It wasn't very long ago that we left the 20th century behind and began our journey in a new millennium. The changing times provided a good moment to look back on where we have been and what we have accomplished during the past 100 years. Perhaps we can get a view of where Haverhill is going in coming years.
I looked back to the year 1640 to see what significant events took place since we first settled along the Merrimack River. Although many things happened each year, I feel that only seven events took place over the years that truly impacted our town. It sounds silly to have so few, but I found 1640 was significant because our forefathers settled here. They must have found it to be good enough to stay, as they bought Pentucket as their home in 1642, the second event.
The settlement grew until it became a village and eventually became a world leader in the fabrication of women's shoes. A third event occurred on Feb. 17, 1882, when a Great Fire destroyed the entire shoe district of Haverhill and left 3,000 people without work in the middle of winter. This was a disaster, and it looked like the workers would leave the city and find work elsewhere. The city moved fast and continued to make shoes while owners rebuilt their shoe shops.
In 1897, Haverhill annexed Bradford and this fourth event created the final layout of the city we know today. During the years around this time, the city built itself with leaders who knew what they were doing. They built new schools, installed water service throughout the city and built an impressive City Hall. This was our town as we entered the 20th century.
Decade by decade things happened in this Yankee town. During the years 1901 through 1910, Bradford High School merged with Haverhill High and St. James built and expanded its high school. In 1906, the County Bridge was built and a new high school was constructed in 1910.
From 1911 to 1930, motion pictures began and Louis B. Mayer built the Colonial Theater. We fought World War I, suffered through a worldwide epidemic of influenza, had two major floods, built the present Bradford/Haverhill Bridge in 1925, saw the start of the decline in our shoe business and began the Great Depression. These events were not particularly Haverhill's problems as much of the world shared them with us.
The time between 1931 and 1950 brought a major flood in 1936 that saw the city install its floodwall along the Merrimack River. High winds in 1938 brought us a terrible hurricane and another flood. The floodwall worked all right, but they neglected to install back-up valves in the discharge piping. The population waited for the shoe business to return to what it once was, but this never happened. In 1941, World War II began and many men left the town to fight. Western Electric saw our empty shops and many women eager to work. They moved into Lawrence and Haverhill, bringing a new way of living to the area. This was the fifth significant event that happened as the town changed from making shoes to manufacturing telephone equipment. Changes were coming, but we really didn't see them. St. James dropped sports in 1948 and this was the beginning of the end to our parochial school system. Wars were not over yet and the Korean War began in 1950.
No major events occurred within Haverhill for another decade, but it wouldn't be long before we took matters into our own hands. Two major hurricanes hit the city during 1954 and Western Electric moved to North Andover in 1957. Although many in the city were worried about this move, no jobs were lost and, in fact, the company expanded to more than 12,000 employees.
The federal government had an idea in 1958 called Urban Renewal, a plan under which it would assume 75 percent of the costs associated with an improved city's plan. Haverhill began its self-destruction in 1966 when demolition of property at Mill Street started. Buildings were razed, including the public library and the Courthouse. A double-barreled highway that went nowhere was constructed from Mill Street all the way to Emerson Street as destruction continued.
As our City Hall fell to the blades and ball, we realized that we had committed the sixth significant event in our city's history: Valuable property had disappeared and would never be replaced. The government recognized its error and stopped the program. With no real building plans in place, our city government decided to stop as well in 1977. This turned out to be our seventh and last significant decision to really impact our town as we attempted to save it.
Through the next 30 years, changes continued to happen as Haverhill watched St. James Grammar School close in 1973 and the parking deck began a 14-year fight for its existence, which it ultimately won. Western Electric began to downsize and the Catholic parishes began their mergers throughout the city.
Shoe-making was once our legacy and nothing has taken its place. If tourism is to be part of our future, the old buildings won't do it by themselves. Perhaps an actual shoe factory could be restored as a working museum in the heart of our historical district — complete with the smells and sounds of an old industry. A small park with a shoe monument and a Visitors Center with a historical movie would be a great start.
Charles Turner writes about Haverhill's history. He is a frequent contributor to The Haverhill Gazette.
