Andover, MA HyperLocal City Guide featuring Neighborhoods, Zip Codes and Yellow Pages.

Andover has an interesting historical perspective, as well as educational development, and in the arts. The town of Andover is located in Essex County in the northeastern part of Massachusetts, approximately 23 miles north of Boston and is located on the banks of the Merrimack River. Andover has chiefly been a textile producer in the 19th century. The patriotic song America was written in 1831 by Samuel Francis Smith while attending the Andover Theological Seminary. The community went on to become the campus for the Phillips Andover Academy. Phillips Academy, better known as Andover, is a coeducational independent boarding high school with extensive and rigorous academic program along with a diversity of teachers and students.

Sometime in 1776, over 144 acres of farmland was acquired for the purpose of starting a school. A crude carpenter's shop served as a temporary schoolhouse and classes began in 1778. While the Revolution was in full swing, the process of developing a school and serving the war effort was a hand. Samuel Phillips was involved in the Revolution, serving a post in local government, and in the manufacturing of gunpowder in a mill on the Shawsheen River. The school grew in spite of conflict, and over the years became the preparatory school: Phillips Andover Academy. Two preparatory schools, Phillips Andover Academy for boys and Abbot Academy for girls in Andover, merged in 1973. The Addison Gallery of American Art and the Robert S. Peabody Foundation archaeological museum are on the Phillips Andover campus.

A history of witchcraft surfaced in1692. During the course of the suspicious wave that swept Salem Village, and surrounding communities, more than 40 Andover citizens, mostly women, were eventually accused of being involved in witchcraft. About a quarter of them were condemned to death, and as many as three were executed. Many of the rest were imprisoned for months. The story goes that a resident asked for help for his wife from several girls in the village who were said to have the power to detect and cure disease. After visiting her, the girls claimed that several people in Andover had bewitched her.

Accommodations
Andover has some welcoming selections for accommodations. The Wyndham is popular for the corporate or leisure travel; the Staybridge Suites Boston-Andover has separate living and sleeping area.

The Andover Inn is a brick Georgian Mansion dating from 1930. Traditional guest comforts are inviting, and it is located adjacent to Phillips Academy.

Restaurants
Cassis Bistro Francais, a cozy bistro, serves French food amidst the setting of nostalgic authentic decor. The Thai Sweet Basil serves a variety of foods including Fusion and Thai, and the Grassfields Food & Spirits is a frequented restaurant as well.

Shopping
Numerous local malls are within the area of Andover. The Rockingham Mall has variety for shoppers. The Andover Shop, prides itself in having items from domestic and international markets and provides variety in good quality, value, and taste levels.

Major Attractions
The Blanchard House and Barn museum is focused in recreating the life and world of the typical middle class family that inhabited Massachusetts in the early Nineteenth Century. The worthy-of-note history of Andover spans three and a half centuries. Exhibits are featured that include vintage automobiles, and the Andover Contemporary Artist Series, in which the works of locally prominent artists are exhibited.

The admired Robert S. Peabody Museum is one of the nation's major repositories of Native American archaeological collections. Major collections include materials from the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Mexico and the Arctic. They range from Paleo Indian, 10,000 plus years ago, to the current day. Since its founding in 1901 the museum has been a principal center for archaeological research and education.

An 1857, a graduate of Phillips Academy, Robert S. Peabody, wanted to encourage young people's interest in the sciences, foster respect and appreciation for Native American peoples. The record of Native American cultures is reflected in archaeological, ethnographic and documentary collections. It serves as an educational resource for teaching archaeology as an interdisciplinary science at Phillips Academy, and for the extended community and interested public.

Written by: Karen J. Lee