Haverhill Heritage Series
soldiers monument

Hannah Duston and the Mysterious, Mostly Missing Monument

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By David Goudsward
Special to Wave~Lengths

Monuments to Hannah Duston range from statues to the garrison house built by her husband Thomas just a little too late to be useful. Each has its own story, but this is the story of the monument to Hannah’s exploits that still exists, but doesn’t. On March 14, 1697, Thomas and Hannah Duston lived in a house on the west side of Little River in the then-town of Haverhill. The story of her capture, escape and return is already well known, albeit glamorized in ways that Hannah herself wouldn’t recognize. It is the location of the Duston home where our story begins.

Bank Survives Setbacks; Shapes City

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One downtown Haverhill bank played a pivotal role in the shaping of modern Haverhill. It’s a story that involves shoe workers, a different failed bank, planned construction of Interstate 495, city hall fisticuffs and urban renewal. You may know Kendall C. “Ken” Smith as past president and current chairman of the board of Pentucket Bank, but you may not know is he is an avid “scrapbooker.” Smith opened his scrapbook to Open Mike Show viewers and listeners Monday, March 24, and revealed many otherwise long-lost secrets. “I stayed in banking my whole life. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.