Andover, Massachusetts

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Andover
Andover, Town Hall
Andover, Town Hall
Andover's location
Andover ma highlight.png
Basic data
Foundation : 1642 (inc. 1646)
State : United States
State : Massachusetts
County : Essex County
Coordinates : 42 ° 39 ′  N , 71 ° 8 ′  W Coordinates: 42 ° 39 ′  N , 71 ° 8 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents : 31,247 (as of: 2000)
Population density : 389.1 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 83.2 km 2  (about 32 mi 2 ) of
which 80.3 km 2  (about 31 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 55 m
Postal code : 01810
Area code : +1 351,978
FIPS : 25-01465
GNIS ID : 0619444
Website : www.andoverma.gov
Mayor : Reginald Stapczynski

Andover is a town in Essex County , Massachusetts , United States . In 2000, the city, incorporated in 1646, had 31,247 inhabitants. Andover is home to the Phillips Academy , which has graduated from a number of well-known personalities, including the later US Presidents John F. Kennedy , George HW Bush and George W. Bush .

geography

According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has an area of ​​83.2  km² , of which 80.3 km² is land and 2.9 km² (= 3.49%) is water. Part of Andover includes the census-designated place Andover . The Shawsheen River and Haggetts Pond to the west of Andover form significant bodies of water . Haggetts Pond is the city's water reservoir, which has been supplemented by supply lines from the Merrimack River since the late 1990s due to growing water requirements .

Andover is bordered by the following neighboring cities and towns: Lawrence , North Andover , North Reading , Wilmington , Tewksbury , Dracut and Methuen . Methuen and Dracut are on the opposite bank of the Merrimack River and cannot be reached directly from Andover, only via Interstate 93 .

history

Formation and incorporation

In 1634, the Great and General Court of Massachusetts designated an area of ​​land in what is now Essex County for use as a plantation. This area included parts of the present-day cities of Andover, North Andover and South Lawrence. To encourage settlement, the early colonists were given a three-year break from taxation. The first permanent settlement in the area was established in 1641 by John Woodbridge and a group of settlers from Newbury and Ipswich .

Shortly after their arrival, the settlers bought a piece of land from the chief of the local Pennacook for the price of "six pounds in money and a coat" and on the condition that Roger, a local resident of the Pennacook continue to plant his corn and Alosa pseudoharengus from one was allowed to catch the source there. Rogers Brook, a small stream that cuts through the eastern part of the city, is named after him. In May 1646 the settlement was established as a town and was named Andover, most likely after Andover in Hampshire, England, near the home of its first residents. The first assembly of residents was held in 1656 at the home of settler John Osgood.

The old cemetery in what is now North Andover is in the center of what was then the settlement. The area of ​​present-day Andover was not incorporated at the time, but the residents there were tired of walking to the north of present-day North Andover to worship and decided to build their own church in the center of present-day Andover. The early settlers had gathered around the old center in what is now North Andover to better protect themselves from the Indians , but they were quite peaceful - until King Philip's War broke out in 1675 . King Philip was an Indian who organized a revolt against the white settlers in much of New England .

Witch trials

At the time of the Salem witch trials in 1692, Joseph Ballard, a resident of Andover, asked several girls in neighboring Salem for support for his wife. After meeting Elizabeth Ballard, these girls alleged that several residents of Andover had bewitched them, including Ann Foster, her daughter Mary Lacey Sr., and granddaughter Mary Lacey Jr. During the trial, more than forty city residents were indicted, mostly women and men their children for having made a pact with the devil . Three residents of Andover, Martha Carrier, Mary Parker and Samuel Wardwell were convicted and executed. Five others pleaded guilty to indictment or found guilty during the trial, in 1692 Ann Foster, Mary Lacey Sr., and Abigail Faulkner Sr. (the daughter of Francis Dane) and in 1693 Wardwell's wife, Sarah and the granddaughter of Rev. Dane , Elizabeth Johnson Jr. Those who were not executed were granted a reprieve by Governor William Phips , but the convictions remain. It was only on the basis of petitions brought in by Abigail Faulkner Sr. and Sarah Wardwell in 1703 that the then governor of the Massachusetts Colony, Joseph Dudley , canceled the parliamentary condemnation of the names of the convicts in 1713.

Division of the town

Around 1705, the population of Andover began to expand southwards, so the idea of ​​building a new meeting house at the southern end of the city came up. This intention met with resistance from the residents of northern Andover. The dispute was settled in 1709 when the Great and General Court divided Andover into two parishs , a northern and a southern. Politically, however, Andover remained a unit.

For many years, Andover was the largest geographical town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In 1826 a third parish was established and West Parish Church was established on Reservation Road. In 1854 it was decided to split the town into two politically independent units. The boundaries ran along the former parishes, with the name Andover being adopted by the more populous and affluent Parishs to the west and south, and the northern Parish being named North Andover.

Andover during the Revolutionary War

Records show that about 350 men left Andover for Lexington on the morning of April 19, 1775 . Although they did not arrive in time to take part in the Battle of Lexington and Concord that day, they did participate in the Battle of Bunker Hill two months later and fought British troops in various skirmishes during the War of Independence.

Several members of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention envoys were from Andover, including Samuel Osgood , Zebadiah Abbot, and John Farnum, and Samuel Phillips, Jr. - the eventual founder of the Phillips Academy . This was appointed by John Adams to help draft the constitution of the state.

Rail accident on January 6, 1853

The Boston and Maine Railroad's midday express from Boston to Lawrence was traveling at about 40 miles per hour when an axle broke. The only passenger car derailed and fell down the embankment. The locomotive and the baggage car did not derail. Among the occupants of the train were the newly elected, not yet sworn in President of the United States Franklin Pierce with his wife Jane and their son Benjamin, born in 1841. The President-Elect's son was killed in the railway accident. The Pierce couple had previously lost two of their children and the loss of Benjamin was a great burden for the couple. Jane Pierce rarely spoke during her time at the White House and spent much of her time writing letters to the dead children until she died in grief in 1863.

American Civil War

The Memorial Hall Library was built in 1873 to commemorate the 53 Andover soldiers who were killed during the Civil War. It was financed by private donations.

The abolitionists had supporters in Andover long before the Civil War . William Jenkins - a friend of William Lloyd Garrison - and several others provided shelters for the underground railway and helped runaway slaves. The author of Uncle Tom's Cabin , Harriet Beecher Stowe , lived for many years in Andover. Her home now belongs to the Phillips Academy , in whose cemetery she was buried. When the Army of the Breakaway Southern States bombed Fort Sumter in 1861 , a unit of 79 volunteers was formed in Andover. By the end of the war in 1865, around 600 men from Andover had served in the Union Army, 53 losing their lives.

Shawsheen Village

The American Woolen Company announced plans in 1919 to invest one million US dollars in building a spinning mill in Frye Village and renaming it "Shawsheen". The village was completely rebuilt as a model of an industrial estate and the company's headquarters were relocated here. The spinning mill started production in 1922 and within two years the settlement comprised more than two hundred houses, several community buildings, tennis courts, a swimming pool, an athletics facility and a golf course. The houses belonged to the company, which they rented out to the employees. The executives lived in brick buildings, the workers in lower positions were housed in wooden houses. This industrial vision was short-lived. The spinning mills fell victim to changing technologies when synthetic fibers became more popular than wool. The American Woolen Company closed its operations in 1953. Today, the buildings are used for various businesses, apartments and offices. The village still made its calling card nationwide when the local soccer team , the Shawsheen Indians , won the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 1925 .

Demographics

At the time of the 2000 United States Census, Andover was inhabited by 31,247 people. The population density was 389.1 people per km ². There were 11,590 housing units at an average of 144.3 per km ². Andover's population was 91.60% White , 0.75% Black or African American , 0.06% Native American , 5.73% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 0.84% ​​said other races belong to and 0.99% named two or more races. 1.81% of the population declared to be Hispanic or Latinos of any race.

The residents of Andover were distributed to 11,305 households out of which 40.3% were living in children under 18 years of age. 65.6% of households were married, 7.5% had a female head of household without a husband, and 24.9% were not families. 21.6% of households were made up of individuals and someone lived in 9.2% of all households aged 65 years or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.24.

The population was divided into 28.8% minors, 4.7% 18–24 year olds, 27.5% 25–44 year olds, 26.8% 45–64 year olds and 12.3% aged 65 years or more. The average age was 40 years. For every 100 women there were 92.9 men. For every 100 women over 18, there were 87.9 men.

The median household income in Andover was 87,683 US dollars, and the median family income reached the level of 104,820 US dollars. The median income for men was $ 78,291 compared to $ 44,292 for women. The per capita income was $ 41,133. 2.5% of the population and 3.9% of families had an income below the poverty line , including 3.7% of minors and 6.8% of the age group 65 and over.

Educational institutions

Samuel Phillips Hall, the main building of the Phillips Academy

Public schools

The system of public schools in Andover is made up of:

  • Elementary School (through Grade 5): Shawsheen, Bancroft, West Elementary, South, Sanborn, High Plain
  • Middle School (Grades 6-8): Doherty, West Middle, Wood Hill
  • High School (Grades 9-12): Andover High School

Private schools

  • Saint Augustine's, through grade 8
  • The Pike School, up to grade 9
  • Phillips Academy , Grades 9-12
  • Montessori School
  • Greater Lawrence Technical School, Grades 9–12

higher education

traffic

Andover is an important commercial and industrial location due to its proximity to several major Massachusetts roads, including Interstates I-93 , I-95, and I-495 . In Andover there is a stop on the Haverhill – Boston Commuter Rail Line, which connects to Portsmouth and Portland in Woburn or Haverhill by changing trains from Amtrak . Local public transport by bus is organized by the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority .

Attractions

Andover attractions and key features include:

Notable residents of the city

Name variants

The city has a few different names:

  • Cochicawick
  • Cochickawick
  • Cochituit
  • Quichickichick
  • Town of Cochicawick

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Andover, Massachusetts  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sarah Loring Bailey: Historical Sketches of Andover ( English ) 1880.
  2. ↑ Jane Means Appleton Pierce . History Central.com. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Who Was Who in America, Historical volume . Marquis Who's Who, Chicago 1963.
  4. ^ Davis, Charlotte Pease, (compiler). Directory of Massachusetts Place Names. 1st edition. np: Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, 1987. p8
  5. ↑ a b c Galvin, William Francis. Historical Data Relating to Counties, Cities, and Towns in Massachusetts. Boston, Massachusetts: The New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1997. p13
  6. ^ Davis, Charlotte Pease, (compiler). Directory of Massachusetts Place Names. 1st edition. np: Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution, 1987. p6