Historic Buildings

The most significant artifacts that the Society preserves and interprets for the community are its five historic buildings. The Parson Barnard House, the Carriage Barn, the Granary, the Stevens Mills Depot, the Hay Scales building, and the Johnson Cottage each reflect a different view of North Andover's pre-industrial past. The architecture, as well as the artifacts displayed within these buildings, is of great educational value to scholars, researchers, visitors and other institutions. In fact, these buildings are among the most tangible survivors of our town's material culture.

Parson Barnard House, 1715  

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This property, purchased in 1950, was widely known as the 17th Century home of Bay Colony Governor Simon Bradstreet and his wife, poetess Ann Bradstreet. When later research revealed that the house was built in 1715, therefore too late for the Bradstreets to have lived there, the house was re-designated as the Parson Barnard House.

Local newspapers editorialized the discovery under the headline "Annie Evicted!" In truth, Thomas Barnard purchased the land from Dudley Bradstreet in 1714. Along with £50 and "all the old bricks yt whare the parsonage did stand," (the old parsonage burned in 1707) he built himself a new home.

The house is of continuing interest to architectural historians. It has been described at length in Abbot Lowell Cummings' Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay, and is featured in the Massachusetts Historic Commission's The Choice Is Ours publication.

Exciting restoration techniques were used to preserve walls that break down to show original construction, reflect interior changes and even show samples of original wallpaper. The furnishings were selected to reflect changes in lifestyle from 1715 through 1830. They serve to interpret what home life was like for four early inhabitants of the house: Thomas Barnard (1715), John Barnard (1750), William Symmes (1780), and Simeon Putnam (1825).

The Granary, 18th Century

This agricultural outbuilding is located behind the Parson Barnard House. Measuring just 240 square feet, this building is thought to be one of the few surviving 18th Century grain storage buildings in eastern Massachusetts. The interior of the structure is a fine example of early post-and-beam construction techniques.

The Carriage Barn, 1812

The Honorable John Norris, a prominent Salem lawyer and a founder of the Andover Theological Seminary, built this structure. This two-story barn with hip roof was built following the Salem school of Federal architecture, the high style at the time. The Carriage Barn presently houses the Historical Society's collection of carriages, fire-fighting and farm equipment, and features an exhibit on local agricultural production in the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries.

The Stevens Mills Depot

This building is believed to be one of the depots for the Stevens Mills on the Essex-Salem Railroad. It is thought to also have been used as the paymaster's office and a guard shack during WWII. In the 1950s and 60s it was used as the Blue Moon Recording Studio. It was moved from across the street to its present location next to the Carriage Barn in 1995.

The Hay Scales Building, 1833

The Hay Scales Building stands on its original site on the Old Village Common. The scales played an important part in daily trade in what was a highly commercialized crossroads community. As the need for the scales diminished, the owners turned to other trades as well. The small, utilitarian structure also housed a cobbler's shop, and is the original site of the Hay Scales Exchange, which is now located across the Common.

Johnson Cottage, 1789

Johnson Cottage is the last surviving artisan's cottage in North Andover's Old Center. The Cottage serves as a reflection of the burgeoning commercial center that developed in the early 19th Century. The house was built by Frederick Ballard and was thought to house his hatter's shop in the western end of the dwelling's cellar.

The living quarters of the Cottage consisted of a kitchen, a bedroom and a sleeping attic for children. A later owner, Samuel Johnson, added the Federal-style parlor around 1800. In 1805, Johnson changed his occupation from "trader" to "shop-joiner" and is thought to have built the 20 x 16 carpentry shop adjacent to the cottage. Johnson probably built other shops in the village, which have not survived. We know that he submitted the lowest bid to build the Brick Store Block out of wood; the decision to build with brick cost him the contract.

Johnson Cottage and the joiner's shop are now connected and form the eastern wing of the North Andover Historical Society museum complex. The shop is interpreted through a permanent exhibit of woodworking and medical tools. The exhibit, "A Man Works From Sun to Sun," provides a glimpse of what life was like for an early 19th Century tradesman in the Old Center. The basement of the Cottage, formerly Ballard's hat shop, contains a permanent exhibit of household tools and equipment to show that, during the same period, "A Woman's Work Is Never Done."

The living quarters of the Cottage are filled with artifacts that show the home life of a middle-class family in the 19th Century. The kitchen and the bedroom are also used in the school programs to give local students an opportunity to experience a child's responsibilities in the past. The parlor, with its Federal mantle and detailing, reflects Samuel Johnson's skill as a carpenter and sense of style.

The Museum Building, 1932

In 1932, Lucy Amelia Abbott Stevens (1864-1936) commissioned architect John Radford Abbot to build a museum in memory of her husband, Samuel Dale Stevens (1859-1922). This fine example of Georgian Revival architecture was attached to the Johnson Cottage creating a museum complex and adding an exhibit space unrelated to the Cottage. Today, the building houses the Society's collection of 18th and 19th century furniture and temporary exhibits in the exhibit hall, staff offices and gift shop, while the basement serves as an educational program space.

 

Page Last Modified Thu 06-12-2008 20:09