Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to
European colonization of the Americas. At the time of European arrival,
Massachusett and
Naumkeag people inhabited the area south of the
Merrimack River and
Pennacooks 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 16, 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 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 and South
Lawrence. 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 and a group of settlers from
Newbury and
Ipswich. Shortly after they arrived, they purchased land from the
Massachusett sachem Cutshamekin 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 from a local water source. Roger's Brook, a small stream which cuts through the eastern part of town, is named in his honor. as a town and was named Andover. This name was likely chosen in honor of the town of
Andover 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. 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, Andover resident Joseph Ballard asked for help for his wife from several girls in the neighboring
Salem Village 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. 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, 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 reversed the
attainder on the names of those who were convicted in the episode.
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.
Post-Revolution Andover In November 1798,
David Brown led a group in
Dedham, Massachusetts, in setting up a
liberty pole 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 and Vice President
Thomas Jefferson. 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 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.
Death of President-elect Pierce's son On January 4, 1853, Benjamin "Bennie" Pierce, the 11-year-old son of President-elect
Franklin Pierce, was killed in a train accident in town. The
Boston & Maine 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 , which was constructed in 1873 in memory of the 53 Andover men who lost their lives during the Civil War, was financed through private donations. The anti-slavery movement had many supporters in Andover long before the
Civil War began. William Jenkinsan ardent abolitionist and friend of
William Lloyd Garrisonand several others provided stops on the
Underground Railroad for runaway slaves.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin, was a longtime resident. Her home, known as Stowe House'', is now owned by
Phillips Academy. Her body is buried in Phillips Academy's cemetery. When the Confederate Army shelled
Fort Sumter 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 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, 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, 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 team, the
Shawsheen Indians, won the
national soccer championship in 1925.
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. ==Geography==