Photo of the Week

May 13th, 2012 by Gina Sawaya

1992.1130

Although this lovely structure no longer stands, its site is in the heart of Phillips Academy. This is the Andover Theological Seminary, the first graduate institution in the nation. It was founded in 1808. 

In Boston, a conflict was rising between Congregationalism and the new beliefs and Unitarianism. Eliphalet Pearson, the first principal at Phillips Academy, got funding from Phillips to build the Seminary to counter Unitarianism. The Seminary trained hundreds of ministers and thousands of missionaries in four major subjects: the Bible, doctrinal theology, church history, and practical arts. Students first obtained an undergraduate degree, then studied under a minister. This structured religious immersion counteracted Unitarianism around the world.

Andover missionaries traveled around the world to spread Congregationalism and publicize Andover. Thanks to the work of these missionaries, the Bible was translated into 13 new languages, and Andover students had the oppurtunity to learn 10 languagues.

In the 1880′s, enrollment dwindled as conservitism swept the country. In 1908, the school moved to Cambridge, but eventually merged with The Newton Theological Institution to become The Andover Newton Theological School. Although today Andover is known for Phillips Academy, The Andover Theological Seminary really put Andover on the map.

See the school here: http://www.ants.edu/

Source: http://www.andovertownsman.com/local/x935816127/Andovers-Stories-Andover-Theological-Seminary-put-Andover-education-on-world-map

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Photo of the Week

May 6th, 2012 by Gina Sawaya

1990.082.2

Located in West Andover, Turtle Mound may be the oldest stone structure in America. This lovely collection of rocks overlooks Haggetts Pond. An aerial view of the mound resembles a turtle. By going inside the turtle, like this woman is doing, you can step into two stone 8-by-10 rooms.

Turtle Mound used to be on the property of M. Harnois. Harnois built a shrine inside of the caves in 1914. There is still evidence of the shrine today.

In 1951, Frank Glynn, a Yale archeologist, uncovered the history of Turtle Mound by using carbon dating. Glynn found a layer of charcoal and human bones on the ground, indicating the cave was used for creamation and ceremonies. Glynn also discovered that the cave has been around since 2000 B.C., and he even found prehistoric tools, like spear heads and drills. So if you’re ever in West Andover and in need of an outdoor ceremony…

Source: http://www.mhl.org/answers/index.php/Turtle_Mound

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Photo of the Week

April 29th, 2012 by Gina Sawaya

1991.563

I know it’s the beginning of Spring and you’re probably not thinking about snow, so I’ll keep this post short and sweet.

In 1898, a snow storm hit New England hard. Throughout Frebruary, blizzards trampled on Andover. Telephone services were almost completely cut off, and Andover residents had trouble traveling for days. Many trains were cancelled or delayed due to the snow and ice build-up on the tracks. Hundreds of men were employed to remove the snow from major roads like Main Street. Plowing services and shovelers cleared the streets and dumped the snow in lot next to the Tyer Rubber Company, which is now the Andover Public Safety Center.

After the blinding sheets of snow ceased, these two kids made an igloo in the mountain of snow on the intersection of Salem Street and Highland Road.

That concludes Disaster Month, brought to you by the Photo of the Week blog!

All information gathered from the Andover Townman, Friday February 11 1898, Vol XI No 18.

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Can You Dig It? Was a Success!

April 26th, 2012 by Caitlin Wyler

Attendees participated in a simulation canvas dig of the Blanchard House.

On April 19th, the Andover Historical Society  hosted  eight children at our newest program  Can You Dig It? Andover Archaeology.  All of the participants had a lot of fun learning about archaeology and taking part in fun hands-on activities. The cookie excavation was a crowd favorite.  Each child carefully excavated M&Ms and chocolate chip “artifacts” from the cookie “site” doing their best to keep the “artifact” intact.  It was hard work and the kids realized that they had to be very careful to prevent any damage.  Once the artifacts were excavated we turned our stomachs into museums to store the artifacts.   One of the participants, Ashlyn, said “My stomach is happy!

This participant is carefully excavating an M&M from a cookie!

At one point, objects from the Blanchard House were interpreted by the children.   The children learned how to look closely at  a variety of objects to determine what they were and how they were used.  Some of the objects were very unique and the children had never seen such things before.   As the children gained a critical eye   and determined what several of the artifacts were! Another favorite part of the program was using the “coil and scrape” method to make clay pots.  This Native American pottery method was used in the Northeast for thousands of years. Using experimental archaeology, the kids were able to practice this method to learn how the pots were made.

Ashlyn and Charlie created their very own pots using the "coil and scrape" method.

 

The Andover Historical Society has many programs for children of all ages to learn about the past.  If you would like to sign-up for this program or learn about other opportunities to visit the museum please call 978-475-2236 or email ddesmet@andoverhistorical.org.

Coming up next on the Andover Historical Society calendar, a series of events this June called Spirit and Sacrifice: Andover in the Civil War.

Children can learn about Abby Locke a real Andover Girl and families are invited to a Civil War Reenactment by Jim Bedford.  Don’t miss out on all of our exciting events.

 

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Exhibit Highlight: Bohemian Glass

April 23rd, 2012 by Claire Glover

If you look through this week’s Exhibit Highlight, the world will become a haze of ruby. If you look at this week’s Exhibit Highlight, your mouth will drop open slightly and you will dream of warm summer nights and wine or cool lemonade. The Exhibit Highlight for this week is a beautiful collection of wine glasses, and a matching carafe with stopper. The collection is two wine glasses, each made of red glass and decorated with a delicate pattern of grapes and leaves, with a ring on the stem and standing about eleven centimeters high. The carafe has a similar grape pattern, with a glass stopper and the pattern cut into it. They are made of Bohemian glass, hugely popular in the 1800’s before sinking into obscurity as other glass techniques were created.

 

Objects 1960.022.1, 1960.023.1, and 1960.026.1ab

The pieces of the week were donated to the Andover Historical Society in 1960 with a large collection of glassware by Priscilla Blackhouse Wilkinson. The pieces are from circa 1885. As mentioned earlier, the wine glasses and carafe are made of Bohemian glass. Bohemia was a large part of central Europe including the Czech Republic and several other countries. The glass made in the area known as Bohemia was famous in the 1800’s, but by 1890 it had died out as other glass from around the world became popular. People in Bohemia made glass before the nineteenth century, but it was in the early 1800’s they began to make good quality colored glass products, including vases and glasses.

Bohemian pieces were famous for their color, mostly ruby and sometimes blue or green. Ruby refers to a deep red color, of which the pieces on display at the Historical Society are a good example. They also included wonderful cut patterns on their pieces, and their pieces quickly spread across Europe and around the world. At first, colored glass and the effort to make it were very expensive, but eventually a new technique was discovered in which a clear layer of glass was covered in a thin layer of color, making it less expensive.

The pieces on display now are worth taking a look at, and if you look closely, you can see how good the workmanship is and why this style of glass was so universally popular in the 1800’s.

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Photo of the Week

April 22nd, 2012 by Gina Sawaya

1993.096.57

Disaster Month week 4: Hurricane Carol. This was the worse hurricane to hit Massachusetts, excluding the hurricane of 1938 that I covered last week.

In late August of 1954, a tropical storm quickly formed in the Bahamas. It was swept up into Florida and was identified as a Category 3 on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. The storm surged through North Carolina, New York, Rhode Island, and Conneticut. Carol, similar to the hurricane in 1938, hit Massachusetts during high tide. Winds of 80 to 110 miles per hour blew down the Old North Church in Boston. Carol killed 68 people and destroyed “4,000 homes, 3,500 cars, and over 3,000 boats.” Most of Eastern Massachusetts lost power, and 95% of the telephone services went down. Carol caused millions of dollars of damage.

The Public Safety department of Massachusetts reported that the name “Carol” has been retired for hurricanes. No wonder…

I quoted from this very helpful article:

 http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eopsmodulechunk&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Public+Safety+Agencies&L2=Massachusetts+Emergency+Management+Agency&sid=Eeops&b=terminalcontent&f=mema_new_england_hurricanes_of_note&csid=Eeops

Another source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Carol

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Photo of the Week

April 15th, 2012 by Gina Sawaya

 No, this isn’t a war zone; it’s Main Street in 1938. Welcome to week 3 of Disaster Month, presented by the Photo of the Week blog. 

  

In early September of 1938, a huge tropical storm took root in Africa. It gained speed and turned into a Category 5 storm over the Atlantic ocean, and struck down in the US in Florida. Although meteorologists had barometers to predict some of the storm, radar had not yet been invented, and the news of the storm didn’t spread fast enough. The Great Hurricane of 1938 struck down in the south and started to make its way north. Officials predicted that it would blow out to sea or dry up in Virginia, but two high pressure systems pushed it in another direction: New England. Nicknamed the “Long Island Express”, the hurricane ripped through New York, causing oceans to rise and destroying Long Island. Then it hit Massachusetts.  

The hurricane just happened to breeze through Massachusetts during a high tide and during the Autumnal Equinox, making ocean waters particularly high already. When the “Yankee Clipper” came along, it completely devastated MA. The eye of the storm caused major damage in the Western part of the state, including flash floods and power outages. Winds topping off at 186 mph ripped through boats in the New Bedford Harbor. Boston wasn’t affected too badly, but as you can see from this picture, Andover was still struck hard. Our archives house hundreds of photos of the damaged houses, trees, and cars.  

After blowing down numerous trees in Quebec, the hurricane finally died out at sea.  

If you have time for a lengthy first-hand account from an Andover man, check out this letter:  http://www.wodc.org/1938.htm  

Sources:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_New_England_hurricane#Quebec  

http://www.southstation.org/hurr1.htm

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Registration is Open for Can You Dig It? Andover Archaeology

April 10th, 2012 by Caitlin Wyler
There is still space available for our Can You Dig It? Andover Archaeology program on April 19th so don’t forget to sign up! This program is a great chance to learn about the archaeological history of Andover including some of the findings from the Native Americans who once called the area around Andover “home.”

Color Image of a Pawtucket Village along the Merrimack River courtesy of the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. All Rights Reserved.

Arrowheads and handicrafts that have been found tell us that Native Americans lived along the Merrimack River for thousands of years.  Shattuck Farm in West Andover is believed to have been one of the largest Native American villages in the area.  Much of the site was damaged, making it difficult for archaeologists to interpret the history.  What they found helped them understand the settlement of the area.  Some of the items that were found included plant remains, bones, and ceramics.  The archaeology program will discuss what archaeologists can learn from these discoveries and how they are excavated from the ground.

Children ages 7-11 are invited to join us for this exciting look at archaeology and artifacts of Andover’s past from 9:30-11:30 on April 19th during school vacation week.  The program cost is $10 per child.  Space is limited and Reservations are required.  Register by phone at 978-457-2236 or at the Andover Historical Society website by April 18th.

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Are you ready for Spring Break?

April 9th, 2012 by Caitlin Wyler

At the Andover Historical Society we have been busy preparing for our newest program “Can You DIg It?: Andover Archaeology.” On April 19th from 9:30-11:30 children ages 7-11 will  step into the shoes of an archaeologist and learn about Andover’s history from a new perspective.

Archaeology is a science that allows us to open the doors to the cultures and people of the past. Artifacts that are hidden underground tell unbelievable stories. It is the role of the archaeologist to uncover these treasures and find the meaning in them.  Come learn how archaeologists make discoveries and how they interpret the material culture of our predecessors.

Children ages 7-11 are invited to join us for this exciting look at archaeology and artifacts of Andover’s past from 9:30-11:30 on April 19th during school vacation week.  The program cost $10 per child.  Space is limited and Reservations are required.  Register by phone at 978-457-2236 or at the Andover Historical Society website by April 18th.

Can you Dig It?

 

 

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Photo of the Week

April 8th, 2012 by Gina Sawaya

  

Remember this? In spring of 2006, almost exactly 70 years after the flood I reported last week, Shawsheen was under water. This is the soccer field across from the Andover Hockey Shop. I remember my dad and I drove around Andover just to see the damage. Shawsheen was by far the worst and most exciting place in Andover that spring.  

For many older Andover residents, history repeated itself. On Mother’s Day weekend, rain battered down on Andover, flooding the Shawsheen river. The river flooded 8.63 feet over it’s normal height. After the water leaked out, 10 roads were completely water-logged, including Main Street and High Plain Road. Residents lost electricity for days. Many of the condominiums in the flooded area had to be evacuated, including the Balmoral Condos. These condos were especially damaged, and after their restoral in the fall, Andover won a court case against making units in the basement. The risk of flooding was just too dangerous.  

Just be thankful that our April showers aren’t flooding. More on the natural disasters of Andover next week.  

Check out this article in the Andover Townsman comparing the 1936 flood to the 2006 flood:

http://www.andovertownsman.com/local/x1687720515/History-repeated-for-resident-who-lived-through-1936-flood

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