Haverhill, city, Essex County, northeastern Massachusetts, on the Merrimack River, in a corn- and fruit-growing area, near the New Hampshire line; settled 1640, incorporated as a city 1869. Electronic equipment, paper, leather goods, clothing, computers, and chemicals are manufactured. Bradford College (1803) and a community college are here. The city's many old buildings include the home of Hannah Dustin, who was captured by Native Americans in 1697 and heroically escaped. The birthplace of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier is preserved nearby. Haverhill was a shipbuilding center from the 1690s until 1815, and it was a major shoe-manufacturing center from about 1865 to 1925. It is named for Haverhill, England. Population 46,865 (1980); 51,418 (1990); 58,969 (2000).
