6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 16 buildings between them. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1923 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1810.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Andover’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Andover is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Andover’s overall grade.
New Hampshire towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New Hampshire town has 9.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Andover’s 89.0 sits above most of its state (81% of New Hampshire towns have fewer) while its 19 historic buildings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1779.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Andover’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Settled in 1761, the town was originally named "Emerisstown". In 1746 it was granted to Edward Brown and others as "New Breton" or "New Britton", having been granted primarily to soldiers who had taken part in the 1745 capture of Cape Breton during hostilities with the French in Canada. Among those soldiers was their regimental surgeon, Dr. Anthony Emery, a friend of Samuel Phillips Jr., who in 1778 founded the Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. "New Breton" would be incorporated as "Andover" in 1779, the year Phillips Andover was completed.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Andover. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1928Mount Kearsarge sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Andover.
Every building
Andover, building by building, 1923–1929
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1923Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewVillage scene, Andover, N.H.Alternate Title: New Hampshire scenery, c. 1869
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Andover’s page.
In 1779, according to Wikidata. Andover’s post office opened in 1810, and the first U.S. census counted 645 people here in 1790.
How does Andover rank for history?
Andover is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Andover?
6 listings: 2 buildings, 2 historic districts, the East Andover Village Center Historic District and the Hersey Farms Historic District, with 16 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 19 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Andover?
25% of Andover’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 17% for a New Hampshire town; the median home was built in 1978.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (16), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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