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.
