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History · Andover

Andover’s post office opened in 1805, and 43% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1910.

1805first post office
0on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Andover began

When was Andover founded?

1805

The Andover post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1904.

First census: 884 in 19102020 census: 595221 years
Founding year: the first Andover post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1904.

What stands out about Andover’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18887 editions of the USGS map, 1888 to 1995. Watch Andover change.Old housesHalf of Andover’s homes were built before 1954.Deep rootsA post office since 1805: 221 years of Andover.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Andover’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Andover’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old view51744.BA#001--Additional property requi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Andover on the map, 1888 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Andover. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Andover on the 1888 USGS mapAndover on the 1894 USGS mapAndover on the 1943 USGS mapAndover on the 1954 USGS mapAndover on the 1970 USGS mapAndover on the 1981 USGS mapAndover on the 1995 USGS map1888Lake Hopatcong 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.

The story so far

Andover, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Andover yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Andover is a borough in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 595, a decrease of 11 (−1.8%) from the 2010 census count of 606, which in turn reflected a decline of 52 (−7.9%) from the 658 counted in the 2000 census. Andover was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township. The borough was named for Andover Township, which was in turn named for Andover, Hampshire, England.

Its first post office opened in 1805. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 606 in 2010, 595 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Andover, 1805 to 1909

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1805Post officeThe Andover post office opens
  3. 1888On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1909In the archive51744.BA#001--Additional property required of S.S. Wills--Andover Borough, Sussex County,…
By decade

Andover, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
51744.BA#001--Additional property required of S.S. Wills--Andover Borough, Sussex County, NJ [1909.09.18]190951744.BA#001--Additional property required of S.S. Wi…
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Census Bureau map ofDate?Census Bureau map ofMap
Today9 recent
Buildings on west side of US 206, Andover Borough, NJ, March 20252025Buildings on west side of US 206, Andover Borough, NJ…Andover Borough, NJ Municipal Building, March 20252025Andover Borough, NJ Municipal Building, March 2025Sussex Branch Tunnel under Pequest Fill, Andover, NJ - looking north2021Sussex Branch Tunnel under Pequest Fill, Andover, NJ …20 Brighton Avenue202120 Brighton Avenue157 Main Street2021157 Main Street1 Grist Mill Lane20211 Grist Mill LaneVintage Piper Cub at the Aeroflex-Andover Airport2017Vintage Piper Cub at the Aeroflex-Andover AirportLackawanna Cutoff2010Lackawanna CutoffAndover nj2005Andover nj
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.

51744.BA#001--Additional property required of S.S. Wills--Andover Borough, Sussex County, NJ [1909.09.18]
Retake this view51744.BA#001--Additional property required of S.S. Wills--Andover Borough, Sussex County, NJ [1909.09.18], 1909

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Andover’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Andover, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 892

Between 417 and 892 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Andover’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Andover

Nobody well known was born in Andover itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Janeane GarofaloAmerican comedian and actress · b. 1964
Reince PriebusChairman of the Republican National Committee f… · b. 1972
Jimmi SimpsonAmerican film and television actor · b. 1975
B
Brandon SklenarAmerican actor · b. 1990
Eric MilleganAmerican actor · b. 1974
Daniel Elmer SalmonAmerican veterinarian · b. 1850
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Andover’s post office has been open since 1805.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Andover Junction
Gone or out of use
Andover Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Andover TownshipIts storyD

Questions about Andover’s history

What year was Andover founded?

The Andover post office opened in 1805, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1904.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.