What to See in Andover - Top Sights and Attractions

Performing arts theater in Andover, Massachusetts. The J. Everett Collins Center for the Performing Arts is a 1,203 seat, publicly owned theatre in Andover, Massachusetts which functions as both a venue for municipal functions and a facility for private rentals. Auditorium space is used for Andover's annual town meetings and functions as an auditorium for Andover High School, connected to its southeast side. The Collins Center houses offices, facilities and classrooms for the school's drama guild, vocal ensembles, orchestra and band. Paying homage to John Everett Collins, the theatre was named after the Andover musician and politician for his service to the community. Once managed by the Andover Endowment for the Arts, Inc. an operations director now acts as manager on behalf of the town for event scheduling.^[2]

Museum in Andover, Massachusetts. The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, formerly known as the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology, is a learning center and archaeological collection in Andover, Massachusetts. Founded in 1901 through a bequest from Robert Singleton Peabody, an 1857 Phillips Academy alumnus, the institute initially held the archaeological materials collected by Peabody from Native American cultures. Peabody's passionate interest in archaeology led him to create the institute at Phillips Academy to encourage young people's interest in the sciences, and to foster respect and appreciation for the Native American peoples who have inhabited that hemisphere for thousands of years.

The Peabody's major collections include artifacts and material from the Southwest, Northeast, Midwest, Mexico, Southeast and the Arctic. The date range represented by these collections spans from Paleo Indian (10,000+ years ago) to the present day.^[3]

Historical place in Andover, Massachusetts. The Central Street District is a historic district encompassing the traditional heart of Andover, Massachusetts prior to the development in the later 19th century of the current town center. It consists mainly of residential and religious properties along Central Street, from Phillips Street in the south to Essex Street in the north. All of the listed properties have frontage on Central Street, even if their addresses are on one of the adjacent streets.

By the late 18th century, Central Street was already an important thoroughfare, connecting Boston and Salem to Haverhill and the traditional center of Andover, now North Andover. The South Church, the first church of present-day Andover, was built along the road in 1709. The current building is a Romanesque Revival structure, built in 1861. The architectural styles of the houses in the district represent a cross section of styles from Federal to Colonial Revival, with none in particular predominating. The houses are generally of high quality construction, and represent their architectural styles well.

In addition to the South Church, the district has two other churches. The oldest of the three is the brick Greek Revival First Baptist Church, built in 1834 by locally noted builder Jacob Chickering. The youngest is the Methodist Church building, a fine Richardsonian Romanesque structure designed by Hartwell and Richardson for a congregation established in 1835.

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.^[5]

Reservoir in Massachusetts. Haggetts Pond is the reservoir for the town of Andover, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the western part of the town and also lends its name to a road. The Merrimack River is connected to the pond to add volume to the reservoir.

It is bordered by Route 133 on the south. Not far to the northwest is Interstate 495; to the northeast is Interstate 93. Haggetts Pond is located at 42°38′36″N 71°12′18″W.

Permissible activities include walking, hiking, jogging biking and fishing. Only registered rowboats are allowed on the reservoir and fishing must be done from either the shoreline or a rowboat (no hip waders). Canoeing or kayaking, windsurfing, sailing, ice skating and ice fishing are prohibited. Swimming, bathing, wading and pets in the water are also prohibited.

Hiking trails, some converted out of a former railway (the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad), encircle the pond.

The Pond also gives its name to a road (Haggetts Pond Road) that starts to the west of the pond itself. Haggetts Pond Road transverses Route 133, but the vast majority of its length is on the side north of the pond. (Of the 245 houses on Haggetts Pond Road, 240 of them are on the north side.)^[6]

Holt Farm is a historic farm built in 1714 by Nicholas Holt's grandson Timothy Holt and located at 89 Prospect Road in Andover, Massachusetts. The house was built on the highest point in Essex County on land granted in Nicholas Holt. In Colonial times the Hill was referred to as Holt Hill but was changed in the late 19th century to Prospect Hill, but reverted to its original name in the early 20th century..6ed.

The first Holt in Andover was Nicholas Holt (1), an early officer of the town, who was a tanner who also ran the ferry across the Shawsheen River. Nicholas Holt's (1) grandson Timothy Holt (3) built his house on the land granted to his father James Holt (2) who was granted the original 100 acres from his father, Nicholas (1). Despite some evidence that Nicholas himself was barely literate, his descendants became known for their academic accomplishments with a long line of ministers and teachers.

Early settlers of Andover, some the Holts, who settled on the "Stoney Plaine", west of Holt Hill, lived near Scotsman Robert Russell (1) 1630–1710. in the part of Andover long known as the 'Scotland District.

Holt Hill and its environs are actually in the Holt District, and named for the local school houses in each neighborhood. Russell, the first person to be interred in the newly designated South Parish burying ground in 1710, had ten children, three of whom married Holts from nearby Holt Farm.

Much of the original Holt Farm now forms portions of the Ward Reservation and is owned by The Trustees of Reservations as a public park.^[9]

Building in Andover, Massachusetts. The Abiel Pearson House is a historic house in Andover, Massachusetts. This Federal style two story house was built c. 1807 for Doctor Abiel Pearson, originally from Byfield, Massachusetts, at the start of High Street near the town center. It was purchased in 1829, two years after Pearson's death by Benjamin Punchard, who lived in the house until 1846. Punchard moved the house to its present location in order to build a new house at the same location. This house he divided into a two family and rented out. The house was sold to John Harding after Punchard's death in 1852, and remained in the hands of his descendants until 1935. The house features elegant Federal details, agreeably extended with a Greek Revival roof balustrade. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.^[15]

The William Foster House is a historic house in Andover, Massachusetts. The core of this house is a three-bay two-story late First Period structure built c. 1720. It was added onto about 1750, adding a two-story one-room ell to the southwest corner of the house. A new chimney core was added on the north side late in the 18th century, and a second two-story wing was added on the northwest. Although the house is traditionally dated to c. 1660, the stylistic construction techniques indicate a later construction date.

The house is also notable for housing a boys' school in the later years of the 18th century, operated by William Foster for students who could not qualify for Phillips Academy. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.^[19]