North Andover, MA

Founded in 1646, North Andover is a charming town located along the Merrimack River with a rich industrial and literary past.

There are several first period (pre-1720) houses still standing in town. North Andover’s development was varied, with much of the land along the Shawsheen and Merrimack Rivers 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’s manufacturing division, which supplied telephone machinery for many years before it was split up by AT&T into the new company, Lucent Technologies. Converse, the popular sneaker company, was headquartered in North Andover from 2002 to 2015,

North Andover is also home to Merrimack College.  The town has many parks and green space — Weir Hill offers trails for hiking, walking, biking, and vistas; Harold Parker State Forest offers 25 miles of trails, a campground, and a freshwater swimming beach.

Today, North Andover is considered a bedroom community of the Greater Boston area. In 2023, North Andover was identified by MoneyGeek.com as the 14th safest town in America, and in 2003 was selected by Money Magazine as the “Fifth Best Community to live in on the East Coast”.