Beautification of our Landscapes
The Daffodil Project
In November 2020, NAIS volunteers planted 375 daffodil bulbs at the cow pasture on Academy Road, in celebration of the 375th anniversary of the original settlement of North Andover.
In 2022 we expanded the daffodil project and planted additional bulbs on the common in the Old Center (in front of the statue of Phillips Brooks). Look out for the daffodils here and at the cow pasture on Academy Road, in Spring 2023!!
Patriots Memorial Park
“in honor of the men and women of North Andover who . . . have rendered the State or the Nation patriotic service of either a civic or military nature. “
Patriots Memorial Park is located next to the Stevens Memorial Library, designed by Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects in 1922.
The park is the heart of “Tavern Acres,” one of the first planned subdivisions in the Merrimack Valley. The 2 ¾ acre park was gifted to the Town by the Stevens family as they developed the area as a home for the WWI Memorial. It was dedicated to the honor of patriotic North Andover residents who served in a civic or military nature.
The Park continues to be a very busy place, even more so now as people look for areas to exercise and enjoy fresh air. Many citizens push strollers, walk their dogs, or just “count steps” as they follow the paths that encircle the open meadow. The Park is the site for North Andover’s Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day ceremonies.
Patriots Memorial Park in the Spring
Starting in 1922, with the WWI monument, the Park has continued to incorporate additional memorials that pay tribute to our local military heroes, Park benefactors and distinguished citizens of North Andover.
World War 1 Memorial (1922)
Stone Wall Initiative
North Andover’s private and public land is still crisscrossed by stone walls and structures that were built to define boundary lines and make use of boulders and rocks that were moved when the land of North Andover was cleared for farming, starting in the 1600’s.
Today, the North Andover Improvement Society is involved in a Stone Wall Repair initiative to uncover, clear and repair some of the town’s many miles of historic stone wall boundaries that have become hidden over time by the relentless progress of nature. Many stone walls have become overgrown and fallen into disrepair.
With volunteers from the Improvement Society, Friends of North Andover Trails and partnerships with other town organizations including North Andover Youth and Recreation Services, we are working to beautify and promote the town’s scenic byways and landscapes through the restoration and clearing of these historic stone walls. These walls are visible reminders of North Andover’s rural agricultural history and contribute to our home town sense of place, especially as they frame the beautiful views of our historic farms, barns and pastoral open spaces.
The initiative began in Fall, 2021 with the clearing of bittersweet and multiflora rose in the Academy Road area of the Old Center area of town, with volunteers from FONAT.
Academy Road - Before
The walls become overrun by vines and loosened by gravity, which lead to their dismantling over time.
Academy Road- After!
What a Difference.
In January 2021, North Andover Youth and Recreation Services sent in the Cavalry to help clear a significant part of the overgrown wall on the Stevens Estate property bordering Osgood Street.
The walls on the Osgood Hill perimeter feature beautiful riverstones and other unusual rocks, just as you see in the structure of the beautiful gatehouse at the end of the driveway. These walls may not be as old as those at the Old Center but are worthy of clearing simply for their beautiful aesthetic features!
What a mess! Are you sure there’s a wall here?
Wow! Thanks for the help Kyle Palladino and N.A.Y.R.S for your work on a wet and cold January afternoon!
Thanks also to the Friends of North Andover Trails (FONAT) and the Trustees of Reservations for the donation of tools.
It took an entire afternoon to clear this small section.
What a fantastic job! We can now see how cool some of these rocks are…
Thank you so much to our hard working volunteers! We have many miles of stone wall to clear in town… and need lots more time (and volunteers) to complete this initiative over the next few years.
We hope you’ll join us rebuilding more of our beautiful stone walls in 2023
