Lowell's Boat Shop | |
Location | Amesbury, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 42°50′32″N70°54′52″W / 42.84222°N 70.91444°W |
Built | 1793 |
Architect | Lowell, Simeon |
Architectural style | Federal |
NRHP reference No. | 88000706 [1] |
Added to NRHP | June 9, 1988 |
Lowell's Boat Shop (Hiram Lowell & Sons) is a National Historic Landmark at 459 Main Street in Amesbury, Massachusetts.
The shop was built in 1793 by Simeon Lowell. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. [1] [2]
Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, Lowell's Boat Shop is considered to be the birthplace of the legendary New England fishing dory, originated by Simeon Lowell. His grandson, Hiram, further developed the dory into the simplified Banks dory design that became a mainstay of New England's fishing fleets. [3] An historian remarked, "A Lowell's dory to a fisherman was like a hammer to a carpenter". Hiram also created a seminal form of assembly line production that made Lowell's the world's preeminent dory manufacturer of its day. It is said to have greatly influenced Henry Ford's mass production processes. [4] Within the boat shop's buildings remain such interesting historic features as ancient ship's knees, heavily worn floorboards and two centuries of accumulated paint coat the floors. The oldest buildings remaining on the site are combined Greek Revival structures that were built in the 1860s. A cross-beam features annual production figures, branded into the wood from 1897 through 1919, reveal that 2,029 boats were built here, by hand, in the single year of 1911. Lowell's Boat Shop is also a rare survivor of the many various industries for which the Merrimack River Valley region was known.
By the early 1990s, it was decided that the boat shop had to function as a charitable institution to insure its continued operation. To facilitate this transition, The Trust for Public Land helped form the Lowell's Boat Shop Trust and purchased the property. In 1994, the Trust for Public Land granted a preservation easement over the property to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Newburyport Maritime assumed ownership of the shop in 1994. [5] [6]
Today, Lowell's Boat Shop is a working boat shop and living museum. The shop continues to build dories and skiffs in the tradition of the seven generations of the Lowell family. Its rich history is conveyed through boat building classes, model dory classes, apprenticeships, onsite programs for scouts, local schools and at-risk youth. Because the cost of building wooden boats provides little profit margin, Lowell's Maritime Foundation continues to find creative ways to augment income. Volunteers, mentored by the boat builders, manage the onsite production of a variety of wood based products that are made from wood that might otherwise be considered scrap. Lowell's Boat Shop actively encourages boat building, tourism and maritime fine arts with affiliations with a variety of government agencies and non-profit organizations. During the boating season, members are able to row Lowell's line of dories and skiffs as a part of the Members Open Waterfront Program. The Boat Shop is fully accessible to the handicapped and guided tours are offered by appointment.
In 2012, Lowell's Boat Shop was chosen to participate in an historic project for America's last extant whale ship, the Charles W. Morgan . A group of local high school apprentices have assisted in the construction of an historically accurate Beetle-design whaleboat replica, which will accompany the Charles W. Morgan when her restoration is complete.
A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about 5 to 7 metres or 16 to 23 feet long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishing boat, both in coastal waters and in the open sea.
Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the east. Lawrence and Salem were the county seats of Essex County, until the Commonwealth abolished county government in 1999. Lawrence is part of the Merrimack Valley.
Merrimac is a small town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, and on the southeastern border of New Hampshire, approximately 34 miles (55 km) northeast of Boston and 10 miles (16 km) west of the Atlantic Ocean. It was incorporated on April 11, 1876. It is situated along the north bank of the Merrimack River in the Merrimack Valley. The population was 6,723 at the 2020 census. Historically a mill town, it has long since become a largely residential community. It is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area.
Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mooring, winter storage, and maintenance of recreational boats, motor and sail, still contribute a large part of the city's income. A Coast Guard station oversees boating activity, especially in the sometimes dangerous tidal currents of the Merrimack River.
Lowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises a group of different sites in and around the city of Lowell related to the era of textile manufacturing in the city during the Industrial Revolution. In 2019, the park was included as Massachusetts' representative in the America the Beautiful Quarters series.
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the 2020 United States Census. A former farming and mill town, Amesbury is today largely residential. It is one of the two northernmost towns in Massachusetts.
The North Shore is a region in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, loosely defined as the sea coast between Boston and New Hampshire. Its counterpart is the South Shore region extending south and east of Boston.
Paul Moody was a U.S. textile machinery inventor born in Byfield, Massachusetts. He is often credited with developing and perfecting the first power loom in America, which launched the first successful integrated cotton mill at Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1814, under the leadership of Francis Cabot Lowell and his associates.
The Swampscott dory is a traditional fishing boat, used during the middle of the 19th century by fishing villages along the North Shore coast of Massachusetts centered on Swampscott. It is designed to be launched off the beach. The rounded hull provides more buoyancy for launching through surf than the slab sided banks dory. The flat bottom allows the boat to sit upright on the beach. The lack of a keel keeps the boat from being grabbed by a wave and allows the boat to pass cleanly through the surf. The boat still heels easily which allows large fish to be rolled into the boat vs having to lift the fish completely up over the gunnel. The Swampscott Dory, a fishing boat still in use throughout the world today, was invented in 1840 by Theophilius Brackett to row and to pull lobster pots. These dories compare favorably with the New Bedford whaleboat and the Gloucester seine boat.
The Banks dory, or Grand Banks dory, is a type of dory. They were used as traditional fishing boats from the 1850s on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The Banks dory is a small, open, narrow, flat-bottomed and slab-sided boat with a particularly narrow transom. They were inexpensive to build and could be stacked or nested inside each other and stored on the decks of larger fishing vessels which functioned as mother ships.
The Amesbury Friends Meetinghouse is a Friends Meeting House at 120 Friend Street in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Built in 1850 under the guidance of John Greenleaf Whittier, it is home to one of the leading Quaker congregations of the region, and historically hosted quarterly meetings for Quakers from across eastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire. The meetinghouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
The Powwow River is a 22.8-mile-long (36.7 km) river located in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the United States. It is a tributary of the Merrimack River, part of the Gulf of Maine watershed.
The Essex National Heritage Area is a National Heritage Area composed of all of Essex County, Massachusetts. It is overseen by the Essex National Heritage Commission (ENHC), a non-profit organization based in Salem, Massachusetts. The commission promotes the cultural heritage with public and private partnerships and with the National Park Service by developing programs that enhance, preserve and encourage regional awareness of the area's unique historic, cultural and natural resources.
Adventure is a gaff rigged knockabout schooner. She was built in Essex, Massachusetts, USA, and launched in 1926 to work the Grand Banks fishing grounds out of Gloucester. She is one of only two surviving knockabout fishing schooners – ships designed without bowsprits for the safety of her crew.
Town Class sailboats are 16+1⁄2-foot-long (5.0 m) lap strake one-design dories, constructed in either wood or fiberglass. The Town Class was designed as an affordable boat for the townspeople, hence its name.
The Great Stone Dam was built between 1845 and 1848 on the site of Bodwell's Falls on the Merrimack River in what became Lawrence, Massachusetts. The dam has a length of 900 feet (270 m) and a height of 35 feet (11 m).
Shawsheen Village Historic District is a historic district in northern Andover, Massachusetts. Shawsheen Village was completed in the early 1920s as a planned corporate community. Conceived by William Madison Wood of the American Woolen Company, the village was designed a team of architects including Adden & Parker, Clifford Allbright and Ripley & LeBoutillier of Boston and James E. Allen of Lawrence. John Franklin, a civil engineer for the American Woolen Company was responsible for designing the village, under the direction of Wood. Buildings from the original Frye Village were also incorporated into the design which included a railroad station, shops, apartment buildings, factories, parks and numerous single-family dwellings. The village was located just up the road from the Company's main factories in nearby Lawrence.
The Jerathmell Bowers House is believed to have built circa 1673, at 150 Wood Street in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is the oldest known home in Lowell. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in New England and has helped to define the livelihood and culture of those living along it for millennia.