Andover Biography - William Wood

This is a record in progress.

William Madison Wood was born in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard on June 18, 1858, to immigrant parents from the Portuguese Azores. He had to go to work to support his family at age 13 when his father died. He began working in the New Bedford cotton mills and quickly rose through the ranks.

When Frederick Ayer asked Wood to save his unprofitable cotton mills, Wood came to Lawrence in 1886 as a manager at Washington Mill, but quickly was promoted to treasurer. He advocated combining mills to save costs and created the American Woolen Company by combining eight mills in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. In 1899 he became president of the American Woolen Company. the American Woolen Company largest worsted wool manufacturing company in the world in 1899.

In January of 1912 when the work week was reduced from 56 to 54 hours by order of the Massachusetts Legislature, Wood reduced the workers' pay accordingly. This was the impetus for the Bread and Roses Strike in 1912.

After World War I Wood brought the American Woolen Company headquarters to Andover and renamed Frye Village to Shawsheen Village. For the managers he built a planned community consisting of brick homes for the high level managers and white wooden homes for the lower level managers. He also built recreational facilities including a golf course, a pool and a club house. He even built a drug store.

Plaque on the corner of Lowell and North Main Streets describes him as an industrial genius, a humanitarian, and a great benefactor of youth. This terminology was specified as conditions of the bequest to the Town by William Wood's grandson Cornelius. a portion of the bequest for the memorial to William Wood the rest to be used for "public purposes". Money given by the estate of William Wood's son Cornelius.

Built the West Parish Church and is buried in the West Parish cemetery.

After several strokes, took his life in 1926 at the age of 67

See

• Andover Stories: William Wood Andover's Horatio-Alger", Townsman, June 2, 2002.
• "Larsen Launches Discussion on Wood Memorial", Townsman, January 20, 2000, page 6.
• Mills, Mansions and Mergers: The Life of William M. Wood, by Edward G. Roddy
• "Mill Owner Led the World in Wool Manufacturing", Eagle Tribune, November 4, 1999, page 21

• "Wood: Andover Honors Controversial Figure", Eagle Tribune, Januart 13, 2000, page 1 and 2

--Eleanor 11:37, January 3, 2013 (EST) back to Main Page