In Andover, parts of the Northern Line of the Boston and Maine Railroad were constructed along the Blackwater River where an Abenaki Indian trail once ran. With five railroad stops, Andover became a transportation, economic, and social hub for surrounding communities. The impact of rail transportation is difficult to calculate and impossible to deny.
With the arrival in 1847 of Andover’s first train, the community was freed from dependence on stagecoach travel and horse-drawn freight shipment in and out of the area. Some of the repercussions, like train wrecks, injuries, and trackside fires sparked by hot embers were the price that the local townspeople paid in the name of progress of the railroad.
An Andover Historical Society exhibit this summer will showcase photographs and artifacts from its archives and several photographs on loan from private collections.
The exhibit may be viewed during the railroad station’s regular open hours: Saturdays from 10 AM to 3 PM, and Sundays from 1 to 3 PM, from May 23 to October 12. Both the railroad station and the nearby Emons General Store, also a part of the Historical Society museum, offer free admission.