In 1929, Thomas Cochran (see #8, Addison Gallery) gave to the school a 125-acre tract of land on the northeastern edge of campus that would serve, he said, "chiefly [as] a place for the boys to roam through and be inhabited by birds and trees and wild flowers." In the spring, the mountain laurel and rhododendron drop their flowers, creating a lavender and melon colored carpeting on the paths that lead to a pond, a meadow, and a log cabin.

Q: Are only boys allowed to stroll in there?

A: No, of course Andover was a boys' school when Cochran gave his gift, but it has been co-ed since 1973. Girls as well as boys are welcome to enjoy the sanctuary's peaceful beauty. Truth be told, though, the students don't stroll through the place as often as they tear through it, because the sanctuary is on the school's cross country course.

Q: Is the log cabin an actual log cabin?

A: Yes, with a massive stone fireplace. Student groups hold sleep-overs out there sometimes, in which students cannot help but recycle the same old ghost stories Thomas Cochran's gang heard. You know, the one where the guy gets his head shot off with a cannon ball and comes riding back on a horse and creeps up to the Log Cabin if you look just outside the window.