NORTH ANDOVER HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNOUNCES ALL-NEW FEBRUARY PROGRAMS
North Andover, Mass., January 23, 2026 – This winter enjoy a variety of programs with the North Andover Historical Society (NAHS), ranging from those rooted in the celebration of Black History Month to the stage play, Love Letters, celebrating Valentines Day, and further to stories of the holocaust. All events are held at the NAHS Stevens Center, located at 800 Massachusetts Avenue in North Andover. Registration is required and can be found on our website: www.NorthAndoverHistoricalSociety.org. Programs typically cost $5 for NAHS members, and $15 for non-members, unless otherwise indicated.
Learn about Boston's 400-year African American history as Joel Mackall presents Hidden History of Black Boston on Sunday, February 22, at 2:00 p.m. at the North Andover Historical Society.
Hidden History of Black Boston with Joel Mackall
Sunday, February 22, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Join Joel Mackall, founder of Hidden Histories of Black Boston Tours, to learn Boston's 400-year African American history. Mackall will delve into the rich narratives of neighborhoods and pivotal sites, events, and figures from the eras of Faneuil Hall and Long Wharf, which marked Boston's connection to the Atlantic world, all the way to the vibrant Black communities that flourished in Beacon Hill in the early republic, and the South End and Roxbury in the early 20th century. This FREE program is presented by the North Andover African American History Committee and is supported by a grant from the North Andover Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Love Letters: A Stage Play by Black Dog Theater Company
Friday, February 13, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday, February 14, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Written by A.R. Gurney, Love Letters is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated play that tells the story of a lifelong, complex relationship between two people through the letters, notes, and cards they exchange from childhood into adulthood. The NAHS is proud to host the Black Dog Theater Company in the Worden Theater for this fantastic stage play. Starring David Scannell & Elizabeth Carroll and directed by Kerrin Mullen, this show will be an unforgettable night.
Dr. Alexandria Russell, Executive Director of the Boston' Women's Heritage Trail, will highlight African American women memorials drawing from her book, “Black Women Legacies: Public History Sites Seen & Unseen” on Sunday, February 15, at 3:00 p.m.
Black Women's Legacies in Massachusetts with Dr. Alexandria Russell
Sunday, February 15, 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Dr. Alexandria Russell, Executive Director of the Boston' Women's Heritage Trail, will highlight African American women memorials drawing from her book, “Black Women Legacies: Public History Sites Seen & Unseen”. Local communities have been fervent memorializers of African American achievement in the United States for centuries, and Dr. Russell reveals how they established a national infrastructure of named memorials during the Jim Crow era. She will also discuss how local advocacy has shaped the public history landscape in Massachusetts and beyond through commemorations of women like Phillis Wheatley and Harriet Tubman. The centennial celebration of the founding of Negro History Week (now Black History Month) by Carter G. Woodson in 1926 and America 250 commemorations are timely reminders of the importance of documenting and disseminating the African American experience for current and future generations. This FREE program is presented by the North Andover African American History Committee and is supported by a grant from the North Andover Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
A Family's Holocaust Remembrance with Lila Lobel
Saturday, February 21, 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
North Andover High School student, Lila Lobel, has always enjoyed listening to the stories of her Great Omi and Opa who escaped Germany and migrated to America during the Holocaust. Until recently, their full story, and those of their many relatives who were unable to escape Germany, had been lost. Through a Democracy in Dialogue exchange facilitated by the Smithsonian, she was able to start a research project on her family's history that has led her to discover the fates, lives, and stories of her extended family, none of which was previously known to the rest of my family. What started as a love for old stories has morphed into a powerful message about the impact of the Holocaust through generations, and above all, the importance of rediscovering, remembering and protecting the histories of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Through this program, she shares these stories.
For more information about the North Andover Historical Society and the program, visit www.NorthAndoverHistoricalSociety.org.
About the North Andover Historical Society
Founded in 1913, the North Andover Historical Society is a 501(c)3 charitable non-profit organization. It has long held the Johnson Cottage as its historic base, fanning out across town with historic sites under its wing including the Parson Barnard House and Barn, the 1825 Hay Scales Exchange, the 1829 Brick Store, and the 1833 Hay Scales Building. Within the past two years, the renovated Stevens Center museum on the North Andover Common, has become the new hub of NAHS, housing: archives and collectables, rotating historic exhibits on the museum floor, a theater with seating for up to 70 people in what were once Omni Theater seats, a permanent display of green tech explaining the Net-Zero building, Diane’s Café, and meeting and social rooms (many of these spaces are available for rent). For more information, please visit www.NorthAndoverhistoricalSociety.org.
