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A Brief History of Andover
A Brief History of Andover
1855 Andover and North Andover split
Two issues led to the eventual split of the town into Andover and North Andover: Where to hold annual Town Meeting, and where to build the new state-mandated high school.
Where to locate the new high school?
The location of the new high school was decided in 1850 when South Parish resident Benjamin Punchard bequeathed $50,000 for the establishment of a free high school in the South Parish. North Parish students were allowed to attend the new Punchard High School until a school could be built in the North.
Where to hold Town Meeting?
Since 1781, Town Meeting alternated between the North and South Parishes. By the mid-19th century the population of Andover had grown and Town Meetings were so crowded that men stood, “stowed thick as stalks in a field of rye,” throughout the 4 or 5 hour meeting. A solution had to be found, but town residents could not agree on where the new town meeting house would be built.
The Towns Separate
At annual meeting in 1854, a vote was taken on the viability of dividing the town between the North and South Parishes. The non-binding measure passed 401 to 102. Debate raged in local newspapers over the names of the two towns, fire-fighting equipment, and care of the town’s poor. The Massachusetts State Legislature passed the Act of Separation April 7, 1855.
The names of the towns was settled when Gayton Osgood of the North Parish stood up at a meeting and declared that he liked the name North Andover, and so the South and West Parishes paid North Parish $500 for the right to keep the name Andover.
In 1858, three years after the two towns separated, the issue of a facility large enough to hold Andover’s Town Meetings was resolved when the Andover Town House opened its doors.
Reference: Juliet Haines Mofford, Andover Massachusetts: Historical Selections from Four Centuries
Preserving the pastEducating for the future
Connecting with our community
Preserving the past
Educating for the future
Connecting with our community
Andover Center for History & Culture
97 Main Street
Andover, MA 01810
978-475-2236
Andover Center for History & Culture
97 Main Street
Andover, MA 01810
978-475-2236
The History Center is funded by individual, foundation, and corporate donations and receives no Town of Andover funding.
Show your commitment to Andover's history by donating today.
The History Center is funded by individual, foundation, and corporate donations and receives no Town of Andover funding.
Show your commitment to Andover's history by donating today.
Show your commitment to Andover's history by donating today.
