The Andover Historical Society is a busy and vibrant center for local history located in downtown Andover, Massachusetts.

The Amos Blanchard House and Barn Museum in Andover, Massachusetts, recreates the life and times of a typical middle-class family of the early 19th century.  Educational programs and changing exhibits explore many aspects of   Andover’s fascinating 350-year history. It’s a fantastic place to bring the kids or a class to show them what it was like living without any modern day conveniences.

The Andover Historical Society, founded in 1911. It maintains the museum, a library, archives and research center where objects / documents of local historical significance are collected, preserved, exhibited and interpreted. The Andover Historical Society tells the unique stories of Andover. Having an active community involvement, the Society fosters a strong community that knows its history, values what it inherits, and takes pride in what it passes on to future generations.

http://www.andoverhistorical.org/

The North Andover Mills were in operation from 1820 to 1899. In 1876 Stevens dissolved Nathaniel Stevens & Son. Stevens and his brothers continued the business separately. His three sons, Nathaniel, Samuel, and Moses, became partners in the business in 1886 and the firm became M. T. Stevens & Sons.

Moses Tyler Stevens and his family founded and funded Stevens Memorial Library in 1906 in dedication to his Father Nathaniel. The library had a major addition in 1994.

The Library District is amongst one of the most sought after neighborhoods in North Andover. The tree lined streets and older colonial homes which date

back to the early 1900′s give this area an uncommon characteristic.

Hours and Directions

Winter Hours

• Monday – Thursday   9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Friday – Saturday      9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Sunday                      2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Summer Hours

• Monday – Thursday  9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Friday                       9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Saturday & Sunday    CLOSED

Directions
From Rte. 495 North to Exit 43, take a right off the ramp. From Rte. 495 south to Exit 43, take a left off the ramp. Go to second set of lights and take a left onto Chickering Road (Rte. 125). At the next set of lights, take a left onto Main Street (North Andover Middle School is on your left). The Library is about 1/2 mile down the road on the left.

The school was established in memory of Albert E. Thompson in 1924. The original school was a one room school house.

Thompson, the North Andover native joined the Army when he was only 15, dropping the “p” in his name so he could fake his age. The enlistment age was 18 and did this to not risk being tracked down. He was the town’s first soldier killed in World War I. The Thomson Elementary School was rebuilt in 1948 and then totally redesigned in the early 1999.

Located at 266 Waverly Rd. North Andover, MA 01845 and the school is home to more than 400 students which ranges from ages of K-5.

This week we saw testimony on Capitol Hill regarding the mortgage crisis as committee members questioned former Fed Chairman Allen Greenspan, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Runin, Ex Citigroup CEO Chick Prince. It is upsetting to still be talking about this issue. The problem was that greed / corruption got the better part of alot of people and we are all now paying the price.

Oil hit $87 a barrel this week settling to $84.89 and Gold has been up as well reaching $1,161. These are two key inflationary signs but, the Fed will probably have the blinders on regarding rates due to the higher risk of slower
growth. The Stock Market is doing quite well as it approaches 11,000 and could be seen as a Bullish sign. Many people on Wall Street are calling for the end of the recession. Last weeks Jobless Claims Number might be a strong argument. But, if you look at the numbers closely you would see that out of the 162,000 jobs added nearly 60,000 of them are temporary jobs added for the census. Economist bragging over this figure (the biggest gain in 3 years) really should look deeper into the numbers. The Unemployment Rate in the United Sates is still 9.7%.

30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates rose dramatically this week due to an auction of 10 Year Treasury Notes. The 30 Year Fixed Rate average rose to 5.31% up from 5.04% last week. The 15 Year Fixed Rate was up as well to 4.54% from last weeks 4.34%

Existing Home Sales last week fell for the 3rd straight month as inventories grew 9.5% to 3.59 Million Units and a 8.6 month supply. What is surprising is that 27% of all purchases are cash transactions. New Home Sales in February were down 2.2%, it was expected to go up 1.9% and in January New Home Sales (new construction) was down 8.9%.