Daniel Currier (300 Broadway). George Waldo was not listed in the 1860 Directory and by 1872 the Waldo house belonged to John Low. In 1888, Mrs. Mary Low sold the house to Edward F. Searles, retaining a lifetime lease. Searles removed the adjacent Welch House, tore down the old barn, and made improvements to the house. He laid out a small park along Lawrence Street to the corner of Park Street. There, according to the Methuen Transcript, he installed the two Corinthian columns from the Bank of America in New York, each weighing 20 tons, which were delivered to Methuen in 1888.

In 1960, the property was bought by Kenneth Pollard from the Old Colony Trust. Pollard established a funeral home which remains in business today.

The George Waldo House possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship, and meets the criteria of the National Register of Historic Places.

 Address: 241 Lawrence Street

 Date: 1964

 History: Kenneth Pollard, owner of the adjacent Waldo House/Pollard Funeral Home (233 Lawrence St), deeded this property to Claire Pollard and Jacqueline Pollard in 1963. The house was built in 1964. This site was once a park created in the late 19th-century by Edward F. Searles, and is still partially surrounded by fine stone walls. Moved in Dec 1997 across the street to St Monica's Property.

 Address: 253 Lawrence Street

 Date: 1869

 History: The First Baptist Church was organized in 1815. Baptists in Methuen prior to this time attended the Baptist Church in Haverhill. In 1815, the first services were held in the Daniel Frye house. The current church structure replaced an earlier building constructed in 1816. The construction of the First Baptist Church coincided with the development of a significant residential and commercial center in the vicinity of Lawrence Street and Broadway.

The First Baptist Church possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship, and meets the criteria of the Natioanal Register of Historic Places.

 Address: 257 Lawrence Street

 Date: 1910

 History: According to the Town of Methuen Assessor's records, in 1910 Edward F. Searles was taxed for one house next to the Baptist Church and the 16,596 sq. ft. Taylor-Clark lot. In 1911, the house was named Park Lodge House. It was valued at $6000 and set on a 16,596 sq. ft. lot. The Taylor-Clark lot, including the Taylor house and Clark bakery, can be seen on the 1884 map and the Sanborn Insurance map 1885. The Clark bakery was moved to Hampshire Street before 1892, and that site was vacant on the 1896 and 1906 maps. The newly constructed Park Lodge can be seen on the 1911 Sanborn map.

It is possible that an old house was incorporated into this building since Searles bought and sold and moved many buildings. But, if an old house is included, it is not the 19th-century farm house of Jesse Searles, Edward's father. The Jesse Searles house was located on the Searles estate and was embellished by Edward. It is seen in the print found in the Essex County Atlas of 1884 and referred to on the previous survey form. That house, identified as Pine Lodge, the Edward Searles Estate, bears no resemblance to the Park Lodge house.

After Searle's death in 1920, Park Lodge was sold by his heir Mr. B. Allan Rowland to S. William Colson.

Park Lodge possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials, and workmanship, and meets the criteria of the Natioanal Register of Historic Places.

 Address: 270 Lawrence Street also 1 Osgood St.

 Date: 1886

 History: Varnum Corliss (sometimes spelled Corless) built two buildings behind the James S. Dodge Store, one in 1882 and one in 1886. The first one, a wood frame building, was built for Corliss by Aaron Gilcreast and became the Pearson and Page Store, selling furniture and household goods. This building may be incorporated in the structure now covered in brick veneer. The second structure, begun in March of 1886, was described in the Methuen Transcript as being brick, with three stories on Osgood, St. and two on Lawrence Street. This building first appears on the 1892 Sanborn Insurance map.

Varnum Corliss was born in Haverhill West Parish in 1810. He came to Methuen as a young man and went into business as a harness maker in Wilson's block, formerly on Hampshire St. In 1835 he bought a building and land from Major Osgood's heirs on Broadway and fitted out a harness shop which he shared with Dearborn and Clark, early shoe manufacturers. He was also a carriage-maker and in the early days drove his carriages to Boston for shipment by packet to Maine where he sold to farmers there. Corliss later bought the so-called Bowen and Emerson tract of land at the corner of Broadway and Osgood St, where the bank building and post office is now located. His livery stable was located behind the Broadway buildings off Osgood Street. The buildings on the Lawrence St./Osgood St. site mentioned above appear to have been real estate investments. At one time, Corliss owned more than two acres in the heart of the village as well as more than 80 acres of farm land in Methuen and Salem.

Name:

 Address: 1 Locust Road

 Date: 1951

 History: From the late 1880s onward, Edward F. Searles systematically acquired all available property on East and Lawrence Streets in the vicinity his estate "Pine Lodge," to provide privacy and resources for "Pine Lodge" and later for investment (see 209 Lawrence St). He even rerouted East Street to enlarge his estate. In 1896 and 1906, the property on East Street by Locust Road was owned by Searles and called "Oakside Farm." After Searles' death, a plan for the subdivision of "Oakside" was drawn by the Searles Real Estate Trust. (Assessor's Plan #380, May 20, 1992) "Oakside" was bounded by East and Lawrence Streets and Beedle Terrace and had 455 lots, averaging 5000 sq. ft. Development restrictions stated that there could be only one house per lot, costing not less than $5000. Houses should be 15 ft. from the lot lines and could have only one garage with no more than two stalls. These restrictions were to be in force until 1972 unless Pine Lodge was discontinued. By 1950, the size of the lots between East Street and Locust Street had been redrawn. In that section, there were five lots, averaging between 26,000 and 40,000 sq. ft.

The house at 1 Locust Road was built in 1951 by Florence Robertson.

Name:

Address: 31 Locust Road

Date: c1951

History: From the late 1880s onward, Edward F. Searles systematically acquired all available property on East and Lawrence Streets in the vicinity his estate "Pine Lodge," to provide privacy and resources for "Pine Lodge" and later for investment (see 209 Lawrence St). He even rerouted East Street to enlarge his estate. In 1896 and 1906, the property on East Street by Locust Road was owned by Searles and called "Oakside Farm." After Searles' death, a plan for the subdivision of "Oakside" was drawn by the Searles Real Estate Trust. (Assessor's Plan #380, May 20, 1992) "Oakside" was bounded by East and Lawrence Streets and Beedle Terrace and had 455 lots, averaging 5000 sq. ft. Development restrictions stated that there could be only one house per lot, costing not less than $5000. Houses should be 15 ft. from the lot lines and could have only one garage with no more than two stalls. These restrictions were to be in force until 1972 unless Pine Lodge was discontinued. By 1950, the size of the lots between East Street and Locust Street had been redrawn. In that section, there were five lots, averaging between 26,000 and 40,000 sq. ft.

The house at 31 Locust Road was built c1951 by William A. Berhan who acquired adjacent lot 5b in 1966.

Name: gas station

 Address: 2 Lowell Street

 Date: 1963

 History: The land and most of the buildings along the south side of Hampshire Street between Broadway and Lowell Street were owned by the Methuen Company during most of the 19th-century. A building, identified (even in the assessor's records) as the "Old Bed Bug Block" stood on this site from 1826 until it was demolished in 1891. Tenements which had been attached to this block remained on the site until the early 1920s when they too were demolished. After 1927 a gas station was built and in 1936, this station was listed in the Methuen directory as the Methuen ESSO Station. In 1963 a new ESSO station, cinder block construction, was built by Frances E. Reusch.

Name: Red Arrow Garage

 Address: 6 Lowell Street

 Date: Built after 1919 and before 1927

 History: Methuen's first fire house was located on this site, on the island on the east side of Lowell Street. It was built about 1847/48 to house the hand tub "Spigot." Long obsolete, the building was torn down when the Lowell Street bridge (see form) was widened in 1909/10. According to the Sanborn Insurance maps, the site remained vacant until after 1911 when the Red Arrow Garage was located on the site. After 1927, the footprint of the building is different, although the use, auto repair remains the same. In 1935, Charles Lyons bought the Red Arrow Garage through the Methuen Co-operative Bank. Assessor's field cards from 1941 identify the building as the Jenny Service Station.

Razed circa 2000

 Address: Lowell Street

 Date: 1880s

 History: The Methuen Company was bought in 1864 by David Nevins, a prominent Boston investor who subsequently settled in Methuen. It quadrupled in size in the years between 1870 and 1881. Housing was needed for mill operatives and by the 1870s, double houses, which can be seen on the 1884 map, lined Pine Street on both sides. Individual house, such as 23 Lowell Street, built sometime before 1872, were also part of the mill housing stock. This house was owned by David Nevins in 1872 and by the Methuen Company in 1884 and 1896. A permit was issued in 1972 to add a Beauty Parlor and make offices on the second floor. The street front addition appears to predate this. See 1 Pine Street, 10-12 Lowell Street, 14-16 Lowell Street, 18-20 Lowell Street, 96-98 Railroad Street, 100-102 Railroad Street, and 104-106 Railroad Street for other examples of Methuen Mill's housing in the district.

 Address: Lowell Street

 Date: 1832

Rebuilt: 2000

 History: The town of Methuen began planning the widening of Lowell Street in 1909. The old stone bridge was reconstructed and the old fire house of 1846/47, located on the island on the east side of Lowell Street, was demolished. Work on the the road and the new bridge was completed in October of 1910. The electric car tracks were relaid and improvements included new iron fences along the bridge and safe sidewalks. An 1836 lithograph shows a wooden bridge. Most of the early wooden bridges over the Spicket were replaced in the 1830s by stone arch bridges. On Lowell Street, the bridge at the island, built in 1832, was first widened and rebuilt in 1869.

 Address: Lowell Street

 Date: 1880s

 History: According to an account published in the Transcript in October 1905 the first known reference to use of the falls was found in a deed belonging to David Nevins. The deed, from the widow of John Morrill, dated December 1709, conveyed to Robert Swan, for the sum of thirty pounds, one-forth of a saw mill and land "on Spicket river falls, the mill that was built by and belonged to and amongst Robert Swan, John Morrill and Elisha Davis." Afterwards, a grist mill was built on each side of the river, and as there was not enough business to keep them both busy, they agreed to run on alternate weeks. This arrangement kept up until the first cotton mill was built by Stephen Minot in 1814. It burned in 1818, and in 1821 the land and water privilege were purchased by the Methuen Company, which built a new mill in 1826-1827 (47 Osgood St). The Methuen Company was acquired by David Nevins in 1864. The company quadrupled in size between 1870 and 1881 and it was during this time that the new dam was built.

An account of construction of the dam in the Transcript in October 1898 stated that the center portion of the present dam was built in 1880 by David Crockett. It took the place of the old dam, constructed principally of wood, which was about 12 feet up stream. (The front of the old dam was wood, with stone in the rear to prevent the wood from being forced out.) The stone for the new dam came from a Salem, N.H. quarry owned by David Nevins. Holes half the size of a cannonball were carved from the tops and bottoms of each stone so that a cannonball could be fitted in between each layer for reinforcement. The dam is said to be about 140 feet long with the highest fall of water being about 23 feet. On the right end, the fall is not as high. This section was constructed about 10 years before by Mr. Simmons, a Lawrence contractor. A contemporary photograph shows the dam with a wooden walk way across it, which was completed in November 1880.

 Address: 10-12 Lowell Street

 Date: 1870s

 History: The Methuen Company (see 47 Osgood St.) was purchased in 1864 by David Nevins, a prominent Boston investor who subsequently settled in Methuen. Under his leadership, it quadrupled in size in the years between 1870 and 1881, creating a need for mill operatives' housing. By the 1870s, double houses, which can be seen on the 1884 map, lined Pine Street on both side. The earliest ones, which appear before 1872, remain on the left side, outside of the historic district. With the exception of the house at 1 Pine Street, houses from the right side have all been demolished or moved. However, houses owned by the Methuen Company which are shown at 96-98, 100-102, 104-106 Railroad Street by 1892 (and not before), and at 10-12, 14-16, 18-20 Lowell Street by 1911 (and not before), match the remaining Pine Street houses in form and detail and are presumed to be the Pine Street houses.

 Address: 14-16 Lowell Street

 Date: 1870s

 History: The Methuen Company (see 47 Osgood St.) was purchased in 1864 by David Nevins, a prominent Boston investor who subsequently settled in Methuen. Under his leadership, it quadrupled in size in the years between 1870 and 1881, creating a need for mill operatives' housing. By the 1870s, double houses, which can be seen on the 1884 map, lined Pine Street on both side. The earliest ones, which appear before 1872, remain on the left side, outside of the historic district. With the exception of the house at 1 Pine Street, houses from the right side have all been demolished or moved. However, houses owned by the Methuen Company which are shown at 96-98, 100-102, 104-106 Railroad Street by 1892 (and not before), and at 10-12, 14-16, 18-20 Lowell Street by 1911 (and not before), match the remaining Pine Street houses in form and detail and are presumed to be the Pine Street houses.

 Address: 15 Lowell and Pine Streets

 Date: pre- 1854

 History: In William Barnes' reminiscences of Methuen in 1845, he states that this house on Lowell at the corner of Pine street was the home of A. W. Stearns who had a grocery store there. Methuen's Vital Records show the marriage of an Artemas W. Stearns and Lydia Searles in 1843.

The town assessor's records show the Samuel Webster owned the house beginning in 1854 and the 1860 Directory lists Samuel Webster, grocer (Merrill & Webster), house Lowell. An advertisement in the same directory states that Merrill and Webster dealt in Dry and West Indies Goods, Paint, Oil, Hardware and Cutlery. In 1875, Webster moved closer to the center of town, building a new house at 7 Charles Street. In 1882, he took over the livery stable behind the Exchange Hotel and ran carriages to the depot. He died in the late 80s. In 1896 the heirs of Samuel Webster still owned the Charles Street house and the house at 15 Lowell Street.

 Address: 17-19 Lowell Street

 Date:

 History: The present house at 17-19 Lowell Street replaces an earlier house which was owned by Lorenzo Dow. Mr. Dow was listed in 1860 Directory as being an overseer at the cotton mill and was shown at this address in 1872. He died in the early 1880s and Mrs. Dow later moved to Dracut. She sold the property to Rylance Platt, who in 1898 was assessed for one house, valued at $900 at the rear of 17 Lowell Street, and one new house valued at $3000. In 1901/2, Platt an absentee landlord, rented to Peter Graham, blacksmith, and William Hyde at 17 Lowell Street, and John Ridley, bookkeeper, house rear. The old house at the rear is gone.

 Address: 18 -20 Lowell Street

 Date: 1870s

 History: The Methuen Company (see 47 Osgood St.) was purchased in 1864 by David Nevins, a prominent Boston investor who subsequently settled in Methuen. Under his leadership, it quadrupled in size in the years between 1870 and 1881, creating a need for mill operatives' housing. By the 1870s, double houses, which can be seen on the 1884 map, lined Pine Street on both side. The earliest ones, which appear before 1872, remain on the left side, outside of the historic district. With the exception of the house at 1 Pine Street, houses from the right side have all been demolished or moved. However, houses owned by the Methuen Company which are shown at 96-98, 100-102, 104-106 Railroad Street by 1892 (and not before), and at 10-12, 14-16, 18-20 Lowell Street by 1911 (and not before), match the remaining Pine Street houses in form and detail and are presumed to be the Pine Street houses.

Name: Central Fire Station

 Address: 24 Lowell Street

 Date: 1899/ c.1930

 History: Discussion regarding the need for the town to purchase fire apparatus took place as early as 1836, but it was not until 1847 that the first hand tub was bought and the Spiggott (sic) Engine Company created. A steam engine, purchased in 1870, lead to organization of the E. A. Straw Company in 1871 and the Mystic Hose Company was organized to man a hose carriage purchased in 1878. In 1887 the town voted to purchase a hook and ladder truck, which was manned by the C. H. Tenney H. & L. Company. A system of alarm boxes began in 1888. Edward F. Searles donated a new hose wagon to the town in 1891 and the Mystic Hose Company was renamed the Paul Methuen Hose Company.

Fire apparatus was first kept in an engine house built about 1847/48 to house the hand tub "Spigot" (sic); it was located on the island on the south side of Lowell Street. That building was unable to accommodate the newer equipment purchased after 1870, so the hose wagon and hook and ladder were kept in the basement of the town house (290 Broadway). Construction of the long needed Central Fire Station did not come until 1899. The new station housed three pieces of apparatus, the steamer, hook and ladder, and hose wagon. Stalls for eight horses, (connected with the sewer), hose tower, engineers room, sleeping quarters, recreational rooms, work shops, feed loft and three brass polls were all included in the new building. Although the building was lit by gas, the lights were operated electrically. The sounding of the alarm activated the lights, and also opened the stall doors so that the horses could take their places under harnesses which were suspended from the ceiling.

The station was designed by Lawrence architect John Ashton, and provided a facility which according to the Methuen Transcript was "up-to-date in every respect and a credit to the town." A 1905 article by the Transcript gives additional information on the department and describes major fires which occurred in the town, including the 1849 fire which destroyed the hotel and hotel stable, two other livery stables, five house and and part of the Currier Building in Exchange Square (now Gaunt Square).

Last Updated 9/4/07

 

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