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Hanover MA

Hanover, Massachusetts
Town
Hanover Town Hall
Seal
Location in Plymouth County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°7′N 70°49′W / 42.117°N 70.817°W / 42.117; -70.817Coordinates: 42°7′N 70°49′W / 42.117°N 70.817°W / 42.117; -70.817
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Plymouth
Settled	1649
Incorporated	1727
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	15.7 sq mi (40.7 km2)
• Land	15.6 sq mi (40.4 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation	60 ft (18 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	14,570
• Density	930/sq mi (360/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	02339
Area code(s)	339 / 781
FIPS code	25-28285
GNIS feature ID	0618341
Website	www.hanover-ma.gov

Hanover is a historic town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 14,570 in 2019.

History

The area of Hanover was first settled by English settlers in 1649 when William Barstow, a farmer, built a bridge along the North River at what is now Washington Street. When Barstow settled the town, he constructed a cabin that was located off of what is known today as Oakland Avenue (formerly Back Street). According to Dwelley’s History of Hanover (1849), Phineas Pratt of the Wessagusset Colony apparently spent a night crossing the Indian Head or North River in the Hanover/Pembroke area during his difficult journey from what is today Weymouth to Plymouth in 1623. During its first decades of settlement, the land was the westernmost portion of the town of Scituate, and it would officially separate and be incorporated as a town on June 14, 1727. The name “Hanover” is probably a tribute to King George I, the first Hanoverian King of Great Britain.^{[citation needed]} (While George I died on June 11, 1727, the reports would not have reached the colonies until after the town’s incorporation.) The origin of the name “Hanover/Hannover” however, comes from the Middle Low German ho or hoch meaning high, and over meaning bank or shore.

There are six separate villages settled within the town; North Hanover, Four Corners, West Hanover, Center Hanover, South Hanover, and Assinippi. Each village had its own school district, general store, and post offices originally. Hanover’s early industry revolved around farming, small mills, anchor forging, and several shipbuilding yards along the North River.

The ship named Grand Turk was built in Thomas Barstow’s Two Oaks shipyard in Hanover along the North River. The ship was used by Elias Hasket Derby and was later adopted as the logo for Old Spice. The “first” Grand Turk as it was known, was the first U.S. ship to trade with China and was apart of the Derby Mercantile House. The North River in Hanover was also the home of eleven smaller shipyards, with larger ones being Smiths shipyard and Barstow’s Lower Yard. Another well known ship that was built in Hanover was the Oeno (ship) in 1821 at Barstow’s Lower Yard. The ship was wrecked off the coast of Fiji in 1825. Later industries would include tack factories and shoe factories along the smaller waterways in the town. The town was the site of the invention of the first tack-making machine, and making tacks and fireworks were among the industries of the later 19th century for Hanover. On the Indian Head River, the E.H. Clapp Rubber Works was an industrial stronghold for the town during the nineteenth century, the original building is preserved at Luddam’s Ford Park now. Immigrants from Ireland and the British Isles settled the lands of Hanover and the North River region, also many immigrants from Northern and Eastern Europe, specifically from Germany, Poland, Lithuania, and Scandinavia, immigrated into Hanover during the nineteenth century. At one point, from the late 1920s to the early 1940s, locals of Hanover and other parts of the North River area referred to West Hanover as “Little Poland”. Today, Hanover is mostly residential. The Hanover Mall, Merchants Row mall as well other shops are located near the intersection of Routes 3 and 53. Hanover Center has many war memorials dedicated to veterans who fought and died in wars throughout United States history.

During the American Revolution, Hanover sent Colonel John Bailey and his men to help defend Boston Harbor and Castle Island. Later in the war, they were sent on expeditions to Rhode Island and Manchester, New Hampshire. The Four Corners area of the town was the site of Wales Tavern, which also hosted Paul Revere and Daniel Webster. An Iron Forge in West Hanover had also gone from producing anchors, to producing cannons and cannonballs. The westernmost shipping point on the North River was located at Chapman’s Landing near Luddam’s Ford. Iron would come from Humarock on ships traveling up the river to Chapman’s Landing in Hanover, where the iron would be forged.

During the mid to late 19th century, there was the Hanover Branch Railroad, which had stations from Hanover Four Corners to North Abington. It was deeded to the Old Colony Railroad system in 1887. Anchors for the ship the USS Constitution, were made in Hanover at the Curtis Anchor forge that was located at Luddam’s Ford during the 1700s. Hanover also had an airport called Clark Airport, that was operational from 1927 to 1958. It was located in West Hanover. During WWI and WWII the Pilgrim Ordnance Works in West Hanover made munitions for the war effort.

The Stetson House is also located in Hanover Center. Hanover Center is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Hanover Center Historic District. The Four Corners area is where William Barstow’s Two Oaks shipyard was. In the Southwest corner of the town, there was an anchor forge on Forge Pond, the rest of the area evolved into an industrial park that produced fireworks and ammunition that was controlled by the Pilgrim Ordnance Works. The Northeast served as a business sector for the town with much of Route 53 being enclosed with many shops, stores, restaurants, grocery stores, and outlets. The Cardinal Cushing Centers is also in the National Register of Historic Places, which is located at Hanover Center. One of the oldest Boy Scouts troops in the United States was founded and is still active today in Hanover, Troop 1.

Hanover had several smaller shipyards during its development, however, the more prominent ones such as Barstow’s Two Oaks shipyard and Lower Yards were better documented. Others such as Clarks Yard, Kingman Yard, and Wing Yard, and a shipyard that was owned by the family of Thatcher Magoun, also helped Hanover during its early development. The ships would sail down the North River and would bring pork, fish, beef, and oil, and would return with spices, rum, and sugar. At the height of the shipbuilding boom of 1812, it has been said that every Saturday night one would see at most 400 workers at the shipyards. Today, Hanover’s shipyards are marked in the Four Corners area of the town, making it a point of interest.

Transportation

A short, three-mile portion of Massachusetts Route 3, a four-lane freeway, passes through the town, providing access via an exit at Route 53 in the northeast corner of town. The town’s other major routes include Route 123 and Route 139, the latter passing through the town center. Routes 139 and 53 are coextensive for a stretch of one mile in the southeast corner of town.