About the Buttonwoods Museum

The Buttonwoods Museum is named for the Buttonwoods or sycamore trees planted on the property in the early 1740’s by Haverhill’s first Irish immigrant, Hugh Tallent. Mr. Tallent worked for the Saltonstall family, who once owned the property. In 1814, the Duncan family, prosperous merchants, built a fine example of a rural Federal style mansion on the site. Mary Duncan Harris gave “The Buttonwoods” to the Haverhill Historical Society in 1903 and the Museum opened in 1904. The Buttonwoods Museum houses furniture, ceramics, glassware, quilts, dolls and toys. A visit to the Duncan House illustrates the importance of the Merrimack River in trade, commerce and travel.

The Buttonwoods site is in the middle of hundreds of years of Haverhill and Merrimack Valley history! A visit to the 1710 John Ward House begins a journey into life in the area during and after English settlement. The John Ward house is a please touch house, filled with reproduction red ware, tin ware, cooking utensils, and more!

Mission:

The mission of the Society is carried out by staff and volunteers. The trustees represent the community and are involved in fundraising efforts to support the Buttonwoods Museum. A series of annual events raise funds for building maintenance, daily operations, museum collections and special programs.