History of Andover Township

Sussex County, New Jersey

Communities in Andover Township:

Springdale  --  on the Pequest River half way between Newton and Andover.

Whitehall  --  about a mile south of Andover on the Sussex Railroad.

Brighton  --  one mile below Andover.

Pinkneyville  --  a little mining village in the northeastern part of the township.

1714  -- William Penn was the owner of the Andover Iron Mine (about 1.5 miles from the village of Andover).

Soon after the so-called English Company, from the County of Sussex, England gained control of the Andover Iron Mine and worked it until the second year the Revolutionary War.

Revolutionary War  --  in the north western part of the township, by the Big Muckshaw Pond, Bonnel Moody and his company of Tories found shelter from the American forces.

1777  --  the Congress of the U.S. directed the Government of New Jersey to secure the Andover Iron Mine. The mine supplied iron and steel for the Continental Army for a period of five years.

post-Revolutionary War  --  the Andover Iron Mine closed for many years.  It later came uner the ownership of the Andover Iron Company.

1814 --  Andover contained a mill (built by Joseph Northrup), a blacksmith’s shop, and. three or four houses.

1861  --  Albert Puder built a creamery just north of the railroad station

1864  --  Newton Township was abolished when it was divided into Andover and Hampton Townships and the town of Newton.

1870  --  population was 1,126.

1906  photo  -- Main Street in Andover Borough was a thriving business area.  The Andover Hotel with its two-story front porch is seen in the photo. 

c. 1937  --  Camp Nordland, a German-American Bund camp, opened. 

1941  --  under orders from the attorney general, Sheriff Denton Quick seized Camp Nordland and closed it. 

late 1940s  -- the original Albert Puder creamery torn down.

Sources:

Andover Sussex County NJ from HISTORICAL DIRECTORY OF SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ
COMPILED BY: EDWARD A. WEBB 1872.  http://history.rays-place.com/nj/andover.htm

Wayne T. McCabe. 2003.  Images of America: Sussex County. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.