It's all about the line
What's It Wednesdays
ACHC #2015.047.1
Five years ago, we got a call that an old rail had been dug up during a renovation of a house on Abbot St. Of course we had to investigate.
We found this rail from a railroad track. But not just any track. This is part of what once was the Andover-Wilmington railroad line - one of the first railroad lines in Massachusetts.
It all started in 1833, with Andover resident Hobart Clark who gathered in Locke Tavern with other prominent Andover men, Abraham Marland, Amos Abbot, John Smith, and Merrill Pettingill, with the intention of starting a rail line. The first railroad in Massachusetts, the Boston-Lowell railroad, was being planned and Andover wanted to have a rail connection. The group petitioned the Massachusetts legislature for permission and the Andover and Wilmington Railroad Corporation was chartered in March 1833.
Planning began for the 8-mile connection that would bring rail service to Andover and its mills. The Boston-Lowell line opened in 1835. The Andover-Wilmington line opened in the summer of 1836.
ACHC #1923.020.1
Sketch of The “Andover” First engine to run from Boston to Andover, using the the Andover-Wilmington Rail line.
The original route of the line went through Ballardvale at Lowell Junction Rd, along the east side of the Shawsheen river, crossed River St. and continued northeast behind the South School playing fields.
There is a commemorative stone marker at the walkway at 264 Andover St beyond the South School playing field.
Across the street at 265 Andover Street is the house that was originally the railroad depot, the first stop on the line. The depot agent made sure residents traveling along Andover St. would stop when the train came. There were no crossing gates so flags were used to stop traffic.
From Andover St. the railroad tracks ran down through what is now the Andover Recreation Park. The current road was the old rail bed. They crossed Abbot St, and ran through land that is now the Spring Grove Cemetery. Evidence of the old railroad bed can still be seen at the main entrance to the cemetery. Then the tracks continued down the southeast side of Abbot St., crossing School St. and then Central St. where Chestnut St. intersects and ending at the Andover Depot on Essex St. The depot was where the back entrance to Memorial Hall Library is today.
ACHC #1992.102.31ac, Colonial Movie Theater
This structure formerly at 9 Essex Street was built as the Andover & Wilmington Railroad terminus depot and passenger station in 1836. After the railroad line was relocated, the building saw many uses. It was a furniture store, a plumbing business, movie theater and then the town’s senior center. In the 1980s, it was cleared for the expansion of the Memorial Hall Library.
In the 1840’s, railroad travel was expanding, and new lines were being added throughout Massachusetts. The Andover and Wilmington, and other short lines, were absorbed by the Boston and Maine railroad. In 1846, the railroad was relocated nearer to the Shawsheen River to be closer to the mills of Ballardvale, Marland and Abbot Villages. The line was extended to North Andover through what is now the Shawsheen Village area and into the new city of Lawrence. By 1848, the Andover and Wilmington railroad line was abandoned.
Want to know more about the Andover-Wilmington route through Andover?
Please check out https://andoverhistorical.org/research-highlights