Special Collections
Featured Resources & Collections
Collection Highlights
Featured Resources
Selected Collections
- John Greenleaf Whittier Collection
- Started by the Whittier Club and Haverhill Public Library in about 1887, the collection includes Whittier's writings, as well as literature about him.
- Senter Digital Archive
- Over 12,000 digitized photographs are available online in the Senter Digital Archive, with more being added on a regular basis.
Family History & Genealogy
- Archival Manuscript Collection Finding Aids
- We might have a entire manuscript collection about your ancestors - check the "People" finding aids for your family name.
- Haverhill Cemetery Records - MSS 15
- Records such as maps, burials, and inscriptions are organized by cemetery.
- Haverhill City Directories
- The Haverhill City Directories offer occupation, home, and work addresses for heads of households and businesses. We have most years from 1870 to 1978.
- Haverhill Public Library Genealogical Vertical File - HG2
- A variety of manuscript materials organized by family name, including deeds, letters, and other primary resource documents. Search the finding aid for your family name.
- Haverhill Public Library Genealogy Reference Collection - MSS 25
- More genealogical documents and research organized by family name. Search the finding aid for your family name.
- Massachusetts Town & City Vital Records to 1850
- Search Massachusetts birth, marriage, and death records by municipality.
- Pecker Genealogy & Family History Collection
- Search the online catalog with your family name (try surname + "family" in a general search) to find published genealogies in the Pecker Collection.
House & Building Histories
- Haverhill Public Library Map Collection
- An extensive collection of local and regional maps includes Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, assessor's maps, and town survey maps showing building footprints and ownership over time.
- Massachusetts Historical Commission House Survey
- Completed in the late 1970s, a survey of most houses in Haverhill and Bradford includes a reference photo and brief description of each house, organized by neighborhood, street name, and house number. [Not in catalog; only available onsite.]
- Reading Room Print Photo Collection
- Browsable print photographs of local places, people, and events from the late 1800s through the 1970s. Included are a house photo series and a street photo series, both organized by street name, as well a businesses series organized by business type. Digitized photos from this series are available in the Senter Digital Archive.
- Senter Digital Archive
- Over 12,000 digitized photographs are available online in the Senter Digital Archive, with more being added on a regular basis.
- Senter House Photo Print Collection
- A collection of print photographs of each house in Haverhill in the 1970s, organized by street name and number. [Not in catalog; only available onsite.]
- Winfield Scott Thomas WPA Collection - MSS 86
- This collection features over 150 original watercolors and several pencil drawings of historic Haverhill houses and buildings. Check the finding aid to see if your home or family name is included.
Local History
- Archival Manuscript Collection Finding Aids
- Search our manuscript collections for unique and original documents on a wide variety of local people, clubs, and organizations.
- Haverhill History Collection
- An extensive collection of publications and documents covering multiple aspects of Haverhill history, from the shoemaking industry to local authors to urban renewal. The collection also includes a selection of city records.
- Haverhill Public Library Local History Vertical File - HG1
- This collection features primary sources concerning the city of Haverhill, including information on surrounding towns such as Groveland, Boxford, and Atkinson, NH.
- Pecker Local & Regional History Collection
- The Pecker Local & Regional History Collection focuses on town histories throughout Massachusetts and New England, including rare titles that are no longer in print.
Military Resources
- Compiled World War I Service Records & News Clippings
- Organized by surname, this collection consists of index cards with notes on World War I military assignments, rankings, biographical notes, and news clippings for soldiers from Haverhill and the surrounding area. [Not in catalog; only available onsite]
- Pecker Local & Regional History Collection
- The Pecker Collection collection includes a section on the military history of Haverhill and the surrounding region, including Maine and New Hampshire.