Editing North Andover, Massachusetts (section)

==History==

[[Native Americans in the United States|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|Naumkeag]] people inhabited the area south of the [[Merrimack River]] and [[Pennacook]]s inhabited the area to the north. The Massachusett referred to the area that would later become North Andover as ''Cochichawick''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Perley|first=Sidney|url=http://archive.org/details/indianlandtitles00perl|title=The Indian land titles of Essex County, Massachusetts|date=1912|publisher=Salem, Mass.: Essex Book and Print Club|others=The Library of Congress}}</ref>

The lands south of the [[Merrimack River]] around [[Lake Cochichewick]] and the [[Shawsheen River]] were set aside by the [[Massachusetts General Court]] in 1634 for the purpose of creating an inland plantation. The Cochichewick Plantation, as it was called, was purchased on May 6, 1646, when Reverend [[John Woodbridge]], who had settled the land for the English, paid [[Massachusett]] [[sachem]] [[Cutshamekin]] six pounds and a coat for the lands.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sprague |first1=William Buell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L3lUAAAAYAAJ |title=Annals of the American pulpit |volume=1 |publisher=R. Carter and brothers |year=1859 |page=129 |access-date=2015-04-16 }}</ref>  The plantation was then incorporated as [[Andover, Massachusetts|Andover]], most likely in honor of the hometown of many early residents, [[Andover, Hampshire]], England.  The town was centered in what is now North Andover, but the spread of settlement south and west of the old town center created much conflict in the early years about the location of the parish church.  In 1709, the matter was brought to the General Court, which set aside two parish churches, north and south.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bailey |first1=Sarah Loring |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xf7UNTRnW4gC |title=Historical Sketches of Andover (comprising the Present Towns of North Andover and Andover), Massachusetts |publisher=Houghton, Mifflin |year=1880 |access-date=2018-01-24 }}</ref>  The parishes grew apart as the years went on and on April 7, 1855, the North parish separated from the south and was incorporated as North Andover.

There are several first-period (pre-1720) houses still standing in town.  The oldest house is the Bridges House, relocated from Marbleridge Road to Court Street in 2001; the original portion of this house dates to about 1690.  Other first-period houses include the Stevens House on Great Pond Road; the Faulkner House on Appleton Street; the [[Abiel Stevens House]] on Salem Street; the [[Parson Barnard House]], which is a museum; a house on Andover Street near the intersection with Chickering Road; and the [[Carlton-Frie-Tucker House]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=nad.286|title=NRHP nomination for Carlton-Frie-Tucker House|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=2015-08-05}}</ref> at 140 Mill Road.  No house in North Andover has been scientifically dated by [[dendrochronology]], so dates are based solely on stylistic elements, original deeds, and tradition.

The [[North Parish Church (North Andover, Massachusetts)|North Parish Church]] on the North Andover Green is a historic church building built in 1836.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nearchitecture.com/buildings/ma/north_parish_church.html|title=North Parish Church - Photographs & History|website=www.nearchitecture.com|access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref>  It was the 5th meetinghouse of the Puritan church congregation founded in 1645 in North Andover. In about 1836, the congregation became a Unitarian church and commissioned this Gothic building.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meeting House History of the Friends of the 1836 Meeting House of North Andover |url=https://www.1836meetinghouse.org/history |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=Friends of the 1836 Meeting House |language=en-US}}</ref>

North Andover's development was varied, with much of the land along the Shawsheen and Merrimack being concerned with industry, and the lands southwest being more agricultural.  Several mills were located in the town, as well as the [[Western Electric Company]], [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T's]] manufacturing division, which supplied telephone machinery for many years before AT&T split it up into the new company, [[Lucent Technologies]]. Today, North Andover is considered a [[Commuter town|bedroom community]] of the Greater [[Boston]] area.

In January 2018, voters turned down a proposal for a [[Cannabis cultivation|cannabis-growing]] and research facility in the former Lucent Technologies building, along the Merrimack River. The town meeting vote was 1,430 against having [[recreational marijuana]] facilities and 1,155 voted in favor. The growing and research facility was expected to bring the town $100 million over a 20-year period.<ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Dan |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/01/30/north-andover-rejects-proposal-for-pot-farm/BfB2nvcin1S8Rez3Iph1tN/story.html |title=North Andover rejects proposal for pot farm |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |date=2018-01-31 |access-date=2018-01-31 }}</ref>