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The Buttonwoods Museum holds a variety of artifacts collected over the years by the Haverhill Historical Society Board of Trustees. Elizabeth Goodrich, Haverhill native and high school teacher, led the charge to form a historical society in Haverhill. At a meeting in July 1897 at Winnekenni Castle, the Merrimack Valley Historical Society was formed; in 1898 the name was changed to the Haverhill Historical Society.
The first members of the society collected furniture, ceramics, clothing, photographs, paintings, tools, banners, books, documents and more. The Buttonwoods Museum was opened in 1904 after Society President Judge Ira Abbott persuaded Mary Duncan Harris to donate the Duncan family home on Water street to the Society in honor of her father, Haverhill lawyer, James Henry Duncan. Starting in the late 1820’s through the 1850’s, James Henry Duncan served in the State House of Representatives, State Senate and U.S. Congress for two terms. When the Buttonwoods Museum opened on January 30, 1904, Leonard Smith was curator.
About five years after the Buttonwoods Museum opened, the Society arranged for the John Ward House (circa 1710) to be moved back to Society property. In June 1918, the Society dedicated Ayer-Elliott Hall, an addition built the previous year. In 1922, the Haverhill Historical Society merged with the Haverhill Archaeological Society and acquired several hundred Native American artifacts. Throughout the decades, the Society has added on to the Museum to provide gallery space for its extensive collections. The last major addition to the Museum complex was in 1983, when Terrace Hall was added to connect the Museum to Tenney Hall, moved from across John Ward Avenue to the Buttonwoods property. The Trustees are currently involved in planning for updates to the museum facility.
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