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History · Haverhill

Haverhill’s post office opened in 1882, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Edel, Matthew, Blacksmith Shop and House. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1980 on, and the census since 1970.

1882first post office
1on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Haverhill’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Haverhill began

When was Haverhill founded?

1882

The Haverhill post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 160 in 19702020 census: 165144 years
Founding year: the first Haverhill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Haverhill’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Haverhill’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Haverhill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Haverhill’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewClosed bank in Haverhill, Iowa. 1939: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Haverhill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Haverhill.

Read it all →

The St. Joseph's parochial school and the Immaculate Conception Church, established in the 1870s pre-date Haverhill's official 1882 platting by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway (also known as the Milwaukee Road). The railroad carried both freight and passengers, with passenger service traveling east and west each stopping in Haverhill three times daily. The community mostly stored grain in elevators, while hosting several small industries and town services including a lumber company, blacksmith shop, bank, general store, grocer, and schools.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Haverhill, 1880 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880BuiltEdel, Matthew, Blacksmith Shop and House is built
  3. 1882Post officeThe Haverhill post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1939In the archiveClosed bank in Haverhill, Iowa. 1939
  6. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Haverhill, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s4 items
Closed bank in Haverhill, Iowa. 19391939Closed bank in Haverhill, Iowa. 1939Haverhill, Iowa at Main St. and 1st St. 19391939Haverhill, Iowa at Main St. and 1st St. 1939Closed bank. Haverhill, Iowa1939Closed bank. Haverhill, IowaA village that is declining because of good roads and automobiles which carry the farmers to the larger towns. Haverhil…1939A village that is declining because of good roads and…
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
IAMap-doton-Haverhill2004IAMap-doton-Haverhill
On the map

Haverhill on the map in 1980

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Haverhill.

Haverhill on the 1980 USGS map1980Laurel sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Haverhill.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Closed bank in Haverhill, Iowa. 1939
Retake this viewClosed bank in Haverhill, Iowa. 1939, 1939

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Haverhill’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Haverhill

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Edel, Matthew, Blacksmith Shop and House
Edel, Matthew, Blacksmith Shop and House, built 1880
Buildings
Edel, Matthew, Blacksmith Shop and HouseBuilt 1880

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Haverhill, census by census

0100198020002020Peak: 173

Between 144 and 173 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Haverhill’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Haverhill

Nobody well known was born in Haverhill itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Danai GuriraZimbabwean-American actress · b. 1978
Jean SebergAmerican actress · b. 1938
Frank Jack FletcherUnited States Navy admiral, Medal of Honor reci… · b. 1885
Joseph KosinskiAmerican film director · b. 1974
Mary Beth HurtAmerican stage and film actress · b. 1946
Toby HussAmerican actor · b. 1966
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Haverhill’s post office has been open since 1882.

Gone or out of use
Haverhilllocale
1cemetery inside Haverhill
Immaculate Conception

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Haverhill’s history

What year was Haverhill founded?

The Haverhill post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Haverhill?

One place: the Edel, Matthew, Blacksmith Shop and House (listed 1983).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.