Haverhill

Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The town was founded in 1640 by settlers from Newbury, and was originally known as Pentuckett, which is for "place of the winding river" The town developed woolen mills, tanneries, shipping and shipbuilding. Haverhill has played a role in nearly every era of American history, from the initial colonial settlement, to the French and Indian Wars, and the American Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The city has the distinction of featuring the first statue of a woman in the United States. In the late 19th century, it was Woolen Mill Tycoon Ezekiel J. M. Hale that commissioned a statue in Grand Army Park in honor of Hannah Dustin, who was scalped by her captors in 1697. The statue depicts Dustin brandishing an axe and escaping from the colonial leaders of Cotton Mather, who wrote a narrative about her capture and subsequent escape. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Census, and it is expected to grow to 80,000 by the end of the decade. It is located on the Merrimack River, which was once known as the "Worshipping Oak" because of its large oak tree. The land was sold by Passaquo and Saggahew who claimed to have permission from Passaconaway, though nothing more is known of these two figures in the historical record and it's unclear whether they were at liberty to sell the land.

History

Haverhill is the primary city name, but also Bradford, Ward Hill are acceptable city names or spellings. The official name is City of Haverhill. The town was founded in 1640 by settlers from Newbury, and was originally known as Pentuckett, which is for "place of the winding river" Judge Nathaniel Saltonstall was chosen to preside over the Salem witch trials in the 17th century; however, he found the trials objectionable and recused himself. A number of women from Haverhill were accused of witchcraft, and a few were found "guilty" by the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The city has the distinction of featuring the first statue erected in honor of a woman in the United States. The town has been struck by several epidemics, which killed 256 children between November 17, 1735 and December 31, 1737. It was established as a co-educational school in 1803, and George Washington visited the town on a "triumphant circuit" in 1789. In 1708, during Queen Anne's War, the town was raided by a party of French, Algonquin and Abenaki Indians. During King William's War in 1697, Hannah Dustin became famous for killing and then scalping her native captors, who were converts to Catholicism. In the late 19th century, it was Woolen Mill Tycoon Ezekiel J. M. Hale that commissioned a statue in her memory in Grand Army Republic Park. Her captivity narrative and subsequent escape and revenge upon her captors caught the attention of Cotton Mather, who wrote about her, and she also received from the colonial leaders a reward per Indian scalp.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.6 square miles (92.3 km²) Haverhill is bordered by Merrimac to the northeast, West Newbury and Groveland to the east, Boxford and a small portion of North Andover to the south, Methuen to the southwest, and Salem, Atkinson and Plaistow, New Hampshire, to the north. The city ranks 60th in the Commonwealth in terms of land area, and is the largest city or town in Essex County. The highest point in the city is found on Ayers Hill, a drumlin with two knobs of almost equal elevation of at least 335 feet (102 m), according to the most recent (2011-2012) USGS 7.5-minute topographical map. Gravel mining operations are conducted along eskars and glacial deposites of readily accessable gravel. The river systems within Haver Hill have also been heavily altered by glacial activity, with drainage patterns being inconsistent and variable. Because of this inconsistency, streams and rivers within Havershill would be classified as having a deranged drainage pattern. The overall terrain within Havarhill is heavily influenced by various glacial formations, with drumlins, moraines, glacial erratics, and kettle ponds being common. The bedrock topography is part of the Berwick Formation, consisting of metasandstone quartzite and sulfuric mica schists dating from the Silurian period.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 60,879 people, 25,576 households, and 14,865 families residing in the city. The city's violent crime rate per 100,000 inhabitants was higher than the average rate of violent crime in both the state of Massachusetts and the nation as a whole. The rate ofviolent crime in Haverhill has declined in the past several years, however, from a recent peak of 391 in 2017 to a low of 304 in 2020. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.11. The median income for a household in theCity was $49,833. The per capita income for the city was $23,280. About 7.0% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 10.0%, of those age 65 or over. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.7%. from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females age 18 or over, there are 85.7 males. The. median age was 36 years, with the. median income of $41,197. for a family was $59,772. Males had a median income. of $ 41,197 versus $31,779 for females.

Education

Haverhill is home to the main campus of Northern Essex Community College. Until its closing in 2000, Bradford College provided liberal arts higher education in Haverhill. In 2007, it became the new home of the Zion Bible College, now called Northpoint Bible College. The University of Massachusetts Lowell has a satellite campus in the Harbor Place building, and also offers several courses at Northern Essex community college. Public schools in the city are operated by the Haver Hill Public Schools District. HaverHill is also home to a historic Walnut Square School, first built in 1898 at a cost of $30,000. The school's tower clock was created by Mr. Edward Howard, a famous clock maker of the 1890s, at a Cost of $1,300. In late October 2022, there was a strike initiated by Haver hill teachers as part of the local teacher's union, the Havershill Education Association (HEA). The purpose of this strike was to renegotiate teacher contracts as well as future salary increases to adjust for inflation. The strike ended after an agreement was met between both parties. Both the strike and the eventual agreement met were overwhelmingly supported by HEA members during internal votes within the union; with over 600 members supporting the strike, and 25 against it, and 99% of the union supporting the eventual negotiated agreement. The city is located on the Massachusetts Turnpike, which runs from Boston to New York City. It has a population of around 2,500.

Infrastructure

Haverhill lies along Interstate 495, which has five exits throughout the city. The town is crossed by five state routes, including Routes 97, 108, 110, 113 and 125. The nearest major airport is Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, and the nearest international airport is Logan International Airport in Boston. Haverhill is the site of six road crossings and a rail crossing of the Merrimack; two by I-495 (the first leading into Methuen), the Comeau Bridge (Railroad Avenue, which leads to the Bradford MBTA station), the Haver Hill/Reading Line Railroad Bridge, the Basiliere Bridge (Rte. 125/Bridge St.) and the Bates Bridge. Amtrak provides service to Portland, Maine, and Boston's North Station from the same HaverHill station. MVRTA provides local bus service to Haver hill and beyond. The closest small-craft airport, Lawrence Municipal Airport, is in North Andover. The next nearest large airport is Boston's Logan Airport, which is only a few miles away from the town's downtown area. The last major airport in the area is Manchester, Massachusetts, with a small airport in Manchester. The U.S. Postal Service operates a post office in the town, which was established in 1875. The post office is closed on Sundays and is closed during the summer months. It was closed for good in the spring and summer of 2009. It reopened in the fall of that year.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts = 36.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 13. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Haverhill = 3.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 21,015 individuals with a median age of 37.9 age the population grows by 1.75% in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,051.91 residents per square mile of area (792.24/km²). There are average 2.52 people per household in the 23,286 households with an average household income of $59,379 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 9.90% of the available work force and has dropped -4.56% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 20.98%. The number of physicians in Haverhill per 100,000 population = 202.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Haverhill = 44.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 56.5 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 125. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 201. 84 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 16.7 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 50, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts which are owned by the occupant = 57.99%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 50 years with median home cost = $191,170 and home appreciation of -8.73%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $11.64 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,478 per student. There are 15.3 students for each teacher in the school, 7597 students for each Librarian and 691 students for each Counselor. 9.01% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 16.20% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 7.26% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).