Haverhill, Florida

History

During the 1940s, the town's first permanent residents began building their homes when it was still a rural, South Florida flatwood pineland interspersed within the wetlands of the Everglades. By 1949, approximately 50 families living in the area began an effort to incorporate it into a town. The town was named after Haverhill, Massachusetts (which took its name from the English market town in Haverhill, Suffolk), because many of the first settlers were originally from that same town in Massachusetts. A vote on the motion to incorporate occurred on May 11, 1950. A total 59 out of 65 registered voters in Haverhill attended, who voted 42–17 in favor of incorporation. Ray Cox became the first mayor; other officers included Mrs. Fred Raulerson as town clerk, Tom Steele as town marshal, and Don Boyd, Henry Franklin, Paul Huffman, Myron V. Kelly, and A. J. Ward as town council members. The first census of the town, taken in 1960, recorded a population of 442. In the mid 1960s, construction began on a town hall, completed in August 1967 at a cost of $25,000. The town hall is a one-story building located at 4585 Charlotte Street near the eastern edge of the town. The town council is composed of five seats including the vice mayor and mayor.

From the History section of Haverhill, Florida on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.