Haverhill (pronounced HAY-vrull or HAY-va-rull) is a small city in Essex County, Massachusetts. The population is 67,787 as of the 2020 US Census. Haverhill
is one of several major industrial cities (others of note include Lawrence, Lowell, Nashua and Manchester) to spring up along the Merrimack River in the 1800s during the industrial revolution, utilizing water power from the Merrimack to power their mills. Haverhill’s primary industry was shoemaking, earning it the nickname “the Queen Slipper City.” Like many other industrial cities in the northeastern United States, Haverhill hit a period of sharp decline in the early 20th century that it never fully recovered from (although Haverhill is doing a LOT better now than it was 20 years ago).
I was in Haverhill the other day to go to the RMV (that’s what we call the DMV in Massachusetts, because in Massachusetts we have to be “different” so we call
it the “Registry” of Motor Vehicles cause oOoh it sounds British and fancy. (in case you misread the tone, that’s sarcasm by the way)) and I decided to brave the cold to take some photos. My phone died before I could get as many photos as I wanted to, but here are the ones I have: