North Andover is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Essex County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, 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 colonization of the Americas During the Age of Discovery, a large scale colonization of the Americas, involving a number of European countries, took place primarily between the late 15th century and the early 19th century. The Norse explored and colonized areas of Europe a ...

. At the time of European arrival, Massachusett and Naumkeag 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 M ...

and Pennacooks inhabited the area to the north. The Massachusett referred to the area that would later become North Andover as ''Cochichawick''. The lands south of the

around Lake Cochichewick and the Shawsheen River were set aside by the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

in 1634 for the purpose of creating an inland plantation. The Cochichewick Plantation, as it was called, was purchased on May 6, 1646, when Reverend John Woodbridge, who had settled the land for the English, paid Massachusett

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 Alg ...

Cutshamekin six pounds and a coat for the lands. The plantation was then incorporated as Andover, most likely in honor of the hometown of many early residents,

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the River Test, Test, and lies alongside the major A303 road, A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, ...

, England. The town was centered in what is now North Andover, but the spread of settlement south and west of the old town center created much conflict in the early years about the location of the parish church. In 1709, the matter was brought to the General Court, which set aside two parish churches, north and south. The parishes grew apart as the years went on and on April 7, 1855, the North parish separated from the south and was incorporated as North Andover. There are several first-period (pre-1720) houses still standing in town. The oldest house is the Bridges House, relocated from Marbleridge Road to Court Street in 2001; the original portion of this house dates to about 1690. Other first-period houses include the Stevens House on Great Pond Road; the Faulkner House on Appleton Street; the Abiel Stevens House on Salem Street; the Parson Barnard House, which is a museum; a house on Andover Street near the intersection with Chickering Road; and the Carlton-Frie-Tucker House at 140 Mill Road. No house in North Andover has been scientifically dated by

dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of chronological dating, dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in a tree. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, ...

, so dates are based solely on stylistic elements, original deeds, and tradition. The North Parish Church on the North Andover Green is a historic church building built in 1836. It was the 5th meetinghouse of the Puritan church congregation founded in 1645 in North Andover. In about 1836, the congregation became a Unitarian church and commissioned this Gothic building. North Andover's development was varied, with much of the land along the Shawsheen and Merrimack being concerned with industry, and the lands southwest being more agricultural. Several mills were located in the town, as well as the Western Electric Company, AT&T's manufacturing division, which supplied telephone machinery for many years before AT&T split it up into the new company,

Lucent Technologies Lucent Technologies, Inc. was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications equipment company headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was established on September 30, 1996, through the div ...

. Today, North Andover is considered a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

of the Greater

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

area. In January 2018, voters turned down a proposal for a cannabis-growing and research facility in the former Lucent Technologies building, along the Merrimack River. The town meeting vote was 1,430 against having recreational marijuana facilities and 1,155 voted in favor. The growing and research facility was expected to bring the town $100 million over a 20-year period.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 5.18%, is water. The town lies to the south of the

, which makes up part of its northwestern boundary, along with the Shawsheen River. The northeastern quadrant of town is dominated by Lake Cochichewick, which is also bordered by the Osgood Hill Reservation, Weir Hill Reservation, and the Reas Pond Conservation Area. The town is also home to portions of Harold Parker State Forest, Boxford State Forest, and the Charles W. Ward Reservation. There are many brooks, streams, and ponds dotting the town. North Andover lies in the northwestern portion of Essex County along the Merrimack and Shawsheen Rivers. It is bordered by Andover and North Reading to the southwest, Lawrence and Methuen to the northwest, Haverhill to the northeast, Boxford to the east and Middleton to the southeast. North Andover's Old Center, which is closer to the geographic center of town than its newer town center, is located southeast of Lawrence's city center and is north of Boston and southeast of

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

. Interstate 495 crosses through the western part of town along the Lawrence border, with one exit within the town and two more providing access to the town from Lawrence. The town lies along Massachusetts Route 114, known as the "Salem Turnpike," and is also served by Route 125 and Route 133, which are concurrent for much of their routes within town. The Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority bus line partially serves the town. The nearest train station is located in Lawrence, where the Lawrence stop along the Haverhill/Reading Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail lies (the line actually passes through the town along the Merrimack, but there is no stop). North Andover is also home to the Lawrence Municipal Airport, providing small aircraft service to the region. The nearest national service, at Logan International Airport and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, is within a thirty-mile ride of the town.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 28,352 people, 10,516 households, and 7,324 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 10,964 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 88.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.78%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.09% Native American, 6.31% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.62% from other races, and 1.50% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 4.93% of the population. There were 10,516 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.4% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.19. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males. As of the 2017 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the town was $105,661, and the median income for a family was $132,674. Males had a median income of $68,411 versus $42,270 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $51,658. 5.1% of the population and 2.9% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. 5.2% of those under the age of 18 and 4.0% of those 65 and older were living below the

Government and infrastructure

North Andover employs the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a five-member

Select Board The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three is the most common num ...

and a town manager, Melissa Rodrigues. The town has its own police and fire departments, EMS, public works, and a senior center. North Andover has no hospital, the nearest being Lawrence General Hospital. On the state level, the town is served by Essex County services and is patrolled by the First Barracks of Troop A of the

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

, based in Andover. North Andover lies in two districts, the Fourteenth Essex and Eighteenth Essex, in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

, and the First Essex and First Essex and Middlesex in the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the st ...

. North Andover is located within Massachusetts's 6th congressional district, and has been served by Representative Seth Moulton (D) since 2015. Massachusetts' senior Senator is

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

(D), and its junior Senator is

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

(D), both in office since 2013. North Andover has no mayor, but, until his death in 2006, William P McEvoy, the director of recreation, was known as the "unofficial mayor". Old Center of North Andover Massachusetts in 2016

Old Center of North Andover Massachusetts in 2016

Media

North Andover is located within the Boston media market and is served by the Eagle-Tribune newspaper.

Education

North Andover is home to its own school system. It has an early childhood center, five elementary schools (Atkinson Elementary, Franklin Elementary, Kittredge Elementary, Annie L. Sargent Elementary, Thomson Elementary), North Andover Middle School, and North Andover High School. On May 16, 2017, the citizens of North Andover approved the expansion of the early childhood center, which opened for the 2018–2019 school year. The primary reason behind this expansion was to reduce elementary class size, which it failed to realize. In 2004, a new high school and complete sporting complex were added, including a football field, a soccer field, field hockey greens, and a lacrosse field. There is a complete track and field area and numerous tennis courts. North Andover's mascot is the Scarlet Knight and its colors are scarlet and black. It competes in the Merrimack Valley Conference and Division II of the MIAA. Its main rival is Andover, who it plays in the annual Thanksgiving Day football game. High school students from North Andover are also allowed to attend

Greater Lawrence Technical School Greater Lawrence Technical School, established in 1965, is a four-year regional technical high school, located in Andover, Massachusetts, United States. It serves the communities of Andover, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Lawrence, Methuen, Massachuset ...

in Andover. North Andover has two private schools: Brooks School and Saint Michael's Elementary School. The nearest private high schools include

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover (9–12), Austin Preparatory School (6–12), Central Catholic High School (9–12), which are located in the nearby towns of Andover and Reading, and the city of Lawrence. North Andover is also home to

Merrimack College Merrimack College is a Private university, private Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian university in North Andover, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1947 by the Order of St. Augustine with an initial goal to educate World War II veterans. It en ...

, a Catholic Augustinian four-year college. The nearest public community college, based in Haverhill, is Northern Essex Community College, which also has a campus in Lawrence and a Corporate & Community Education Center in North Andover. The nearest public university is University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell).

Economy

Barker's Farm, which started in 1643, is the oldest continually operated business in Massachusetts and among the oldest in the United States. Converse, the popular sneaker company, was headquartered in North Andover from 2002 to 2015.

Amazon

On April 8, 2024, Amazon opened an automated warehouse in North Andover, employing over 1,500 people.

Entertainment

Residents of North Andover can purchase a summer pass to Steven's Pond to swim. Nearby Weir Hill offers trails for hiking, walking, biking, and views of the surrounding area and beyond. Many events are held at the old town center, including the

sheep shearing Sheep shearing is the process by which the Wool, woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. The person who removes the sheep's wool is called a ''Sheep shearer, shearer''. Typically each adult sheep is shorn once each year (depending upon dialect, ...

festival in late spring and various summer activities for children and adults. The North Andover Youth Center is also located in the old town center and offers a variety of activities to the town's youth. These services are offered to kids in grades 6 through 12, and yearly passes can be purchased to gain full access to the facilities.

Harold Parker State Forest Harold Parker State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features encompassing more than in the towns of Andover, North Andover, North Reading, and Middleton, Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commo ...

offers of trails, a campground, and a freshwater swimming beach. Other activities include horseback riding, camping, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, and hiking. In September there is also an annual fishing tournament. Boxford State Forest is also located in town and is home to the Sharpner's Pond Anti-Ballistic Missile Site. The Col. John Osgood House, a historic house, is also in North Andover.

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 NiSource Inc. is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.5 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands ...

. As a result, several fires and explosions occurred, and homes were evacuated.

Notable people

* Colin Blackwell, ice hockey forward for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

* Cliff Bleszinski, game designer (''

Gears of War ''Gears of War'' (also referred to as ''Gears'') is a media franchise centered on a series of video games created by Epic Games, developed and managed by The Coalition (company), The Coalition, and owned and published by Xbox Game Studios. The ...

'') *

Anne Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet (née Dudley; March 8, 1612 – September 16, 1672) was among the most prominent of early English poets of North America and the first writer in England's North American colonies to be published. She is the first Puritan ...

, poet *

Simon Bradstreet Simon Bradstreet (baptized March 18, 1603/4In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on March 25. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, dates between January and Ma ...

, Anne's husband, minister and co-founder of

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

* Jake Bobo, NFL wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks * Phillips Brooks, minister of Trinity Church, Boston and great-grandson of the founder of

Jake Burton Carpenter Jake Burton Carpenter (April 29, 1954 – November 20, 2019), occasionally also known as Jake Burton or Jakie, was an American snowboarder, founder of Burton Snowboards, and one of the inventors of the modern day snowboard. A native of New ...

, founder of

Burton Snowboards Burton Snowboards is a privately-owned snowboard manufacturing company that was founded by Jake Burton Carpenter in 1977. The company specializes in products aimed at snowboarders, such as snowboards, bindings, boots, outerwear, and accessor ...

* Mike Cavanaugh, head ice hockey coach at

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

* Jace Clayton, DJ, writer, interdisciplinary artist * Joey Daccord, NHL Player *

Daniel Dennett Daniel Clement Dennett III (March 28, 1942 – April 19, 2024) was an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. His research centered on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those ...

, philosopher and

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

* Zak DeOssie, former long snapper for the New York Giants, NFL linebacker * Bobby Farnham, professional ice hockey player * Dorothy Farnum, silent film-era screenwriter * Jamie Hagerman, Olympic ice hockey player * Steve Heinze, former NHL player * Charles Jencks, architect and philanthropist * George B. Loring, member of the US House of Representatives and career politician * John U. Monro, dean of Harvard College * Samuel Osgood, first Postmaster General of the United States * Samuel Phillips Jr., founder of

* Richard D. Smith, renowned chemist in the area of proteomics *

James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...

, screen and TV actor (''Boston Legal'' and ''The Blacklist'') * Issac Stevens, first governor of

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

* Moses Stevens, textile manufacturer * Oliver Stevens, Suffolk County district attorney * Sidney J. Watson, former NFL player, former college ice hockey coach, and US Hockey Hall of Fame inductee

References

External links

Town of North Andover official website

Historical maps

* John Farnum and Moses Abbot 179
Map of Andover.
Click on the map for larger image. * Dorman, Moses
1830 Map of Andover
including what would later become North Andover. * Beers, D.G. 1872 Atlas of Essex Count
Map of North Andover
plate 55. * Walker, George H. 1884 Atlas of Essex Count
Map of North Andover
page 121. {{Authority control Populated places established in 1644 1644 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony Massachusetts populated places on the Merrimack River