Hanover is a pastoral suburban community in Plymouth County, 23 miles south of Boston. With just the right amount of light industrial and commercial development, the community still retains a strong suburban character of single-family homes along quiet streets lined by trees and rambling stone walls. This attractive town has a long...
Show all »
Hanover is a pastoral suburban community in Plymouth County, 23 miles south of Boston. With just the right amount of light industrial and commercial development, the community still retains a strong suburban character of single-family homes along quiet streets lined by trees and rambling stone walls. This attractive town has a long history and is near the area where the Pilgrims first landed and settled in the early 17th century.
Hanover itself was first settled in 1649 and incorporated in 1727. The town's early economy was typical of the area and based on agriculture and lumbering. The lumber was used for house-building and shipbuilding while other early industries included grist mills and iron forges. By the 1700's, the town was self-sufficient in local agriculture, major shipbuilding activity, and small-scale manufacturing that was powered by the water of the North River.
Hanover was in fact one of the major industrial centers of southeastern Massachusetts at the time. Thirty ships were built in 1801 on the North River and the towns anchor forges made the anchors for the United States Navy and are said to have supplied the anchor for the U.S. Constitution. However, as demand grew for ships larger than the North River operations could accommodate, this economic mainstay of Hanover declined. Manufacturing of other products continued though and fueled an influx of immigrants from Lithuania and Poland, who established their own enclaves within the town.
Residential development increased further in the years after the Civil War as Hanover became a suburb of nearby Brockton. Hanover's early identity as a small farming village remains preserved in the Four Corners Section of Hanover, which retains its authentic period village character. The town's current population of approximately 14,000 residents still allows room for open space and woods. Additionally, a wealth of ponds, streams, and rivers, which join the North River as it flows to the Atlantic Ocean, provide both summer and winter recreational opportunities.
Residents also enjoy civic and cultural activity in Hanover. There are community theater groups, and a bandstand that provides concerts. The John Curtis Library facilities offer a full range of materials and the library is linked with the resources of neighboring community libraries. The town government oversees a full range of services including a board of health, police and fire protection and a school system which ranks high in both state and national levels. Sixty-five to seventy percent of graduates from the Hanover schools typically pursue college careers.
Available homes in Hanover reflect a rich variety of traditional styles from capes to stately Georgians and federal style homes. In February 2010, the average home sales price for a single family home or condo in Hanover, MA was $467,001. While this data is collected from the MLS and deemed reliable, it is not guaranteed.
« Show less
