Haverhill is a town in
Grafton CountyGrafton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2000 census, the population was 81,743. Its county seat is North Haverhill, which is a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices were located in downtown Woodsville, a...
,
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,416 at the 2000 census. Haverhill includes the villages of
WoodsvilleWoodsville is a census-designated place in the town of Haverhill in Grafton County, New Hampshire, U.S., along the Connecticut River at the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River. The population was 1,081 at the 2000 census...
,
PikePike is a small village within the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is located in western Grafton County, approximately east of the village of Haverhill, on Oliverian Brook...
, North Haverhill and the district of Mountain Lakes. 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, and to a branch of the New Hampshire Community Technical Colleges.
Haverhill is a town in
Grafton CountyGrafton County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of the 2000 census, the population was 81,743. Its county seat is North Haverhill, which is a village within the town of Haverhill. Until 1972, the county courthouse and other offices were located in downtown Woodsville, a...
,
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,416 at the 2000 census. Haverhill includes the villages of
WoodsvilleWoodsville is a census-designated place in the town of Haverhill in Grafton County, New Hampshire, U.S., along the Connecticut River at the mouth of the Ammonoosuc River. The population was 1,081 at the 2000 census...
,
PikePike is a small village within the town of Haverhill, New Hampshire, in the United States. It is located in western Grafton County, approximately east of the village of Haverhill, on Oliverian Brook...
, North Haverhill and the district of Mountain Lakes. 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, and to a branch of the New Hampshire Community Technical Colleges. The village of North Haverhill is
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of Grafton County.
History
Settled by citizens from
HaverhillHaverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 58,969 at the 2000 census.-Early History:The town was founded in 1640 by settlers from Newbury, and was originally known as Pentucket, which is the native American word for "place of the winding river."The town...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
, the town was first known as Lower Cohos. It was incorporated in 1763 by
ColonialIn politics and in history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their...
Governor
Benning WentworthBenning Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766. The son of the John Wentworth who had been Lieutenant Governor, he was born and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His nephew John Wentworth succeeded him. Wentworth graduated from Harvard College in 1715 and married...
, 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 3
gristmillA gristmill or grist mill is a building in which grain is ground into flour, or the grinding mechanism itself. In many countries these are referred to as corn mills or flour mills.- Early history :...
s, 12
sawmillA sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of 100 years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
s, a
paper millA paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from wood pulp and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier Machine or similar apparatus.A website that collects and distributes essay papers on the internet, either free or for a fee is known as "web paper mills"...
, a large
tanneryTanning is the process of making leather, which does not easily decompose, from the skins of animals, which do. Often this uses tannin, an acidic chemical compound. Coloring may occur during tanning....
, a
carriageA carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, these being litters or wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be...
manufacturer, an
ironIron is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 element and is therefore classified as a transition metal. Iron and iron alloys are by far the most common metals and the most common ferromagnetic materials in everyday use...
foundryA foundry is a factory that produces metal castings from either ferrous or non-ferrous alloys. Metals are turned into parts by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metal...
, 7
shoe factoriesShoemaking is a traditional handicraft profession, which has now been largely superseded by industrial manufacture of footwear.Shoemakers or cordwainers may produce a range of footwear items, including shoes, boots, sandals, clogs and moccasins...
, a
printingPrinting is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing.-History:...
office, and several mechanic shops. The town is home to the oldest documented
covered bridgeA covered bridge is a bridge, often single-lane, with enclosed sides and a roof. They have typically been wooden, although some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...
in the country still standing—the Haverhill-
BathBath is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 893 at the 2000 census.- History :Named for William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, Bath was granted in 1761 and incorporated in 1760...
Bridge, built in 1829.
The village of Woodsville, named for John L. Woods of
Wells RiverWells River is a village in the town of Newbury in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 325 at the 2000 census. The village center is located at the junction of U.S...
,
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
, was once a very important railroad center. Woods operated a sawmill on the
Ammonoosuc RiverThe Ammonoosuc River is a river, 55 mi long, 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"....
, 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.
Woodsville served as the county seat until 1972, when Grafton County administrative offices moved to rural land halfway between Woodsville and the smaller village of North Haverhill.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water, comprising 2.59% of the town. Bounded on the west by the
Connecticut RiverThe Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through western Massachusetts and central Connecticut into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It has a...
, Haverhill is drained by the
Ammonoosuc RiverThe Ammonoosuc River is a river, 55 mi long, 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"....
, in addition to
Oliverian BrookOliverian Brook is a 13.1 mile long river in western New Hampshire in the United States. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River, which flows to Long Island Sound....
and Clark Brook. Haverhill lies fully within the
Connecticut RiverThe Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through western Massachusetts and central Connecticut into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. It has a...
watershedA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
.
The highest point in Haverhill, at above
sea levelMean sea level is the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation.- Measurement :...
, is on the western slope of Black Mountain, whose summit is in the neighboring town of
BentonBenton is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 314 at the 2000 census.- History :Granted in 1764 with the name Coventry, the town was renamed Benton in honor of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, champion of American westward expansion.- Geography :According...
.
The town is crossed by
U.S. Route 302U.S. Route 302 is a spur of U.S. Route 2. It currently runs 171 miles from Portland, Maine at U.S. Route 1 to Montpelier, Vermont at US 2. It passes through the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.-Route description:-Maine:...
, New Hampshire Route 10,
New Hampshire Route 25New 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, where the road continues west as Vermont Route 25...
,
New Hampshire Route 116New Hampshire Route 116 is a long east–west highway in northern New Hampshire. NH 116 is a scenic rural highway stretching from Haverhill, which lies along the Connecticut River, to Jefferson, in the White Mountains Region....
, and
New Hampshire Route 135New Hampshire Route 135 is a long north–south state highway in New Hampshire. The highway runs north along the Connecticut River from Woodsville to Lancaster....
.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 4,416 people, 1,755 households, and 1,147 families residing in the town. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 86.5 people per square mile (33.4/km²). There were 2,148 housing units at an average density of 42.1/sq mi (16.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.23% White, 0.45% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.61% of the population.
There were 1,755 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.6% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,853, and the median income for a family was $44,816. Males had a median income of $27,100 versus $23,828 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the town was $17,465. About 6.4% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Sites of interest
Notable residents
- Samuel Brooks
Samuel Brooks was an American-born merchant and political figure in Lower Canada.He was born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, the son of merchant Samuel Brooks. He set up business in Newbury, Vermont. He married Elizabeth Towle in 1813. Around 1820, he moved to Stanstead in Lower Canada, later moving...
, merchant and politician
- Noah Davis
Noah Davis was an American lawyer and politician from New York-Life:...
, congressman
- Henry W. Keyes
Henry Wilder Keyes was an American farmer, banker, and Republican politician from Haverhill, New Hampshire. Born in 1863 in Newbury, Vermont, he was raised in New Hampshire. His father was a prominent New England farmer, merchant, and railroad investor. Keyes graduated from Harvard with a B.A...
, governor of New Hampshire
- Thomas Leverett Nelson
-Early life:Thomas Nelson was born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, March 4, 1827, one of twelve children of John and Lois Leverett Nelson. Nelson attended Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire and Dartmouth College. After two years at Dartmouth, he enrolled at the University of Vermont in...
, judge
- Chad Paronto
Chad Michael Paronto is an American Major League Baseball player for the Houston Astros organization. Paronto attended the University of Massachusetts before being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the eighth round of the amateur draft...
, baseball player
- Jonathan H. Rowell
Jonathan Harvey Rowell was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, Rowell attended Rock Creek School.He graduated from Eureka College, Illinois....
, congressman
- Bob Smith, baseball player
External links