19th century
- 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
- 1825 - Middlesex Mechanic Association, [5] Hamilton Manufacturing Company, [3] and Mechanic Phalanx established. [6]
- 1826
- 1827 - First Methodist Episcopal Church organized. [3]
- 1828 - Appleton Company, Lowell Bank, and Lowell Manufacturing Company incorporated. [3]
- Labor Organizing Begins: Early mill workers, mostly young Yankee women, form informal mutual aid groups to address 14-hour workdays and low wages ($2–$3/week, minus boarding costs).
- 1829
- 1830
- 1831
- 1832 - Lowell Bleachery incorporated. [3]
- 1833 - Police Court established. [12]
- 1834
- Lowell Mill Girls Strike, Female textile workers, primarily young Yankee women, stage one of America’s first labor strikes after the Lowell mills cut wages by 15%. About 800 workers walk out, protesting exploitation and poor boardinghouse conditions. The strike fails to reverse the cuts but sparks union organizing [13]
- 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]
- Lowell mill girls Second Mill Girls Strike with over 1,500 female mill workers strike when mill owners raise boardinghouse rents by 12.5%, effectively cutting take-home pay. [16] Workers form the Lowell Factory Girls Association, circulating petitions and halting production for days. The strike partially succeeds, with some rent hikes rescinded.
- 1838
- 1839
- 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, [18] and New Jerusalem Swedenborgian Church established. [3]
- 1845 - Lowell Machine Shop incorporated. [3]
- Lowell Female Labor Reform Association: Led by Sarah Bagley, workers demand a 10-hour workday (vs. 12–14 hours). They gather 2,000 signatures for state petitions [19] but face firings. Source: Lowell National Historical Park Archives. Wages: Women earn $2–$2.75/week; skilled male mechanics earn $5–$7/week.
- 1846
- Lowell and Lawrence Railroad incorporated. [4]
- Jefferson Bancroft becomes mayor. [9]
- 1847 - June: U.S. president Polk visits Lowell. [20]
- 1848 - Francis floodgate [1] and Colburn School built.
- 1850
- 1851 - Lowell Daily Citizen newspaper begins publication. [4]
- 1852 - May: Lajos Kossuth visits Lowell. [20]
- 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
- 1867 - St. John's Hospital and Young Men's Christian Association established. [12] [22]
- 1868 - Old Franklin Literary Association [21] and Old Residents' Historical Association organized. [23]
- 1870 - Coggeshall's Circulating Library in business. [14]
- 1873 - Young Women's Home established. [21]
- 1875 - Riding Park, and Club Dramatique established. [21]
- 1876
- 1882 - Butler School built.
- 1883
- Public Library opens. [10]
- Yorick Club active.
- 1887 - Board of Trade established. [25]
- 1889 - Opera House built.
- 1890 - Population: 77,696. [7]
- 1891 - Lowell General Hospital founded. [26] [22]
- 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
