West Parish Center District

West Parish Center is a rural district in western Andover, Massachusetts, covering roughly 90 acres and 28 properties. For nearly three centuries it has been the social and religious focus of the area west of the Shawsheen River. Simple farmhouses from the 18th and early 19th centuries cluster around a granite Federal-style church, dedicated in 1826, and a burying ground with graves dating from the 1790s. Around 1908 manufacturer William Wood financed improvements to the cemetery, including a monumental arch and a small chapel. Houses range from Federal and Greek Revival to a Queen Anne/Eastlake design and a single 1920s Bungalow. Most families were farmers, with shoemakers also common, and the Andover Grange, organized in 1890, served farmers' interests. Later capes fill in former farmland, but the district remains well preserved. It was listed for its link to the agricultural and religious development of western Andover and for its architecture.