Andover is a town in
Essex County, Massachusetts
Essex County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the total population was 809,829, making it the third-most populous county in the stat ...
, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646.
["Andover" in '']The New Encyclopædia Britannica
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,569. It is located north of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and south of
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
. Part of the town comprises the
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
of
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
* Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Ando ...
. It is
twinned with its namesake:
Andover, Hampshire
Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...
, England.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to
European colonization of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short ter ...
. At the time of European arrival,
Massachusett
The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...
and
Naumkeag
Naumkeag is the former country estate of noted New York City lawyer Joseph Hodges Choate and Caroline Dutcher Sterling Choate, located at 5 Prospect Hill Road, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The estate's centerpiece is a 44-room, Shingle Style c ...
people inhabited the area south of the
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...
and
Pennacook
The Pennacook, also known by the names Penacook and Pennacock, were an Algonquian-speaking Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who lived in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine. They were not a united tribe but a netwo ...
s inhabited the area to the north.
The Massachusett referred to the area that would later be renamed Andover as ''Cochichawick''.
Cochichawick was transferred to English Settlers on May 16th, 1649 by the Sagamore of the Massachusett, Cutshamache. He sold the land known as Cochichawick to Mr. John Woodbrige for the price of 6 pounds and a coat, which he had already received, as well as an agreement that the Massachusett people be allowed to catch Alewives in the Cochichawick river.
Establishment and incorporation
In 1634, the
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
set aside a portion of land in what is now Essex County for an inland plantation, including parts of what is now Andover,
North Andover
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
and South
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
.
In order to encourage settlement, early colonists were offered three years' immunity from taxes, levies, and services (apart from military service). The first permanent settlement in the Andover area was established in 1642 by
John Woodbridge
John Woodbridge VI (1613–1696) was an English nonconformist, who emigrated to New England. He had positions on both sides of the Atlantic, until 1663, when he settled permanently in New England.
Life
John Woodbridge VI was born at Stanton, nea ...
and a group of settlers from
Newbury and
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
.
Shortly after they arrived, they purchased land from the
Massachusett
The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...
sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
Cutshamekin
Cutshamekin (died in 1654) (also spelled Kitchamakin, Kuchamakin, or Cutshumaquin) was a Native American leader, who was a sachem of the Massachusett tribe based along the Neponset River and Great Blue Hill in what is now Dorchester, Massachusett ...
for "six pounds of currency and a coat" on the condition that a local company of indigenous people headed by a man named Roger be allowed to plant corn and take
alewives
The alewife (''Alosa pseudoharengus'') is an anadromous species of herring found in North America. It is one of the "typical" North American shads, attributed to the subgenus ''Pomolobus'' of the genus ''Alosa''. As an adult it is a marine spe ...
from a local water source.
Roger's Brook, a small stream which cuts through the eastern part of town, is named in his honor.
In May 1646 the settlement was incorporated as a town and was named Andover. This name was likely chosen in honor of the town of
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
* Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Ando ...
in England, which was near the original home of some of the first residents. The first recorded town meeting was held in 1656 in the home of settler John Osgood in what is now
North Andover
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
.
The old burying ground in what is now North Andover marks the center of the early town. Contrary to popular belief, the towns split due to the location of the Old North Church, also located in what is now North Andover. The villagers from the southwestern part of the town were tired of walking all the way to the extreme north of what was then Andover and decided to build their own
South Church central to what is now Andover.
Witchcraft
During the 1692
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom w ...
, Andover resident Joseph Ballard asked for help for his wife from several girls in the neighboring
Salem Village
Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...
who were already identifying witches there. After visiting Elizabeth Ballard, the girls claimed that several people in Andover had bewitched her:
Ann Foster, her daughter Mary Lacey Sr. and her granddaughter Mary Lacey Jr. During the course of the legal proceedings, more than 40 Andover citizens, mostly women and their children, were formally accused of having made a covenant with the
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
. Three Andover residents,
Martha Carrier,
Mary Parker, and Samuel Wardwell, were convicted and executed. Five others either pleaded guilty at arraignment or were convicted at trial:
Ann Foster, Mary Lacey Sr., and
Abigail Faulkner Sr. (daughter of Andover's minister,
Francis Dane) in 1692 and Wardwell's wife Sarah and Rev. Dane's granddaughter, Elizabeth Johnson Jr. in 1693. Those who were not executed were granted reprieves by Gov.
William Phips
Sir William Phips (or Phipps; February 2, 1651 – February 18, 1695) was born in Maine in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and was of humble origin, uneducated, and fatherless from a young age but rapidly advanced from shepherd boy, to shipwright, s ...
, but the convictions remained on their records. In 1713, in response to petitions initiated in 1703 by
Abigail Faulkner Sr. and Sarah Wardwell, Massachusetts Governor
Joseph Dudley
Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...
reversed the attainder on the names of those who were convicted in the episode.
The two parishes and the division of the town
By 1705, Andover's population had begun to move southward and the idea of a new meeting house in the south end of town was proposed. This was strongly opposed by the people living near the original meeting house in the north, but the dispute was finally settled in 1709 when the Great and General Court divided Andover into two parishes, North and South. After the division of the two parishes, South Andover established the
South Church and South Parish "Burying-Yard," as it was called, with early Andover settler
Robert Russell the first to be interred at age 80 in December 1710. But despite this split, the town remained politically one unit.
For many years, Andover was geographically one of the largest towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; in 1826 a third parish was established and West Parish Church was constructed on Reservation Road.
In 1855, Andover divided into two separate political units according to the old parish boundaries.
The name Andover was assumed by the West and South parishes, while the name
North Andover
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
was given to the North Parish. How those names were decided upon is still debated to this day, from the reasons being money being paid to one town to keep the name, to there being a controversy over a fire truck affecting the name change.
Andover in the American Revolutionary War
Records show that on the morning of April 19, 1775, approximately 350 Andover men marched toward
Lexington. Although they did not arrive in time for the
battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
that day, they did go on to participate in the battle of Bunker Hill two months later and fought in subsequent skirmishes with the Redcoats during the war.
Among the Andover men who were representatives to the
Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779–1780 The Constitutional Convention of 1779–1780 was the second constitutional convention held in Massachusetts to draft a new state constitution following the state's declaration of independence in 1776. The convention that drafted the proposed const ...
were Colonel
Samuel Osgood
Samuel Osgood (February 3, 1747 – August 12, 1813) was an American merchant and statesman born in Andover, Massachusetts, currently a part of North Andover, Massachusetts. His family home still stands at 440 Osgood Street in North Andover ...
, Zebadiah Abbot, John Farnum and
Samuel Phillips Jr. Phillips—who had founded
Phillips Academy
("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
, address = 180 Main Street
, city = Andover
, state = Ma ...
in 1778—was later appointed by
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
to help draft the Massachusetts state constitution.
During the burning of Charlestown (June 17, 1775) Andover townspeople hiked to the top of Holt Hill to witness it. Holt Hill is the highest point in Essex County at and is currently part of the
Charles W. Ward Reservation.
Post-Revolution Andover
In November 1798,
David Brown led a group in Dedham, Massachusetts, in setting up a
liberty pole
A liberty pole is a wooden pole, or sometimes spear or lance, surmounted by a "cap of liberty", mostly of the Phrygian cap. The symbol originated in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar by a group of R ...
with the words, "No
Stamp Act, No
Sedition Act, No
Alien Bills, No Land Tax, downfall to the Tyrants of America; peace and retirement to the President; Love Live the Vice President," referring to then-President
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
and Vice President
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
. Brown was arrested in Andover, but because he could not afford the $4,000 bail, he was taken to
Salem for trial. Brown was tried in June 1799. Brown wanted to plead guilty but Justice
Samuel Chase
Samuel Chase (April 17, 1741 – June 19, 1811) was a Founding Father of the United States, a signatory to the Continental Association and United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland, and an Associate Justice of th ...
wanted him to name everybody who had helped him or who subscribed to his writings. Brown refused, was fined $480, and sentenced to eighteen months in prison, the most severe sentence then imposed under the
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were a set of four laws enacted in 1798 that applied restrictions to immigration and speech in the United States. The Naturalization Act increased the requirements to seek citizenship, the Alien Friends Act allowed th ...
.
Death of President-elect Pierce's son
On January 4, 1853, Benjamin "Bennie" Pierce, the 11-year-old son of President-elect
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...
, was killed in a train accident in town. The
Boston & Maine
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
noon express, traveling from Boston to Lawrence, was moving at 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) when an axle broke. The only coach, in which Franklin Pierce was also riding, went down an embankment and broke in two. (The baggage car and locomotive remained on the track.) Pierce's son Benjamin was the only passenger killed, but it was initially reported that Franklin Pierce was also a fatality.
American Civil War
![memorial hall library](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Memorial_hall_library.jpg)
The anti-slavery movement had many supporters in Andover long before the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
began. William Jenkins - an ardent abolitionist and friend of
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...
- and several others provided stops on the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
for runaway slaves.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
, author of ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
'', was a longtime resident. Her home, known as ''Stowe House'', is now owned by
Phillips Academy
("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
, address = 180 Main Street
, city = Andover
, state = Ma ...
. Her body is buried in Phillips Academy's cemetery. When the Confederate Army shelled
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a sea fort built on an artificial island protecting Charleston, South Carolina from naval invasion. Its origin dates to the War of 1812 when the British invaded Washington by sea. It was still incomplete in 1861 when the Battl ...
in 1861, a company of 79 volunteers formed. By the time the war ended in 1865, six hundred Andover men had served in the Union Army.
Shawsheen Village
In 1919, 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 ...
announced plans to build a million dollar mill in the already-existing mill community of Frye Village and rename the region "Shawsheen." The village was completely rebuilt as a "model industrial community" and became the site of the company's headquarters. The mill began operating in 1922 and within two years the village contained more than 200 houses, several community buildings, a few tennis courts, a swimming area, a
bowling green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...
, an athletic field and a golf course. The employees rented their homes from the company; the brick structures were reserved for upper management and the wooden buildings for those of lesser position. This industrial
utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
, however, was short-lived - by the early 1940s almost all of the houses and administration buildings were in private hands. The mills became a victim of changing technology as synthetic fibers became more popular than wool. The American Woolen Company closed its mills in 1953, and the buildings today house a variety of businesses, homes, and apartments. The village left its mark nationally, however, when its
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team, the
Shawsheen Indians, won the
national soccer championship in 1925.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of 32.1 square miles (83.2 km
2), of which 31.0 square miles (80.3 km
2) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.9 km
2) (3.49%) is water. Significant water areas include the
Shawsheen River
The Shawsheen River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Merrimack River in northeast Massachusetts. The name has had various spellings. ...
, Fosters Pond, Pomps Pond, and
Haggetts Pond, located in west Andover, which serves as the town's reservoir.
Haggetts Pond was originally set apart from other waters, but since the late 1990s has had waters added from the
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...
, which constitutes half of the town's northern border, to supplement the growing needs of the town. Andover is also home to the Harold Parker State Forest, the
Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...
'
Charles W. Ward Reservation, as well as a very small portion of Lawrence's Den Rock Park. The town's Conservation Commission and privately non-profit
A.V.I.S. (Andover Village Improvement Society) together own around 3000 acres in the town. Other notable reservations in the town include the Harold R. Rafton Reservation and the Deer Jump Reservation (along the banks of the Merrimack). The town is home to many glacial features including drumlins, eskers, and glacial erratics.
Andover's town center is located approximately four miles south of the center of
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
, and is north of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and southeast of
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644.
Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...
. Andover contains the westernmost point of Essex County, along the Merrimack River. It is bordered by Lawrence to the north,
North Andover
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
to the northeast,
North Reading
North Reading (pronounced, as is with Reading as () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,554 at the 2020 census.
History
The area was first settled in 1651 when the town of Reading received a special ...
and
Wilmington to the south,
Tewksbury to the southwest. Andover also borders
Methuen to the northeast; however, the boundary separation is formed by the Merrimack River.
Transportation
Andover is the location of the intersection of
Interstate 93
Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...
and
Interstate 495. The town is also served by
Route 28, which serves as the main road from north to south through town, as well as
Route 133 and
Route 125, a
bypass road
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety. A bypass spec ...
going through the woods of eastern Andover.
Andover has two stops,
Ballardvale and
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
* Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Ando ...
along the
Haverhill/Reading Line of the
MBTA Commuter Rail
The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...
, providing rail service from Haverhill to Boston's
North Station
North Station is a commuter rail and intercity rail terminal station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is served by four MBTA Commuter Rail lines – the Fitchburg Line, Haverhill Line, Lowell Line, and Newburyport/Rockport Line – and the Amtrak ...
. Andover Station is also near the
Third Railroad Station
Andover station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Andover, Massachusetts. It serves the Haverhill Line. The station has one platform with a mini-high platform for handicapped accessibility serving one track, while the second track lacks a platf ...
, a former
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022).
At the end of 1970, B ...
station which is 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 ...
. The nearest small plane service is at
Lawrence Municipal Airport in North Andover, and national service can be found at both
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...
and
Manchester–Boston Regional Airport
Manchester–Boston Regional Airport , commonly referred to as Manchester Airport, is a public use airport south of the central business district of Manchester, New Hampshire, United States on the border of Hillsborough and Rockingham countie ...
, both within thirty miles of the town. Several routes of the
Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority
The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, United States, charged with providing public transportation to an area consisting of the cities and towns of Amesbury, Andover, Boxfo ...
and Route 10 on
Lowell Regional Transit Authority
The Lowell Regional Transit Authority (LRTA) is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to the Greater Lowell area. This primarily includes the city of Lowell and the towns of Billerica, B ...
also service the town. These include both service to Lawrence as well as a weekday commuter bus to Boston.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 31,247 people, 11,305 households, and 8,490 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 11,590 housing units at an average density of 144.3 persons/km
2 (373.8 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the town was 91.60% White, 0.75%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.06%
Native American, 5.73%
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
n, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.81% of the population were
Hispanic or Latino
''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, for example, by the United States ...
of any race.
There were 11,305
household
A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...
s, out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 7.5% had a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 24.9% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.9 males.
According to a 2012 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $118,324, the median family income was $144,685. Males with full-time year-round jobs had a median income higher than $100,000; for females, the median was $62,532. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $53,378. 2.6% of families and 4.2% of the population, including 3.7% of people aged under 18 years and 5.8% of people aged 65 and over, were below the poverty line.
Andover had 217 residents who filed as making at least $1 million in 2011, accounting for one millionaire per every 157 people. The average income for millionaires in Andover was $2,441,000. Using income and other demographic data, Andover ranked 37 out of 490 in a ranking of wealthiest zipcodes in Massachusetts.
Economy
There are several companies headquartered in Andover. One of many companies,
Mercury Systems
Mercury Systems, Inc. is a technology company serving the aerospace and defense industry. It designs, develops and manufactures open architecture computer hardware and software products, including secure embedded processing modules and subsystem ...
, is included in the
S&P 400 Index. Another,
Vicor Corporation
Vicor Corporation is a manufacturer of power modules headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts.
History and overview
Vicor Corporation, incorporated in 1981 in Andover, Massachusetts, designs, manufactures, and markets modular power components ...
, is a part of the
S&P 600 Index. Andover also hosts regional offices for many multinational corporations such as
Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational company that specializes in digital automation and energy management. It addresses homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries, by combining energy technologies, real-time automation ...
,
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
,
Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliz ...
, and
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
.
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
(IRS) has the Andover Campus service center, which for many years
accepted tax forms from several neighboring states. With increasing rates of
e-filing, that function was threatened with phase-out in 2009. The federal employee's union,
National Treasury Employees Union, in mid-2009 pushed for special consideration under the
Troubled Asset Relief Program
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President G ...
for employees threatened with losing jobs. In late 2009, the U.S.
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...
received money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to fund the $85 million Environmentally friendly, green modernization of the 1967 building complex.
Government
Public safety
Law enforcement
The Andover Police Department provides full-time general law enforcement for the town. The town is also served by Troop A of the Massachusetts State Police, operating out of the Andover barracks (A-1).
Fire/EMS
Andover Fire-Rescue provides full-time fire and emergency medical services for Andover. The department has three full-time stations and maintains 4 engines, 2 ladder trucks, 4 ambulances, and 2 forest fire units, as well as miscellaneous vehicles.
2018 gas leaks and explosions
On September 13, 2018, several gas lines suffered leakage due to high pressure in the tubes of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, a subsidiary of NiSource. As a result, several fires and explosions occurred, and homes were evacuated. At the conclusion of the event, over 70 houses suffered from gas-related explosions in the Andover-Lawrence area. Dozens of people were injured and one 18-year-old Lawrence resident was killed.
BBC: Gas-related explosions set fire to homes near Boston, 14 September 2018
/ref>
Arts and culture
Points of interest
*Phillips Academy
("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
, address = 180 Main Street
, city = Andover
, state = Ma ...
, a University-preparatory school, prep school founded in 1778 with List of notable Phillips Academy alumni, many famous alumni.
*The Addison Gallery of American Art on the Phillips Academy campus is open to the public.
*The Andover Inn, an inn on the Phillips Academy campus.
*Andover is the site of a large factory owned by Raytheon, the builder of the Patriot Missile.
*Chandler-Bigsby-Abbot House, built in 1673, is the oldest house in Andover.
*Andover is home to the second oldest land preservation society in the country, the Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS), which controls over .
*Dundee Park (Massachusetts), Dundee Park, a historical mill district and current business park
*Lebanon maintains an honorary consulate on North Main Street, near the Lawrence line near the Andover station (MBTA), Andover train station.
*Harold Parker State Forest is located on the border between Andover, Middleton and North Reading.
Education
Public schools
*Preschools – Shawsheen Preschool Program
*Elementary Schools (K–5): Bancroft, West Elementary, South, Sanborn, High Plain
*Middle Schools (6–8): Doherty, West Middle
*High Schools (9–12): Andover High School (Massachusetts), Andover High School
*Greater Lawrence Technical School, serves grades 9–12
Private schools
*Saint Augustine's Catholic School, serves grades K–8
*The Pike School, serves grades Pre-K–9
*Phillips Academy
("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
, address = 180 Main Street
, city = Andover
, state = Ma ...
, serves grades 9–12 (Post-Grad)
*Andover School of Montessori
Higher education
*Massachusetts School of Law
Notable people
See also
*Ballardvale, Massachusetts
*List of municipalities in Massachusetts
*Feaster Five Road Race, an annual Thanksgiving race in Andover
*Andover, Kansas
*Andover, Hampshire
Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...
, a town in England
Notes
References
Sources
* Farnum, John, Moses Abbott
1795 Map of Andover.
* Dorman, Moses
1830 Map of Andover.
*
* Beers, D.G. 1872 Atlas of Essex Count
1872 Map of Andover. Plate 51.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080620024850/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PLATE_0053.jpg&atlastype=Atlases&atlastown=ESSEX+COUNTY&atlas=ESSEX+COUNTY+1872&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1872&pageprefix= Andover Center. Plate 53
Lawrence South Side. Plate 48.
*
* Walker, George H. 1884 Atlas of Essex County, Massachusett
Map of Andover. Plate 110-111.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080619021311/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PAGE_0112.jpg&atlastype=Atlases&atlastown=ESSEX+COUNTY&atlas=ESSEX+COUNTY+1884&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1884&pageprefix= Frye Village and Ballardville, Andover. Plate 112
Dove Residence Andover. Plate 107.
https://web.archive.org/web/20080619021316/http://www.salemdeeds.com/atlases_pages.asp?ImageName=PAGE_0113.jpg&atlastype=Atlases&atlastown=ESSEX+COUNTY&atlas=ESSEX+COUNTY+1884&atlas_desc=ESSEX+COUNTY+1884&pageprefix= Phillips Academy. Plate 113.]
External links
Town of Andover official website
{{Authority control
Andover, Massachusetts,
Salem witch trials
Populated places on the Underground Railroad
Massachusetts populated places on the Merrimack River
1646 establishments in Massachusetts