Interior House Painter Andover MA

Andover, Massachusetts
Town
Andover’s Town Hall, located in downtown Andover
Seal
Motto:  “Home of America”
Location in Essex County and the state of Massachusetts
Andover Show map of Massachusetts Andover Show map of the United States Andover Show map of North America
Coordinates: 42°39′30″N 71°08′15″W / 42.65833°N 71.13750°W / 42.65833; -71.13750Coordinates: 42°39′30″N 71°08′15″W / 42.65833°N 71.13750°W / 42.65833; -71.13750
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Essex
Region	New England
Settled	1634
Incorporated	1646
Current geography	1855
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
• Town Manager	Andrew P. Flanagan
• Select Board	Alex J. Vispoli, Chairman Christian C. Huntress Laura M. Gregory Melissa Danisch Ann W. Gilbert
Area
• Total	83.2 km2 (32.1 sq mi)
• Land	80.3 km (31.0 sq mi)
• Water	2.9 km2 (1.1 sq mi)
Elevation	55 m (180 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	36,569
• Density	455.4/km (1,179.6/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code	01810
Area code	351/978
FIPS code	25-01465
GNIS feature ID	0619444
Website	The Official Website of Andover, Massachusetts

Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,569. It is located 20 miles (32 km) north of Boston and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Lawrence. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Andover. It is twinned with its namesake: Andover, Hampshire, England.

History

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.

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.

In May 1646 the settlement was incorporated 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,^[when?] 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.

The two parishes and the division of the town