An independent nonprofit 501c3 history center.
Funded by the generosity of people like you.
Andover joins towns around the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution through programs that highlight the diverse stories of Andover, Essex County, and Massachusetts.
Watch this page for announcements of programs, walking tours, and special events.
Scroll down for more Revolutionary Andover stories.
Andover joins towns around the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution through programs that highlight the diverse stories of Andover, Essex County, and Massachusetts.
Watch this page for announcements of programs, walking tours, and special events.
Scroll down for more Revolutionary Andover stories.
We've got merch!
Show your support for the Car Show and the History Center
Order your 2024 New England Summer Classic Car Show t-shirt, sweatshirt, or hoodie today!
We've got merch!
Show your support for the Car Show and the History Center
Order your 2024 New England Summer Classic Car Show t-shirt, sweatshirt, or hoodie today!
A limited number of t-shirts, in a single color, will be available for purchase at the car show as supplies last. You can order your t-shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie before or after the show.
A limited number of t-shirts, in a single color, will be available for purchase at the car show as supplies last. You can order your t-shirt, sweatshirt, hoodie before or after the show.
Choose your style and color
Choose your style and color
Revolution 250
Revolution 250
More Revolution 250 Programs coming soon!
Welcome General Layfayette!
A collaboration with the American Friends of Lafayette
Saturday, June 21, 2025
More to come throughout 2025 and 2026!
More Revolution 250 Programs coming soon!
Welcome General Layfayette!
A collaboration with the American Friends of Lafayette
Saturday, June 21, 2025
More to come throughout 2025 and 2026!
Phillis Wheatley Peters: Poetry, Slavery and The American Revolution
A talk by Jeanne Pickering,
independent scholar of 18th c New England
Sunday, April 27, 2025 ~ 1:00-2:30pm
The History Center at 97 Main Street
Phillis Wheatley Peters: Poetry, Slavery and The American Revolution
A talk by Jeanne Pickering,
independent scholar of 18th c New England
independent scholar of 18th c New England
Sunday, April 27, 2025 ~ 1:00-2:30pm
The History Center at 97 Main Street
Sunday, April 27, 2025 ~ 1:00-2:30pm
The History Center at 97 Main Street
Phillis Wheatley was a celebrated yet enslaved Revolutionary era poet and the first African-American woman published in America. Her poetry highlighted the causes of equality and freedom and was widely read in America and England by Patriot leaders such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. In 1778, she married and little had been known about her life afterwards. New scholarship has revealed that the Peters family moved to Middleton with unexpected consequences. Jeanne Pickering explains the meaning of Wheatley-Peters’ poetry within the social and political aspects of her time and the extraordinary events that followed her move to Middleton.
Jeanne Pickering is an independent scholar of eighteenth century New England slavery. She holds a MA in History from Salem State University and is the Vice-President of the Topsfield Historical Society.
Second lecture in the series, Freedom and Unfreedom in Essex County
Second lecture in the series, Freedom and Unfreedom in Essex County
The lecture is an in-person presentation. However, all registrants will receive an email the day before the event with a ZOOM option for participation. With this type of ZOOM presentation you will be able to ask questions or make comments in the chat room only. Your questions will be answered live on the ZOOM video after the lecturer has finished the presentation.
The lecture is an in-person presentation. However, all registrants will receive an email the day before the event with a ZOOM option for participation. With this type of ZOOM presentation you will be able to ask questions or make comments in the chat room only. Your questions will be answered live on the ZOOM video after the lecturer has finished the presentation.
"In Support of the Common Cause” ~ The Merrimack Valley Goes to War
A talk by historian and author Alex Cain
Thursday, June 5, 2025 ~ 6:00-7:30pm
The History Center at 97 Main Street
"In Support of the Common Cause” ~ The Merrimack Valley Goes to War
A talk by historian and author Alex Cain
Thursday, June 5, 2025 ~ 6:00-7:30pm
The History Center at 97 Main Street
In October 1774, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress directed towns across the colony to prepare for imminent conflict with England. In response, the Merrimack Valley adopted a wartime posture, forming minute companies, stockpiling weapons, ammunition, and supplies, and establishing a defense network ready to mobilize if British forces advanced from Boston. Join Alexander Cain as he examines the Merrimack Valley's response, focusing on Andover, to the British threat and explores the region's buildup to war, the formation of the Massachusetts minute-man system just before the battles of Lexington and Concord, and Andover's role in the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Alexander Cain is a well-respected and highly sought-after speaker who frequently lectures on the military and social influences of 1775 Massachusetts. He has published multiple research articles that have shed new light on the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, the Siege of Boston, and the loyalist refugee experience during the American Revolution. Alex has also published two books, We Stood Our Ground: Lexington in the First Year of the American Revolution and I See Nothing but the Horrors of a Civil War and is the author of the blog and podcast “Historical Nerdery.” Alex directs a Merrimack Valley-based vocational program that introduces high school students to advanced manufacturing and skilled trades careers.
The lecture is an in-person presentation. However, all registrants will receive an email the day before the event with a ZOOM option for participation. With this type of ZOOM presentation you will be able to ask questions or make comments in the chat room only. Your questions will be answered live on the ZOOM video after the lecturer has finished the presentation.
The lecture is an in-person presentation. However, all registrants will receive an email the day before the event with a ZOOM option for participation. With this type of ZOOM presentation you will be able to ask questions or make comments in the chat room only. Your questions will be answered live on the ZOOM video after the lecturer has finished the presentation.
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.
