On February 18, (shortly after the March issue of the Beacon had gone to press), the Andover Community Hub received notice that “the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources (DHR) has reviewed the inventory form prepared for Andover Town Hall at 157 Main Street in Andover and has determined that it is eligible for listing to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.”  The Hub, a nonprofit community resource, has owned the property since late 2016.

The “inventory form,” a 10-page document filled with facts about the building’s history, architecture, and photographs, was an unexpected gift to the Hub from Andrew Cushing, director of the Bureau of New Hampshire Historic Sites at New Hampshire State Parks. 

When the building is officially included in the State Register in April, it will be the first in Andover to be so recognized.

The benefits of such recognition, according to the DHR, are as follows: consideration in the planning of local and state-funded or otherwise state-assisted projects; qualification for state financial assistance for preservation projects, when funds are available; special consideration or relief in the application of access, building, and safety codes; and a complimentary one-year membership in the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance. A State Register plaque is also available for purchase by the Andover Community Hub.

How Recognition Happened

Cushing first became acquainted with the effort to recast Andover’s old Town Hall as a community center in 2017, shortly after a group of local residents purchased the building in late 2016.  Cushing was then a field service representative with the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance and offered several valuable guidelines for converting the structure to new uses while maintaining much of its original appearance. When he became director of the Bureau of Historic Sites at New Hampshire State Parks in 2020, he continued the interaction.

A resident of Grafton, about 15 miles north of Andover, Cushing commutes through Andover regularly, on his way to and from work in Concord, occasionally stopping to answer questions of the Hub’s Board of Directors.  So when the 2021 application period for inclusion in the New Hampshire Registry came around, Cushing used his considerable knowledge of local history and historical resources to put together the 10-page inventory form and submitted it to the Hub’s board for approval.  The Hub’s board very quickly approved the form and expressed great thanks. 

To receive a file of the inventory form for viewing on your computer screen, please send an email to TheAndoverHub@nullgmail.com.