Andover is a town located in central New Hampshire in the Dartmouth/Sunapee region of the state. It is situated in the Northern part of Merrimack County and encompasses a total area of 41.3 square miles, .9 of which is water. As of the 2010 United States Census, Andover was home to 2,371 people.
The land that comprises Andover was first settled in 1761. At the time it was known as “New Breton,” as many of the area’s first residents fought at Cape Breton in 1745. In 1779, when the Phillips Andover Academy was completed in Andover, Massachusetts, the town was incorporated and renamed Andover. Now, the town is home to a number of unique villages and neighborhoods, including East Andover, West Andover, Cilleyville and Potter Place
Just more than 2 percent of Andover’s total area is made up of water. The town is home to Highland Lake, Bradley Lake, Ragged Mountain and Mount Kearsarge, and it lies completely within the Merrimack River watershed. Its highest point is located at Mount Kearsarge, where elevation reaches 2,460 feet above sea level. Notable sites in the town include Proctor Academy, the Ragged Mountain Reserve and the Potter Place Railroad Station, which was built in 1874 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Place.
Andover is governed by an elected Board of Selectmen. The town boasts a part-time police department, a volunteer fire department and volunteer emergency medical services. Top employers in the area include Proctor Academy, Andover Elementary School, RP Johnson & Son and Continental Machine. Children in the area attend Andover Elementary/Middle School for kindergarten through eighth grades. For grades nine through 12, they attend schools in the Merrimack Valley Regional School District, which also serves the nearby towns of Boscawen, Penacook, Loudon, Salisbury and Webster.