Andover, town, Essex County, northeastern Massachusetts, on the Merrimack and Shawsheen rivers; incorporated 1646. Manufactures include electronic equipment, analytical instruments, and rubber products. Andover is the site of Phillips Academy (1778), one of the country's oldest private preparatory schools, which in 1973 merged with Abbot Academy, formerly for girls (1829). The notable Addison Gallery of American Art is located on the grounds of Phillips Academy. Textile mills were established in Andover in the late 18th century, and by the 1840s the town had become a nationally important producer of woolen goods. Before the American Civil War, Andover was a center of the antislavery movement and was the home of the author Harriet Beecher Stowe. The town is named for Andover, England. Population 8,242 (1996 estimate).
