The Trustees of the John Greenleaf Whittier Homestead recently elected Cindy Davis Jackson as president of its board, governing the birthplace and museum at 305 Whittier Road, Haverhill.
Jackson, a Merrimac resident is a graduate of Haverhill High School and completed her higher education at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. She recently acted as managing director of King Davis Properties. She joins a long list of distinguished Davis family members who have served Haverhill as civic and community leaders for several generations.
“Making a transition like this one is essential in the continuation of our strategy of being a premier museum in Essex County,” said outgoing board president Arthur H. Veasey III. “Cindy brings essential leadership skills, intellect and interpersonal qualities that are required to perpetuate the museum’s reputation, visibility and popularity as a visitor destination for the foreseeable future. With the support from our Executive Director Kaleigh Pare Shaughnessy, I couldn’t be leaving the museum’s leadership in better hands.”
The historic land and buildings, a fixture among the city’s cultural treasures, was deeded to the Trustees by James Hazen Carleton in 1892 to preserve as nearly possible the natural features of the landscape and buildings as when occupied by a young Whittier, who was later renowned as a fireside poet and advocate for the abolition of slavery in the United States.
Birthplace of John Greenleaf Whittier. (WHAV News file photograph.)