Center Street was one of the first streets to experience residential development due to the expansion of the Arlington Mills, located to the west on the banks of the Spicket River. It lies in what is now the Arlington Mills Historic District, the area immediately to the west along Stevens Pond of the Spicket River. The mills employed thousands of workers who lived in Lawrence and Methuen, but owned comparatively little housing. This residence, built about 1880, is one of the few surviving example of an early two family duplex house (side by side house) seen in mill housing area. It is a particularly well-preserved example in an area where there has been considerable demolition and alteration, although it has lost some of its decorative elements due to the application of siding and a new roof.
