Forever Archie in Meredith, New Hampshire | Timeless New England
Could Meredith, New Hampshire, be the town that inspired Riverdale? The lakeside town lays claim to a favorite fictional son with an Archie statue.
By Joe Bills|Apr 23 2019|
Shown at left is the clay model for Meredith’s Archie statue, sculpted by Valery Mahuchy, a native of Belarus who now lives in Bethlehem, New Hampshire.
Photo Credit: Michael SeamansPhoto Credit : Michael Seamans
The exact location of the fictional town of Riverdale may never be determined, but its most famous resident, Archie Andrews, has nonetheless come home. Last summer, as part of Meredith, New Hampshire’s 250th anniversary celebration, a statue of the comic book star was installed on a bench in Community Park—right across the street from the former studio of the man who helped create Archie, artist Bob Montana.
When a young Montana was hired by MLJ Comics in 1941, one of his first assignments resulted in a four-page story that was published in Pep Comics No. 22. The plot revolved around a high schooler named Archie and his friends Jughead and Betty (Veronica, Betty’s frenemy, would come along later). A number of Archie shorts followed. When it became clear that Archie was popular enough to warrant a full comic book of his own, Montana rented a cottage on Meredith’s Lake Waukewan and got to work.
By 1946, the Riverdale gang was so popular that MLJ changed its name to Archie Comics. The following year, Montana—who was by then a full-time resident of Meredith—launched a syndicated Archie comic strip that would eventually appear in more than 700 newspapers.
Although other writers and artists worked on various Archie properties, Montana is most often credited with shaping the characters. Many believe that Archie’s pals were patterned after kids that Montana knew in high school in Haverhill, Massachusetts. What is certain is that Montana’s strips were often stocked with landmarks and characters from the Meredith area.
For more than 75 years, Archie and his Riverdale pals have reflected something essential back to their audience. Now, a life-size bronze rendition of Montana’s creation sits and seemingly contemplates it all, with a welcoming smile and plenty of bench space for visiting Bettys to sit on one side and Veronicas on the other.
My Dad always said Riverdale was fashioned after Haverhill MA, and Riverdale High school was Good ole’ Haverhill High which looked just like the actual building with the Statue out front of the Thinker. I went looking for the school several years ago and found it right in the center of town, but it is now the Town offices. Still looks the same. And although he never named anyone specific, many of his strip’s characters were fashioned after students he went to school with. A composite of several in some cases. Veronica was the only exception. She was created from the actress Veronica Lake but he made her a brunette instead of a blond. Dad totally associated with Archie himself.
even Riverdale High had same school colors as Haverhill High: Brown & Gold. Jughead was actually Richard Linehan who’s family still live in Haverhill. High school overlooks the Merrimack River and thus, the school’s name
God Bless my parents for sending their family of five to Riverdale Elementary School in Dedham, Massachusetts! Riverdale is the name of a school in “my book”… My boss, at The New York Times Co. became Chairman and President of Meredith Corp.–a Rhodes Scholar who capitalized on my Wharton MBA. I am, still, waiting for my “overdue” from Arthur… Happy Summer !
Actually, While Bob Montana did reside in Meredith, N.H> he was raised and attended school in Haverhill Mass. and Riverdale was modeled after Haverhill, and Haverhill High school, where Bob Montana attended! Here is an except from Wikipedia …”According to Jane (Donahue) Murphy, a high school classmate of Montana’s, Archie and his friends were based on people from their hometown of Haverhill and Haverhill High School. She said Archie Andrews was based on Donahue’s cousin, Richard Heffernan; Veronica Lodge on Agatha Popoff, the daughter of the local football team’s doctor; Jughead Jones on a mischievous teen named “Skinny” Linnehan; while Miss Grundy may have been based on a high school typing and shorthand teacher named Lundstrom.”
Actually, it was the Riverdale section in The Bronx, NY (yes, that The Bronx!). It was, 40-plus years ago, kind of an upscale middle-class area across the Harlem River/Spuyten Duyvil from Inwood Park, and parts of it overlook the Hudson. There used to be a couple of private schools there, and Manhattan College is either in it or borders it. It’s probably pricier these days. Some of the early Archie comics show a tower (a clock tower, I think) that’s a prominent spot in Riverdale in the background.
From the comments, it sounds like the comic may have been a composite of Haverhill and Riverdale (NY).
My wife’s father remembered Bob Montana coming into the Gilford country store store on a regular basis with his father in the 30’s. My wife’s dad lived over the store with his parents, his father (my wife’s grandfather) ran the store to help pay for rent, my wife’s grandfather’s name was Archie Andrews who had red hair and freckles. Coincidence or not?
That is so cool! I hope you have this all down in a scrap book for the current and future generations of your family!
I left the comment before, I failed to mention this happened during the summer months