Women at Work in the Early
1900s
While several noteworthy women
had established and successfully run their own
businesses for many years, commerce was still often
considered “men’s work” in the early 1900s.
Despite this, several women opened and successfully
operated their own businesses in downtown Andover.
Metropolitan Bakery, 42
Main Street, Circa 1910
Image from
the Andover Historical Society collection #1991.58
The Metropolitan Bakery & Confectioner was owned and managed by Mary E. Dalton,
grandmother to Andover Townsman columnist Bill Dalton. Mrs. Dalton bought the
Metropolitan in 1908 and operated it at 42 Main
Street for many years. Recently widowed with four children, she may have used
whatever settlement she received from her husband’s death (a railroad accident)
to purchase the shop. The store sold baked goods (some of which Mrs. Dalton
made) candy, and sandwiches. In the 1920s, Dalton expanded her business to
include making lunches and baked goods for the Andover public school district.
Shortly thereafter this new enterprise overtook the storefront and the
Metropolitan closed.
OP Chase's Confectionary
& Tobacco Store
27 Main Street, September 1896
 This image shows Chase’s store, located at 27 Main Street. While tobacco and
candy were the mainstays of the store, Chase’s, like many other stores, had
diverse and varied products for sale. Newspapers, stationary, groceries,
sandwiches, medicine, and many other items could often be found in a store such
as this.
The billboard outside the store lists headlines from the day’s newspaper. It
reads “Bryan in New England – Speaks at New Haven – Yale Cheers McKinley –
Foul Murder at Hull – Gentry leader – Pacing record – Yale Student Sunday –
Harvard Football Schedule.” This gives us a specific date for the picture.
On September 24, 1896, Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan
was driven from a public speech in New Haven, Connecticut by Yale students who
drowned out Bryan with cheers for his opponent, William McKinley. The story
would likely have been included in the local paper some days after the event.
Image from the Andover Historical Society collection
#1992.1447
The Andover Post Office,
71 Main Street, circa 1931
Image from the Andover Historical Society collection
#1992.730
The U.S. Post Office in Andover
has been located and relocated many times over the
years. First established in 1795 at the Swift House
on the corner of Chestnut and Brook Streets, the Post Office
was relocated in the early 19th century to Main Street, and then in the 1870s and ‘80s to the Town House.
Quickly growing beyond the available space in the Town House, the Post Office
was moved again to the Musgrove building in 1895 and then to quarters on
Essex Street in 1917.By 1930, the Andover Post
Office had outgrown its facilities once again.
After a lengthy study of potential new locations, it
was decided to place the new facility on the site of
the Walker–Edwards Mansion at 71 Main Street. The
old Mansion was razed, and the new postal facility
opened in 1931. The image you see here is the
dedication ceremony. Postmaster Fred Cheever is the
third figure from the left at the top of the stairs.
NEXT: The Barnard
Block and the Merchant's Building |
