Andover Townsman

The Andover Townsman began publication on October 14, 1887 and was located on 37 Main Street.

Front page from the first issue of the Andover Townsman. This picture can be found on page 16A of the Centennial Issue of the Andover Townsman, July 21, 1988.

John N. Cole, an original owner, believing that Andover should have a newspaper of its own, bought Andover Press, which had published the Andover Adveriser. The Townsman was actually Andover's 3rd weekly paper. The Journal of Humanity and Herald of the American Temperance Society ran from 1829-1833. The Andover Advertiser ran from 1853 to 1866.

The Andover Press also featured a print shop and a small book store.

The second editor was John Cole's son Philip. Bessie Goldsmith worked for the paper in the 1920's.

In 1935 Elmer Grover bought the controlling interest and changed the name to Townsman Press, Inc. He also changed the format to a news magazine style, patterned the paper after Life Magazine.

In 1947 the paper was sold to Josiah K. Lily who returned the paper to its original format.

In 1949 the paper was sold to Irving E. Rogers Sr.; Irving Rogers Jr. took over in 1982.

It was later sold to Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. of Montgomery, Alabama which is part of the North of Boston Media Group.

The Centennial Issue of the Andover Townsman was published July 21, 1988. The special issue is a retrospective of town history.

The Andover Townsman Office in the 1950's. This photo is found in the Centennial Issue of the Andover Townsman, July 21, 1988.

See

• Andover Townsman, July 21, 1988
• "History and Headlines for the Townsman", Advertising Supplement, the Andover Townsman, May 28, 1992, page 2 A.

• Andover a Century of Change:1896 - 1996 by Eleanor Motley Richardson, (974.45 Ric) pages 136 & 137.
• "History and Headlines from the Townsman", Advertising Supplement, The Andover Townsman, May 28, 1992, page 2A.

• "In a century of change, the Townsman has been there," Andover Townsman, October 7, 1999, p. 13A.

• "Town seeks newspaper racks bylaw," Andover Townsman, February 2, 2006.

• "Chronicling the town's news for 127 years," Andover Townsman, October 30, 2014, p.18.

--Glenda 12:56, November 24, 2006 (EST)
--Kim 10:57, November 7, 2014 (EST)

--Eleanor (talk) 15:12, 26 March 2015 (EDT)
--Eleanor (talk) 15:13, 22 October 2015 (EDT)

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