Plaistow, Westville, and the North Parish presents the most complete visual record available of a century in the life of a small corner of southeast New Hampshire. Once a part of Haverhill, Plaistow was set off from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1741 by royal decree and was incorporated as a town eight years later by Colonial Gov. Benning Wentworth. Without a major lake or river of its own, Plaistow emerged as an agricultural community dependent upon the river towns of Haverhill and Newburyport. In the 1800s, the Boston & Maine Railroad spurred industrial development and created new outlets for the town's productive energies.
The resources brought together in Plaistow, Westville, and the North Parish illustrate the town's development from the railroad's arrival in the 1830s through the 1960s. This collection of images, most of which have never before been published, is drawn from the archival resources of the Plaistow Historical Society, the Haverhill Public Library, and several private collections. Among the rare photographs are an interior view of Peaslee Mill; a view of Mount Misery, the town's highest point; and the 1704 Hurd House, Plaistow's oldest structure.