Nearly every subdivision, factory, private or public building in Andover once had the soil they are built upon, cultivated by a farmer. From our beginning as a community when the first settlers arrived the land was portioned out for the families in increments of four, eight and sixteen acre parcels to build a home and barn. Regardless of their professional skills, every family's survival depended on the land for food, clothing, wood to build and fuel to burn.
The last great land division in Andover occurred in 1660 as farms spread out to all the boundaries of the town. None of the early farms, however, had contiguous land. For some residents their best fields could be six miles from the village center where they were required to live. Town Proprietors passed an ordinance in March of 1660 prohibiting any inhabitant to live on their outlying land. Residents must remain in their original homestead within the proximity and safety of the town center and meeting house.
In 1686 the town set aside forever a common grazing pasture for sheep on the plain near Ballard's Pond (Haggetts Pond). Herdsman and children were expected to keep the sheep from roaming into surrounding farms. Stones dragged out of the fields on drays pulled by oxen were hand stacked creating walls to mark farm boundaries and keep livestock in. Farmers were allowed to build small one room sheds on their distant lots to seek shelter, store supplies or house livestock. As the population grew and shifted west of the center these structures were enlarged, remodeled or replaced by new houses
Farmers bartered and sold their land lots in an attempt to create cohesive farms. Crops were sold in cities to the south and used as payment for goods and services. Farms were passed on through inheritance to the sons who continued to work the land. Many early wills provided widows with annual payments of bushels of corn or grain, also allowing them use of half the barn, well water and root cellars from inheriting sons.
By 1850 Andover had two turnpikes (Routes 28 and 114) and rail service to Boston and the new city of Lawrence. Produce and goods could be shipped quickly to markets both locally and to the larger population centers. Farmers began to concentrate on specialized crops to fit the demand of the market. Orchards in town produced 20,865 bushels of apples in 1850. In addition, 11,365 quarts of strawberries, over 28,000 bushels of potatoes 350,000 heads of cabbage and 111,500 lbs of squashes were raised. Domestic animals were bred for beef, pork and veal and milk. In 1900 there were 1,170 cows in town on 70 dairy farms which numbers remained steady for nearly 30 more years. Poultry farms of chickens and turkeys were a common sight in West Andover.
Most of the older farms were sold after the turn of the century to new immigrants, mainly to the Armenian community, who continued the tradition of raising vegetables on what has become know as Truck Farms. After the construction of Interstate 93 and Route 495 in the 1960s, many farms were lost to land acquisition for the federal highways. Trucking goods to market became a matter of minutes rather than hours but so did the commute to Boston. Developers sought land for sub-divisions and slowly the farms gave way to houses and industrial complexes. Andover became a bedroom community by the mid 1970s and has continued unabated to this day. In 1980, only one cow was registered on any remaining farm.
"Andover Stories" is a weekly column about interesting local people and events, told in anticipation of the Andover Historical Society's 100 anniversary in 2011.
