Haverhill is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

Grafton County, New Hampshire Grafton County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 91,118. Its county seat is the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, Haverhill. In 1972, the ...

, United States. The population was 4,585 at the 2020 census. Haverhill includes the villages of Woodsville,

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

, and North Haverhill, the historic town center at Haverhill Corner, and the district of

Mountain Lakes A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

. Located here are Bedell Bridge State Park, Black Mountain State Forest, Kinder Memorial Forest, and Oliverian Valley Wildlife Preserve. It is home to the annual North Haverhill Fair.

History

Settled by citizens from

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

, the town was first known as "Lower Cohos". This Lower Cohos name is derived from the original Abenaki people who had a base for agriculture here. It was incorporated in 1763 by colonial Governor

Benning Wentworth Benning Wentworth (July 24, 1696 – October 14, 1770) was an American merchant, landowner and colonial administrator who served as the List of colonial governors of New Hampshire, governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. He is best known ...

, and in 1773 became the county seat of Grafton County. Haverhill was the terminus of the old Province Road, which connected the northern and western settlements with the seacoast. By 1859, when the town had 2,405 inhabitants, industries included three

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

s, twelve

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s, a

paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

, a large

tannery Tanning, or hide tanning, is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Historically, vegetable based tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound derived fr ...

, a

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

manufacturer, an

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

, seven

shoe factories A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. Though the human foot can adapt to varied terrains and climate conditions, it is vulnerable, and shoes provide protection. Form was originally tied to function, but ...

, a

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

office, and several mechanic shops. The town is home to the oldest documented

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

in the country still standing—the Haverhill–Bath Bridge, built in 1829. The village of Woodsville, named for John L. Woods of

Wells River, Vermont Wells River is a village in the town of Newbury in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 431 at the 2020 census. The village center is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 5 and 302. The village center (the portion n ...

, was once an important

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

center. Woods operated a sawmill on the

Ammonoosuc River The Ammonoosuc River is a river in northwestern New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound. ''Ammonoosuc'' is Abnaki for "small, narrow fishing place". The Ammonoosuc rise ...

, and developed a railroad supply enterprise following the establishment of the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad. The village of Pike was settled by future employees of the Pike Manufacturing Company, which was once the world's leading manufacturer of whetstones. While the village of Haverhill Corner was historically considered to be the primary settlement in town, the town's municipal offices are currently located in the village of North Haverhill, with Grafton County's offices and courthouse located just two miles farther north along Route 10. The county seat offices were located in Woodsville until 1972, when the administrative offices relocated to rural land halfway between Woodsville and North Haverhill. The village of Woodsville is now the commercial center of Haverhill and its smaller surrounding towns, including several in Vermont. Woodsville is home to the town's supermarkets, pharmacies, banks (including the headquarters of the regional Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank), state liquor store, and most of its restaurants and chain stores, although a few are located in North Haverhill. The town's elementary and high schools, along with Cottage Hospital, a critical-access hospital serving the area, are all located in Woodsville. Image:The Green Door Inn, Haverhill, NH.jpg, Green Door Inn Image:No Man's Island.jpg, No Man's Island in 1913 Image:East Haverhill, NH.jpg, East Haverhill in 1917 Image:Court Street, Looking West, Haverhill, NH.jpg, Court Street in 1910

Geography

Haverhill is in northwestern

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the town has a total area of , of which are land and are water, comprising 2.62% of the town. Bounded on the west by the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

, which forms the state border with

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, Haverhill is drained by the

, in addition to Oliverian Brook and Clark Brook. Haverhill lies fully within the Connecticut River

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

. The highest point in Haverhill, at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, is on the western slope of Black Mountain, whose summit is in the neighboring town of Benton. The town is served by six state-maintained routes.

New Hampshire Route 10 New Hampshire Route 10 is a north–south state highway in western New Hampshire, United States. Its southern terminus is in Winchester at the Massachusetts state line, where it continues south as Massachusetts Route 10. Administratively, the ...

is the main north–south highway through Haverhill, paralleling the Connecticut River.

U.S. Route 302 U.S. Route 302 (US 302) is an east–west spur of U.S. Route 2 in northern New England in the United States. It currently runs from Montpelier, Vermont, beginning at US 2, to Portland, Maine, at U.S. Route 1. It passes through the states of V ...

enters from Vermont and passes east–west through Woodsville in the northern part of town, joining with Route 10 to head northeast to

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and Littleton.

New Hampshire Route 25 New Hampshire Route 25 is a long east–west state highway in New Hampshire. It runs completely across the state from Vermont to Maine. The western terminus of Route 25 is at the Vermont state line on the Connecticut River in Piermont, New Ham ...

enters Haverhill from Piermont while co-signed with Route 10, splitting off by itself to the southeast in Haverhill Corner.

New Hampshire Route 116 New Hampshire Route 116 (abbreviated NH 116) is a north-south state highway in northern New Hampshire, United States. NH 116 is a scenic rural highway stretching from Haverhill, which lies along the Connecticut River, to Jefferson, in the ...

has its southern terminus at Route 10 in North Haverhill, and

New Hampshire Route 135 New Hampshire Route 135 (abbreviated NH 135) is a north–south state highway in New Hampshire. The highway runs along the Connecticut River from Woodsville, New Hampshire, Woodsville in the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, Haverhill to Lancas ...

has its southern terminus at Route 10 just south of Woodsville. A very short section of

New Hampshire Route 112 New Hampshire Route 112 (abbreviated NH 112) is a east–west state highway in northern New Hampshire. The highway winds across the state, connecting Bath, New Hampshire, Bath to Conway, New Hampshire, Conway through the heart of the scenic and ...

passes through the northeastern part of town. Haverhill also has easy access to

U.S. Route 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Conn ...

via bridges in North Haverhill and Woodsville.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 4,697 people, 1,928 households, and 1,208 families residing in the town. There were 2,379 housing units, of which 451, or 19.0%, were vacant. 294 of the vacant units were for seasonal or recreational use. The racial makeup of the town was 96.7%

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.4%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.9%

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n, 0.1%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

or Pacific Islander, 0.3% some other race, and 1.2% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. Of the 1,928 households, 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were headed by

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29, and the average family size was 2.80. In the town, 19.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 7.4% were from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. For the period 2011–2015, the estimated median annual income for a household was $48,405, and the median income for a family was $56,100. Male full-time workers had a median income of $42,363 versus $33,150 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $24,493. 15.1% of the population and 9.9% of families were below the poverty line. 26.7% of the population under the age of 18 and 5.3% of those 65 or older were living in poverty.

Sites of interest

* Bedell Bridge State Park * Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge (1829) * Haverhill Historical Society & Museum * Museum of American Weather * Oliverian School * Clement Farm Disc Golf Course

Notable people

* George Barstow (1824–1883),

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

politician * Samuel Brooks (–1849), merchant, politician in

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

* Noah Davis (1818–1902), U.S. congressman * Henry W. Keyes (1863–1938), 56th

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along w ...

Ebenezer Mackintosh Ebenezer Makintosh (June 20, 1737 – 1816) was a shoemaker who lived in New England in the 18th and 19th centuries. He is known for his role as a leader in Boston riots protesting the Stamp Act. Early life Ebenezer Mackintosh was born on June 2 ...

(1737–1816), leader in Boston Stamp Act riots * Thomas Leverett Nelson (1827–1897), judge * John Page (1787–1865), governor of New Hampshire,

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

* John A. Page (1814–1891), son of Governor and Senator John Page,

Vermont State Treasurer The State Treasurer's Office is responsible for several administrative and service duties, in accordance with Vermont Statutes. These include: investing state funds; issuing state bonds; serving as the central bank for state agencies; managing th ...

Chad Paronto Chad Michael Paronto (born July 28, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball player. Paronto attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst before being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the eighth round of the 1996 Major League Bas ...

(born 1975), relief pitcher with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Jonathan H. Rowell Jonathan Harvey Rowell (February 10, 1833 – May 15, 1908) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois. Biography Born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, Rowell attended Rock Creek School and later graduated from Eureka College, Illinois. During the Ci ...

(1833–1908), U.S. congressman from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

* Bob Smith (1931–2013), pitcher with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Mark Steyn Mark Steyn () is a Canadian author and a radio, television, and on-line presenter. He has written several books, including The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' bestsellers ''America Alone'', ''After America (Steyn book), A ...

(born 1959), writer, political commentator *

Frank Stoddard Francis Allen Stoddard (born April 20, 1968) is an American NASCAR crew chief and owner from Haverhill, New Hampshire. He is the founder of Go Fas Racing, a NASCAR Cup Series team. He began his career with Dana Patten in the Busch Series. Lat ...

, crew chief with

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Incident

Maura Murray disappeared on the evening of February 9, 2004, after a car crash on

near Woodsville.

References

External links

*
New Hampshire Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau Profile
{{authority control Towns in Grafton County, New Hampshire County seats in New Hampshire Populated places established in 1763 New Hampshire populated places on the Connecticut River Towns in New Hampshire