Timeline of Lowell, Massachusetts

The following is a timeline of the history of Lowell, Massachusetts, US.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

## 19th century

[edit]

* 1822
* Merrimack Manufacturing Company incorporated.[1]
* Hugh Cummiskley leads 30 Irishmen up the Middlesex Canal starting in Charlestown, Mass to Pawtucket falls in Chelmsford, Ma[2]
* 1824
* St. Anne's Church organized.[3]
* Lowell Daily Journal and Courier begins publication.[4]
* 1825 - Middlesex Mechanic Association,[5] Hamilton Manufacturing Company,[3]and Mechanic Phalanx established.[6]
* 1826
* Town of Lowell established from Chelmsford land.[7]
* First Baptist Church and First Universalist Church organized.[3]
* Merrimack Journal newspaper in publication.[8]
* Central Bridge opens.[9]
* 1827 - First Methodist Episcopal Church organized.[3]
* 1828 - Appleton Company, Lowell Bank, and Lowell Manufacturing Company incorporated.[3]
* 1829
* Lowell Institution for Savings incorporated.[3]
* Lowell Fire Department established.[9]
* 1830
* Lawrence Manufacturing Company, Middlesex Company, Suffolk Manufacturing Company, and Tremont Mills incorporated.[3]
* Appleton Street Church, South Congregational Church, and Worthen Street Baptist Church established.[3]
* Town Hall built.[10]
* Population: 6,474.[11]
* 1831
* First Roman Catholic Church organized.[3]
* Railroad Bank incorporated.[3]
* 1832 - Lowell Bleachery incorporated.[3]
* 1833 - Police Court established.[12]
* 1834
* Women's labor strike.[13]
* First Freewill Baptist Church organized.[3]
* Lowell Advertiser and Lowell Patriot newspapers begin publication.[4][8]
* Lowell Circulating Library in business.[14]
* James Abbott McNeill Whistler, painter born.[7]
* 1835
* Boston and Lowell Railroad begins operating.[4]
* Boott Cotton Mills incorporated.[3]
* Lucy Larcom, teacher, poet and author moves to Lowell.[7]
* 1836
* City of Lowell incorporated.[15]
* Factory Girls' Association,[13] Dispensary,[6] Lowell Temperance Society,[6] and Second Universalist Parish[9] established.
* 1838
* Nashua and Lowell Railroad begins operating.[4]
* County jail built.[10]
* 1839
* Massachusetts Cotton Mills incorporated.[9]
* Middlesex Horticultural Society[9] and Lowell Medical Association[16] founded.
* 1840
* Hospital Association[6] and Lowell Museum established.
* Lowell Offering begins publication.[7]
* By now, Lowell mills had recruited over 8,000 Lowell mill girls.
* Population: 20,796.[11]
* 1841
* Lowell Cemetery established.
* Vox Populi newspaper begins publication.[4]
* 1842 - Charles Dickens visits Lowell.[7]
* 1843 - First Wesleyan Methodist Church[3]and Missionary Association established.[4]
* 1844 - City Library,[14] Lowell Female Labor Reform Association,[17] and New Jerusalem Swedenborgian Church established.[3]
* 1845 - Lowell Machine Shop incorporated.[3]
* 1846
* Lowell and Lawrence Railroad incorporated.[4]
* Jefferson Bancroft becomes mayor.[9]
* 1847 - June: U.S. president Polk visits Lowell.[18]
* 1848 - Francis floodgate[1] and Colburn School built.
* 1850
* Lowell Gas Light Company in business.[4]
* Salem and Lowell Railroad begins operating.[4]
* Middlesex County Law Library founded.[14]
* Court-House built.[10]
* Population: 33,383.[11]
* 1851 - Lowell Daily Citizen newspaper begins publication.[4]
* 1852 - May: Lajos Kossuth visits Lowell.[18]
* 1853
* Belvidere Woollen Manufacturing Company organized.[4]
* St. Patrick's Church and Merrimack Street Depot built.[10]
* 1856 - Jail built.[10]
* 1857 - Varnum School built.
* 1863 - High School Association organized.[12]
* 1864 - Lowell Horse Railroad begins operating.[12]
* 1865
* United States Bunting Company in business.[19]
* Wamesit Power Company incorporated.[19]
* 1867 - St. John's Hospital and Young Men's Christian Association established.[12][20]
* 1868 - Old Franklin Literary Association[19] and Old Residents' Historical Association organized.[21]
* 1870 - Coggeshall's Circulating Library in business.[14]
* 1873 - Young Women's Home established.[19]
* 1875 - Riding Park, and Club Dramatique established.[19]
* 1876
* Moxie beverage invented.[22]
* Lowell Art Association founded.
* 1882 - Butler School built.
* 1883
* Public Library opens.[10]
* Yorick Club active.
* 1887 - Board of Trade established.[23]
* 1889 - Opera House built.
* 1890 - Population: 77,696.[7]
* 1891 - Lowell General Hospital founded.[24][20]
* 1893 - Lowell Post Office built.
* 1894 - Normal School[1] and Middlesex Women's Club[9] founded.
* 1895 - Middlesex Village School built.[9]
* 1897 - Lowell Textile School opens.[1][7]
* 1898 - Pawtucket Congregational Church built.
* 1900
* Gaity Theatre opens.[25]
* Population: 94,969.[7]

## 20th century

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2012)

|

* 1902 - Lowell Historical Society incorporated.[26]
* 1905 - Tewksbury's Wigginville neighborhood annexed to the City of Lowell.[27]
* 1908 - Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church built.
* 1909 - Lowell's Merrimack Valley Course hosted a motor racing festival that featured four AAA-sanctioned championship car races.[28]
* 1910 - Population: 106,294.[7]
* 1911 - Colonial Theatre opens.[25]
* 1917 - Demoulas Market (grocery) in business.[29]
* 1918 - International Institute active.[30]
* 1922 - Lowell Memorial Auditorium built.
* 1924 - Commodore Ballroom opens.[9]
* 1925 - Edith Nourse Rogers becomes U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.[31]
* 1927 - Victory Theater opens.[25]
* 1930 - Post Office built.
* 1937 - Cawley Memorial Stadium built.
* 1942 - Lowell Ordnance Plant active.
* 1946 - New England Golden Gloves boxing tournament begins.[32]
* 1951
* WCAP (AM) radio begins broadcasting.
* Monarch Diner in business.
* 1970 - Lowell Community Health Center established.[1][20]
* 1971 - Lowell Historic District Commission proposed by City Councilor M. Brendan Fleming approved by the Lowell City Council
* 1974 - Lowell Regional Transit Authority created.
* 1975
* University of Massachusetts Lowell established.
* Paul Tsongas becomes U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.[33]
* 1976 - Wang Laboratories relocates to Lowell.[34]
* 1978
* Lowell National Historical Park established.[35]
* Yorick Club goes bankrupt.
* 1979
* B. Joseph Tully becomes city manager.[36]
* Merrimack Regional Theatre active.
* 1980
* Wang headquarters construction begins.[37]
* Population: 92,418.[38]
* 1983 - Lowell Historic Board and Downtown Lowell Historic District established.[39]
* 1987
* Middlesex Community College opens campus in Lowell.
* New England Quilt Museum founded.[40]
* 1989
* Glory Buddhist Temple established.[41]
* Sister city relationship established with Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, France.
* 1990
* Lowell Folk Festival begins.[42]
* Baystate Marathon begins.
* 1991
* Richard Johnson becomes city manager.
* University of Massachusetts' Industrial History Center established.[40]
* 1992 - August: Wang goes bankrupt.[34]
* 1995
* Brian J. Martin becomes city manager.
* Chamber of Commerce formed.[43]
* 1996
* Lowell Spinners baseball team founded.
* Stoklosa Alumni Field opens.
* 1997
* Showcase Cinema in business.[25]
* Merrimack Valley Textile Museum relocated to Lowell.
* 1998
* Edward A. LeLacheur Park and Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell open.
* Lowell Lock Monsters hockey team formed.
* City website online (approximate date).[44][chronology citation needed]

## 21st century

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2012)

|

* 2000
* John Cox becomes city manager.[45]
* String Project (music education) established.[46]
* 2001
* Cultural Organization of Lowell established.[47]
* Winterfest begins.
* Sister city relationships established with Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia.[48]
* 2006
* Bernard Lynch becomes city manager.[49]
* Shree Swaminarayan Temple established.[41][50]
* Sister city relationship established with Bryansk, Russia.[citation needed]
* 2007 - Niki Tsongas becomes U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.[51]
* 2010
* Patrick O. Murphy becomes mayor.[52]
* Sister city relationship established with Winneba, Ghana.[citation needed]
* Population: 106,519.[53]
* 2014
* July: Fire.[54]
* Kevin Murphy becomes city manager.[2]

## See also

[edit]

* History of Lowell, Massachusetts
* List of mayors and city managers of Lowell, Massachusetts
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Lowell, Massachusetts
* Timelines of other municipalities in Middlesex County, Massachusetts: Cambridge, Somerville, Waltham

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Federal Writers' Project 1937.
2. ^ Eno 1976.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p March 1849.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Adams 1857.
5. ^ Catalogue of the Library of the Middlesex Mechanic Association, at Lowell, Mass., Leonard Huntress, printer, 1840, OCLC 11765136, OL 23535943M
6. ^ a b c d Prescott 1841.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Britannica 1910.
8. ^ a b "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Research". Lowell Historical Society. Retrieved January 25, 2014. "Collections"
10. ^ a b c d e f Industries 1886.
11. ^ a b c Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
12. ^ a b c d Sampson 1870.
13. ^ a b Aaron Brenner; et al., eds. (2009). "Timeline". Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-2645-5.
14. ^ a b c d Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
15. ^ Anniversary 1886.
16. ^ Floyd 1840.
17. ^ Sue Heinemann (1996). Timelines of American Women's History. Berkley Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-399-51986-4.
18. ^ a b Cowley 1856.
19. ^ a b c d e Sampson 1875.
20. ^ a b c Mike Tigas; Sisi Wei, eds. (May 9, 2013). "Lowell, Massachusetts". Nonprofit Explorer. New York: ProPublica. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
21. ^ Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association, Lowell, Mass.: The Association, 1873, OL 14001898M
22. ^ Andrew F. Smith (2011). "Chronology". Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-39393-8.
23. ^ Ellis 1899.
24. ^ Coburn 1920.
25. ^ a b c d "Movie Theaters in Lowell, MA". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
26. ^ Lowell Historical Society (1902), By-Laws, Lowell, Mass., OL 18112818M`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
27. ^ Thomas, Matthew (2013). Historic Powder Houses of New England. History Press.
28. ^ "Lowell Motor Carnival a Racing Success". Motor Age. XVI (11): 1–15\. September 9, 1909. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
29. ^ "To understand Market Basket feud, head to Lowell", Boston Globe, July 31, 2014
30. ^ Stanton 2006.
31. ^ "Massachusetts". Official Congressional Directory: 69th Congress. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1926. hdl:2027/nyp.33433081797379.
32. ^ "Tradition of City's Golden Gloves", Lowell Sun, January 6, 2016
33. ^ "Massachusetts". Official Congressional Directory: 95th Congress. 1991/1992- : S. Pub. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1977. hdl:2027/uc1.31158002391372.
34. ^ a b Boston Globe 1992.
35. ^ Goldstein 2000.
36. ^ "Ex-Lowell official pleads guilty in bribe case", Boston Globe, August 31, 2011
37. ^ "Wang Headquarters Auctioned for $525,000", New York Times, February 17, 1994
38. ^ United States Census Bureau (1984), County and City Data Book, 1983, Statistical Abstract, Washington DC, OL 14997563M`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
39. ^ "Lowell Historic Board History". City of Lowell. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
40. ^ a b American Association for State and Local History (2002). "Massachusetts: Lowell". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 0759100020.
41. ^ a b Pluralism Project. "Lowell, Massachusetts". Directory of Religious Centers. Harvard University. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
42. ^ "FAQ". Lowell Folk Festival. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
43. ^ "Community Links". City of Lowell. Archived from the original on July 23, 2004.
44. ^ "Welcome to the City of Lowell, MA". Archived from the original on December 12, 1998 - via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
45. ^ "Lowell manager's resignation may herald a power shift", Boston Globe, April 30, 2006
46. ^ "University of Massachusetts, Lowell". Dallas, TX: National String Project Consortium. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
47. ^ "About Us". Cultural Organization of Lowell. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
48. ^ "Court dance connects New England and Cambodia", Boston Globe, August 5, 2001
49. ^ "Lowell's new city manager rolls up sleeves", Boston Globe, December 28, 2006
50. ^ "Shree Swaminarayan Temple". Shree Swaminarayan Sampraday. International Swaminarayan Satsang Organisation. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
51. ^ "Massachusetts". Official Congressional Directory: 112th Congress. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 2011. ISBN 9780160886539.
52. ^ "Meet the Mayors". Washington, DC: United States Conference of Mayors. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
53. ^ "Lowell (city), Massachusetts". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
54. ^ "Seven Die, Including 3 Children, in Massachusetts Fire", New York Times, July 10, 2014

## Bibliography

[edit]

Published in the 19th century

* Lowell Directory. Lowell, Massachusetts: Benjamin Floyd. 1832.
* Lowell Directory. Lowell: Benjamin Floyd. 1835.
* Benjamin Floyd (1840). Lowell Directory. Lowell.
* William H. Prescott (1841). Lowell Directory. Lowell: Leonard Huntress, printer.
* Charles Dickens (1842), "Lowell", American Notes, London: Chapman and Hall
* Lowell Directory ... 1844. Lowell: Turner. 1844.
* Lowell Directory. Lowell: Oliver March. 1847.
* Lowell Directory. Lowell: Oliver March. 1849.
* George Adams (1851). Lowell Directory. Lowell: Oliver March.
* Charles Cowley (1856), Hand Book of Business in Lowell, Lowell: E.D. Green, OCLC 9488073, OL 6905491M
* Adams, Sampson & Co. (1857). Lowell Directory ... 1858. Lowell: Joshua Merrill and B.C. Sargeant.
* Jeremiah Spofford (1860), "Lowell", Historical and Statistical Gazetteer of Massachusetts (2nd ed.), Haverhill: E.G. Frothingham
* Adams, Sampson & Co. (1861). Lowell Directory. Lowell: Joshua Merrill and B.C. Sargeant.
* Lowell Directory, 1866. Boston: Sampson, Davenport, & Co. 1866.
* Sampson, Davenport, & Co. (1868). Lowell Directory, 1868. Lowell: Joshua Merrill & Son.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
* Sampson, Davenport, & Co. (1870). Lowell Directory, 1870. Lowell: Joshua Merrill & Son.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
* "Lowell Business Directory". Merrimack River Directory. Boston: Greenough, Jones. 1872.
* Sampson, Davenport, & Co. (1875). Lowell Directory, 1875-6. Lowell: Joshua Merrill & Son.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
* Joseph Sabin, ed. (1878). "Lowell, Mass.". Bibliotheca Americana. Vol. 10\. New York. OCLC 13972268.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Hopkins (1879). City Atlas of Lowell, Massachusetts - via State Library of Massachusetts.
* "Lowell" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (9th ed.). 1883.
* "City of Lowell", Industries of Massachusetts, New York: International Pub. Co., 1886, OCLC 19803267
* Exercises of the Fiftieth Anniversary Commemorative of the Incorporation of the City of Lowell, Lowell, Mass: Vox Populi Press, S.W. Huse & Co., 1886, OL 14007310M
* Atlas of the City of Lowell, Massachusetts. L.J. Richards & Co. 1896 - via State Library of Massachusetts.
* The Lowell Book, Boston: G.H. Ellis, 1899, OCLC 14177988, OL 6997495M

Published in the 20th century

* Atlas of the City of Lowell, Massachusetts. L.J. Richards & Co. 1906 - via State Library of Massachusetts.
* "Lowell" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). 1910. pp. 76–77.
* George F. Kenngott (1912), Record of a City: a Social Survey of Lowell, Massachusetts, New York: Macmillan Co., OCLC 2048985, OL 13542090M
* Frederick William Coburn (1920). History of Lowell and Its People. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company - via HathiTrust.
* Atlas of the City of Lowell, Massachusetts. L.J. Richards & Co. 1924 - via State Library of Massachusetts.
* Federal Writers' Project (1937), "Lowell", Massachusetts: a Guide to its Places and People, American Guide Series, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, hdl:2027/mdp.39015014440781`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
* Eno, Arthur L. Jr., ed. (1976). Cotton Was King: A History of Lowell, Massachusetts (1976 ed.). New Hampshire Publishing Company. p. 190\. ISBN 0912274611.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
* Lowell Cultural Resources Inventory, 1980
* Lowell Neighborhoods: Historical and Architectural Survey, 1981
* "Boom to Bust: Wang Bankruptcy Leaves Lowell Sagging Under the Weight of Recession", Boston Globe, August 25, 1992
* George Thomas Kurian (1994), "Lowell, Massachusetts", World Encyclopedia of Cities, vol. 1: North America, Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, OL 1431653M (fulltext via Open Library)

Published in the 21st century

* Carolyn M. Goldstein (2000). "Many Voices, True Stories, and the Experiences We Are Creating in Industrial History Museums: Reinterpreting Lowell, Massachusetts". Public Historian. 22 (3): 129–137\. doi:10.2307/3379583. JSTOR 3379583.
* "Around Boston: Lowell", New England (3rd ed.), Lonely Planet, 2002, p. 172+, OL 24765202M
* Cathy Stanton (2006). The Lowell Experiment: Public History in a Postindustrial City. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 1-55849-547-9.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lowell, Massachusetts.

* Richard F. Leach; Eileen Loucraft. "Lowell History Chronology". Lowell Historical Society.
* Items related to Lowell, Mass., various dates (via Digital Commonwealth)
* Items related to Lowell, Mass., various dates (via US Library of Congress, Prints & Photos Division)
* University of Massachusetts Lowell. Center for Lowell History
* Items related to Lowell, Massachusetts, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).
* "Lowell, Massachusetts". Ballotpedia. Wisconsin: Lucy Burns Institute.

## Images

[edit]

* Lowell Bleachery, incorporated 1832

* Lowell, 1834

* Jail, built 1856

* Advertisements, 1875

* Map of Lowell, 1876

42°38′22″N 71°18′53″W﻿ / ﻿42.639444°N 71.314722°W﻿ / 42.639444; -71.314722

* v
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Municipalities and communities of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States

County seats: Cambridge and Lowell

Cities|

* Cambridge
* Everett
* Framingham
* Lowell
* Malden
* Marlborough
* Medford
* Melrose
* Newton
* Somerville
* Waltham
* Watertown
* Woburn

Towns|

* Acton
* Arlington
* Ashby
* Ashland
* Ayer
* Bedford
* Belmont
* Billerica
* Boxborough
* Burlington
* Carlisle
* Chelmsford
* Concord
* Dracut
* Dunstable
* Groton
* Holliston
* Hopkinton
* Hudson
* Lexington
* Lincoln
* Littleton
* Maynard
* Natick
* North Reading
* Pepperell
* Reading
* Sherborn
* Shirley
* Stoneham
* Stow
* Sudbury
* Tewksbury
* Townsend
* Tyngsborough
* Wakefield
* Wayland
* Westford
* Weston
* Wilmington
* Winchester

CDPs|

* Ayer (CDP)
* Cochituate
* Devens‡
* East Pepperell
* Groton (CDP)
* Hanscom AFB
* Hopkinton (CDP)
* Hudson (CDP)
* Littleton Common
* Pepperell (CDP)
* Pinehurst
* Shirley (CDP)
* Townsend (CDP)
* West Concord

Other
villages|

* Auburndale
* Chestnut Hill‡
* East Lexington
* Felchville
* Forge Village
* Gleasondale
* Greenwood
* Graniteville
* Melrose Highlands
* Nabnasset
* Newton Centre
* Newton Highlands
* Newton Lower Falls
* Newton Upper Falls
* Newtonville
* Nonantum
* North Billerica
* North Chelmsford
* Pingryville
* Saxonville
* Thompsonville
* Waban
* West Newton

Footnotes|

‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

* Massachusetts portal
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