Essex National Heritage Area
Haverhill Historical Society, Buttonwoods Museum

Nestled in a friendly and intimate setting overlooking the Merrimack River, the Buttonwoods Museum, home of the Haverhill Historical Society, offers a journey into Haverhill's past. Explore Native American artifacts from the lower Merrimack Valley, including stone tools, bone implements, and baskets. A large collection of shoes and shoe making tools represent Haverhill's role as a world leader in the shoe industry - Haverhill shoes were known for quality and design.

Visit the Daniels Hunkins Shoe shop, the Duncan House, and the newly renovated John ward House. The Buttonwoods Museum houses 10,000 objects, from furniture, ceramics and glassware, to quilts, dolls, and toys. Learn about the rich history of Haverhill and vicinity from a wide range of exhibits that are constantly changing; you'll always find something new! For more information, visit www.haverhillhistory.org.

The Haverhill Historical Society is officially designated an Essex National Heritage Area Visitor Center. As such, in addition to giving information about Haverhill's history, the John Ward House/Haverhill Historical Society also provides information on resources in the towns of Georgetown, Merrimack, Groveland, and West Newbury, as well as general information about the Essex National Heritage Area.



Nearby Area Sites

Haverhill History

Haverhill's distinctive landscape features – the Merrimack River, the many ponds, wetlands and varied topography – were instrumental in shaping the history of the community from the earliest use of the area by Native Americans through the long tradition of shoe manufacturing to land uses that continue today.

Native American activity along the Merrimack River prior to European settlement was intense with several tribes known to have been in the Haverhill area, including the Pentuckets, Pawtuckets and Agawams, all sub-tribes of the Penacook group. The first European settlement took its name from one of the Native American tribes, when Pentucket was established in 1640 and one of the four shires of the plantation was called Haverhill, named after the birthplace in England of Haverhill’s first minister, John Ward. The area was not incorporated as a city until 1870, the same year in which Bradford was annexed to Haverhill.

Agriculture, fishing and shipbuilding were the economic base well into the 19th century. In the early 1800s there was a strong cattle market which gave rise to the shoe industry. By the 1830s and into the early 20th century Haverhill became a leader in shoe manufacturing. Known as the “Queen Slipper City” Haverhill was noted for its shoe designers and makers. After World War I the shoe industry began its decline in Haverhill. In the 1950s the arrival of Western Electric was a boost to the local economy; however the large plant moved out of Haverhill in the late 20th century.

The Merrimack River served as a key mode of transportation from prehistoric times into the early 19th century. Once the railroad opened in 1839 there was a shift in transportation which also fostered the shift in the economy to the shoe industry. Mid 20th century interstate highway development resulted in the city’s strategic location between Rt. 93 and Rt. 95 on Rt. 495.

One of the larger municipalities in Essex County, Haverhill’s population by 1850 had risen to 5,754 and continued to increase substantially throughout the 19th century. Between 1880 and 1920 the population more than tripled to 53,884. However, as the shoe industry declined, the population decreased slowly but steadily throughout much of the 20th century until the 1990s when it recovered and exceeded the 1920 level. In 2000 the population was nearly 59,000.

From Haverhill Reconnaisance Report, Essex County Landscape Inventory, Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program (pdf document)

See also:

1985 Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report

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