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

• 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

• 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. [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

• 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.

See also

• 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

1. Federal Writers' Project 1937.
2. Eno 1976.
3. March 1849.
4. Adams 1857.
5. Catalogue of the Library of the Middlesex Mechanic Association, at Lowell, Mass., Leonard Huntress, printer, 1840, OCLC   11765136, OL   23535943M
6. Prescott 1841.
7. Britannica 1910.
8. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
9. "Research". Lowell Historical Society. Retrieved January 25, 2014. Collections
10. Industries 1886.
11. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
12. Sampson 1870.
13. Aaron Brenner; et al., eds. (2009). "Timeline". Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN   978-0-7656-2645-5.
14. 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. Cowley 1856.
19. Sampson 1875.
20. Mike Tigas; Sisi Wei, eds. (9 May 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. "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
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 30 September 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. 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
39. "Lowell Historic Board History". City of Lowell. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
40. 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. 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.^{[ dead link ]}
44. "Welcome to the City of Lowell, MA". Archived from the original on 1998-12-12 – 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

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.
• Sampson, Davenport, & Co. (1870). Lowell Directory, 1870. Lowell: Joshua Merrill & Son.
• "Lowell Business Directory". Merrimack River Directory. Boston: Greenough, Jones. 1872.
• Sampson, Davenport, & Co. (1875). Lowell Directory, 1875-6. Lowell: Joshua Merrill & Son.
• Joseph Sabin, ed. (1878). "Lowell, Mass.". Bibliotheca Americana. Vol. 10. New York. OCLC   13972268.
• 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
• Eno, Arthur L. Jr., ed. (1976). Cotton Was King: A History of Lowell, Massachusetts (1976 ed.). New Hampshire Publishing Company. p. 190. ISBN   0912274611.
• 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

• 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

• 
  Lowell Bleachery, incorporated 1832
• 
  Lowell, 1834
• 
  Jail, built 1856
• 
  Advertisements, 1875
• 
  Map of Lowell, 1876

42°38′22″N71°18′53″W / 42.639444°N 71.314722°W / 42.639444; -71.314722