The Blanchard House Blog

This week’s photograph is a staff favorite.  This image is part of a collection of photographs of these children and their families enjoying an outing at Haggett’s Pond.  Given that public swimming was outlawed in Andover as late as 1895, it’s not surprising that the children are not dressed in swimming attire.  All of the other people in the party were similarly dressed.  Today it’s hard to imagine keeping children this age completely dressed and out of the water!

Children enjoying the beach at Haggett's Pond at the turn of the last century.

Haggett’s Pond has had many uses over the past 150 years.  For many years it was the home of Bailey’s Grove, a private recreation area that included dining areas, a dance floor, boating, and even for a time, a world-renown boxing camp!  Little is known about the camp beyond this news article that describes George Dixon, the “famed Boston pugilist,” coming to the Grove for training.