"Lowell" from The Bay State Monthly, Mar., 1884. Volume 1, Issue 3
LOWELL.
Twenty-six miles northwest from Boston, on the banks of the Merrimack at its confluence with the Concord, is situated the city of Lowell,—the Spindle City, the Manchester of America. The Merrimack, which affords the chief water-power that gives life to the thousand industries of Lowell, takes its rise among the White Mountains, in New Hampshire, its source being in the Notch of the Franconia Range, at the base of Mount Lafayette. For many miles it dashes down toward the sea, known at first as the Pemigewasset, until finally its waters are joined by the outflow from Lake Winnipiseogee, and a great river is formed, which, in its fall of several hundred feet, offers immense power to the mechanic. Past Penacook the river glides, its volume increased by the Contcocook; through fertile intervales, over rapids and falls, past Suncook and Hooksett, it comes to the Falls of Amoskeag, where Lowell's fair rival is built; thence onward past Nashua, to the Falls of Pawtucket, where its waters are thoroughly utilized to propel the machinery of a great city.The men are still living who have witnessed the growth of Lowell from an inconsiderable village to a great manufacturing city, whose fabrics are as world-renowned as those of Marseilles and Lyons, or ancient Damascus
LOWELL AS IT APPEARED IN 1840.
With the dawn of American history, the Penacooks, a tribe of Indians, were known to have occupied the site of Lowell as their favorite rendezvous. Here the salmon and shad were caught in great abundance by the dusky warriors. Passaconaway was their first great chief known to the white man, and he was acknowledged as leader by many neighboring tribes. He was a friend to the English. Before the coming of the Pilgrims a great plague had swept over New England, making desolate the Indian villages. Added to the terrors of the pestilence, which was resistless as fate to the children of the forest, was the fear and dread of their implacable enemies, the fierce Mohawks of the west. The spirit of the Indian was broken. In 1644, Passaconaway renounced his authority as an independent chief, and placed himself and his tribe of several thousand souls under the protection of the colonial magistrates. The Indian villages at Pawtucket Falls, on the Merrimack, and Wamesit Falls, on the Concord, the Musketaquid of the aborigines, were first visited in 1647 by the Reverend John Eliot, the Apostle to the Indians. In 1652, Captain Simon Willard and Captain Edward Johnson made their tour up the Merrimack Paver to Lake Winnipiseogee, and marked a stone near the Weirs as the northern boundary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The following year the work of settlement swept onward, crowdingin upon the cornfields of the red men; and Eliot, caring for his charges, procured the passage of an act by the General Court reserving a good part of the land on which Lowell now stands to the exclusive use of the Indians.
MERRIMACK RIVER BELOW HUNT'S FALLS.
The towns of Chelmsford and Billerica were incorporated May 29, 1655.
In 1656, Major-General Daniel Gookin was appointed superintendent of all the Indians under the jurisdiction of the Colony. By his fair dealing he won their entire confidence. They had good friends in Judge Gookin and the Apostle Eliot, who were ever ready to protect them from encroachments of their neighbors.
In 1660, Passaconaway relinquished all authority over his tribe, retiring at a ripe old age, and turning over his office of sachem to his son Wannalancet, whose headquarters were at Penacook. Numphow, who was married to one of Passaconaway's daughters, was the chief for some years of the village of Pawtucket. In 1669, Wannalancet, in dread of the Mohawks, came down the river with his whole tribe, and located at Wamesit, and built a fortification on Fort Hill in Belvidere, which was surrounded with palisades. The white settlers of the vicinity, catching the alarm, took refuge in garrison-houses.
OLD BRIDGE OVER PAWTUCKET FALLS.
In 1674, there were at Wamesit fifteen families, or seventy-five souls, enumerated as Christian Indians, aside from about two hundred who adhered to their primitive faith in the Great Spirit. Numphow was their magistrate as well as chief, his cabin standing near the Boott Canal. The log chapel presided over by the Indian preacher, Samuel, stood at the west end of Appleton Street near the site of the Eliot Church. In May of each year came Eliot and Gookin; the former to give spiritual advice; the latter to act as umpire or judge, having jurisdiction of higher offences, and directing all matters affecting the interests o£ the village. Wannalancet held his court, as sachem, in a log cabin near Pawtucket Falls.
SAINT ANNE'S CHURCH, 1850.
King Philip's War broke out in 1675. Wannalancet and the local Indians, faithful to the counsels of Passaconaway, took sides with the settlers, or remained neutral. Between the two parties they suffered severely. Some were put to death by Philip, for exposing his designs; some were put to death by the colonists, as Philip's accomplices; some fell in battle, fighting for the whites; some were slain by the settlers, who mistrusted alike praying and hostile Indians.
During the following year, 1676, the able-bodied Indians of Wamesit and Pawtucket withdrew to Canada, leaving a few of their helpless and infirm old people at the mercy of their neighbors. Around their fate let history draw the veil of oblivion, lest the present generation blush for their ancestors. The Indians of those days, like their descendants, had no rights which the white men were bound to respect.
During the war the white settlers were gathered for protection in garrison-houses. Billerica escaped harm, but Chelmsford was twice visited by hostile bands and several buildings were burned. Two sons of Samuel Varnum were shot while crossing the Merrimack in a boat with their father.
In April, 1676, Captain Samuel Hunting and Lieutenant James Richardson built a fort at Pawtucket Falls, which, with a garrison, was left under command of Lieutenant Richardson. A month later it was reinforced and the command entrusted to Captain Thomas Henchman. This proved an effectual check to the incursions of marauding Indians.
RUINS OF A CELLAR, BELVIDERE.
When the war was over, Wannalancet returned with the remnant of his tribe, to find the reservation in possession of the settlers. The tribe was placed on Wickasauke Island, in charge of Colonel Jonathan Tyng, where they remained until their last rod of land had been bartered away, when they retired to Canada and joined the St. Francis tribe. Colonel Tyng and Major Henchman purchased of the Indians all their remaining interest in the land about Pawtucket Falls.
OLD BUTMAN HOUSE, BELVIDERE.
During the nine years of King William's War, which followed the English Revolution of 1688, the people of Chelmsford and neighboring towns again took refuge in forts and garrison-houses. Major Henchman had command of the fortification at the Falls. August 1, 1682, a hostile raid was made into Billerica and eight of the inhabitants were killed. August 5, 1695, fourteen inhabitants of Tewksbury were massacred. Colonel Joseph Lynde, from whom Lynde Hill in Belvidere derives its name, was in command of a force of three hundred men who ranged through the neighboring country to protect the frontier.
The town of Dracut was incorporated in 1701. It contained twenty-five families, and was set off from Chelmsford.
The Wamesit purchase was divided into small parcels of land and sold to settlers. Samuel Pierce, who had his domicile on the Indian reservation, was elected a member of the General Court, in 1725, but was refused his seat on the ground that he was not an inhabitant of Chelmsford. Accordingly the people of the reservation refused to pay taxes to the town of Chelmsford until an act was passed legally annexing them to the town. The place was afterward known as East Chelmsford.
The year 1729 is memorable for the great earthquake which occurred on October 29, and did considerable damage in the Merrimack valley.
Tewksbury was incorporated in 1734, its territory before having been included in Billerica.
At the battle of Bunker Hill two companies of Chelmsford men were present, one under command of Captain John Ford, the other under Captain Benjamin Walker; and one company composed largely of Dracut men was under Captain Peter Colburn.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, 1840.
Captain Ford had served previously at the siege and capture of Louisburg, in 1745. When the first man in his company fell at Bunker Hill, an officer prevented a panic by singing Old Hundred. When closely pressed by the British, and the ammunition had been exhausted, Captain Colburn, on the point of retreating, threw a stone at the advancing enemy and saw an officer fall from the blow.
Colonel Simeon Spaulding, of Chelmsford, was an active patriot during the Revolution and did good service in the Provincial Congress.
During Shays' Rebellion, in 1786, a body of Chelmsford militia under command of General Lincoln served in the western counties.
The people of Chelmsford, from the earliest settlement, gave every encouragement to millers, lumbermen, mechanics, and traders, making grants of land, and temporary exemption from taxation, to such as would settle in their town. It became distinguished for its sawmills, gristmills, and mechanics' shops of various kinds. Billerica, Dracut, and Tewksbury gave like encouragement. About the time of the Revolution a sawmill was built below Pawtucket Falls and owned by Judge John Tyng.
PAIGE-STREET FREEWILL BAPTIST CHURCH, 1840.
Toward the close of the last century the lumbering industry on the Merrimack grew into prominence; and, in 1792, Dudley A. Tyng, William Coombs, and others, of Newburyport, were incorporated as "The Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Merrimack River." This canal, which was demanded for the safe conduct of rafts by the Falls, was completed in 1797, at an expense of fifty thousand dollars. The fall of thirty-two feet was passed by four sets of locks.
The first bridge across the Merrimack was built, in 1792, by Parker Varnum and associates; the Concord had been bridged some twenty years earlier.
DAM AT PAWTUCKET FALLS.
In 1793, the proprietors of the Middlesex Canal were incorporated. Loammi Baldwin, of Woburn, superintended the construction. The canal began at the Merrimack, about a mile above Pawtucket Falls, extended south by east thirty-one miles, and terminated at Charlestown. It was twenty-four feet wide and four feet deep and was fed by the Concord River. It cost $700,000, and was completed in 1804,—the first canal in the United States opened for the transportation of passengers and merchandise. For forty years it was the outlet of the whole Merrimack valley north of Pawtucket Falls.
The first boat voyage from Boston, by the Middlesex Canal and the Merrimack River, to Concord, New Hampshire, was made in 1814; the first steamboat from Boston reached Concord in 1819.
The competition of the Middlesex Canal ruined the Pawtucket Canal, as it in turn, in after years, was ruined by the Boston and Lowell Railroad. Navigation finally ceased on its waters in 1853, since which date its channel has been filling up and its banks have been falling away.
In 1801, Moses Hale, whose father had long before started a fulling-mill in Dracut, established a carding-mill on River Meadow Brook,—the first enterprise of the kind in Middlesex County.
In 1805, the bridge across the Merrimack was demolished and a new bridge with stone piers and abutments was constructed. It was a toll-bridge as late as 1860.
The second war with England stimulated manufacturing enterprises throughout the United States; and several were started, depending upon the water-power of the Concord River. In 1813, Captain Phineas Whiting and Major Josiah Fletcher erected a wooden cotton-mill on the site of the Middlesex Company's mills, and were successful in their enterprise. John Golding, in the same neighborhood, was not so fortunate.
JOHN-STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
The year 1815 is memorable for the most disastrous gale that has devastated New England during two centuries; it was very severe in Chelmsford.
The sawmill and gristmill of the Messrs. Bowers, at Pawtucket Falls, was started in 1816. The same year Nathan Tyler started a gristmill where the Middlesex Company's mill No. 3 now stands. Captain John Ford's sawmill stood near the junction of the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.
In 1818, Moses Hale started the powder-mills on Concord River. The following year Oliver M. Whipple and William Tileston were associated with him in business. In 1821, the firm opened Whipple's Canal. The business was enlarged from time to time and was at its zenith during the Mexican War, when, in one year, nearly five hundred tons of powder were made. The manufacture of powder in Lowell ceased in 1855. In 1818, also, came Thomas Hurd, who purchased the cotton-mill started by Whiting and Fletcher and converted it into a woolen-mill. He soon enlarged his operations, building a large brick mill near the other. He was the pioneer manufacturer of satinets in this country. His mill was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1826. About this time he built the Middlesex (Mills) Canal, which conveyed water from the Pawtucket Canal to his satinet-mills, thus affording additional power. His business was ruined in 1828 by the reaction in trade; and two years later the property passed into the hands of the Middlesex Company.
FREE CHAPEL, 1860.
The year 1818 also brought Winthrop Howe to town. He started a mill for the manufacture of flannels at Wamesit Falls, in Belvidere, and continued in the business until 1827, when he sold out to Harrison G. Howe, who introduced power-looms, and who, in turn, sold the property to John Nesmith and others in 1831. In the year 1819 a new bridge across the Concord River was built to replace the old one built in 1774. About this time the dam across the Concord at Massic Falls was constructed, and the forging-mill of Fisher and Ames was built. The works were extended in 1823, and continued by them until 1836, when the privilege was sold to Perez O. Richmond.
KIRK BOOTT.
Born in Boston, October 20, 1790. Died in Lowell, April 21, 1837.
In 1821, the capabilities of Pawtucket Falls for maintaining vast mechanical industries were brought to the attention of a few successful manufacturers, who readily perceived its advantages and hastened to purchased the almost worthless stock of the Pawtucket Canal Company. In November, Nathan Appleton, Patrick Tracy Jackson, Kirk Boott, Warren Dutton, Paul Moody, and John W. Boott, visited the canal, which they now controlled, perambulated the ground, and planned for the future. February 5, 1822, these gentlemen and others were incorporated as the Merrimack Manufacturing Company, with Warren Dutton as president. The first business of the new company was to erect a dam across the Merrimack at Pawtucket Falls, widen and repair Pawtucket Canal, renew the locks, and open a lateral canal from the main canal to the river, on the margin of which their mills were to stand. Five hundred men were employed In digging and blasting, and six thousand pounds of powder were used. The canal, as reconstructed, is sixty fee wide and eight feet deep. The first mile of the company was completed and started September 1, 1823. The first treasurer and agent was Kirk Boott, a man of great influence, who left his mark on the growing village.
SECOND UNIVERSALIST CHURCH, SHATTUCK STREET.
Paul Moody settled in the village in 1823, and took charge of the company's machine-shop, which was completed in 1826. Ezra Worthen was the first superintendent. The founders of the Merrimack Company contemplated from the first the introduction of calico-printing. In this they were successful, in 1826, when John D. Prince, from Manchester, England, took charge of the Merrimack print-works. Mr. Prince was assisted by the chemist, Dr. Samuel L. Dana; and together they made the products of the mills famous in all parts of the globe.
APPLETON-STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
In 1825, the old Locks and Canals Company of 1792 was re-established as a separate corporation, with the added right to purchase, hold, sell, or lease land and water-power, and the affairs of the company were placed in the hands of Kirk Boott.
In 1820, there were in the villages of East Chelmsford, Belvidere, and Centralville, about two hundred and fifty inhabitants. Whipple's powder-mills and Howe's flannel-mill were then in operation, and there were several sawmills and gristmills. Ira Frye's Tavern stood on the site of the American House. There was Hurd's mill, a blacksmith shop at Massic Falls, a few other such establishments as a country village usually affords, and several substantial dwelling-houses, farmhouses, and cottages, conspicuous among which was the Livermore House in Belvidere.
ROGERS HOMESTEAD, BELVIDERE.
The operations of the Merrimack Company soon attracted settlers. In 1822, a regular line of stages was established between East Chelmsford and Boston. In 1824, the Chelmsford Courier was established, and became at once the organ of the growing community. The next year a militia company was organized; the Fourth of July was celebrated with appropriate ceremonies; the Middlesex Mechanics' Association and the Central Bridge Corporation were incorporated; the Hamilton Manufacturing Company was established; and the inhabitants of the village of East Chelmsford petitioned to be incorporated. The petition was granted, and Lowell became a town March 1, 1826, with a population of about two thousand. The name of the town was adopted in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell, a business associate of Nathan Appleton, and a promoter of the manufacture of cotton goods in this country.
The years of 1827 and 1828 were marked by great depression in the commercial and manufacturing circles of the country, but Lowell had a good start, and her prosperity was assured. The Lowell Bank, the Appleton Company, and the Lowell Manufacturing Company, were established in 1828,—the year the first ton of coal was brought to town. The coal was used for fuel in the law office of Samuel H. Mann.
In 1829, the Lowell Institution for Savings was incorporated, and William Livingston established himself in trade. For a quarter of a century Mr. Livingston was one of the most active, most enterprising, and most public-spirited citizens of Lowell. Much of the western portion of the city was built up by his instrumentality.
WORTHEN-STREET OR SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH.
The Middlesex Company was established in 1830, as was the Lowell fire department. The Town Hall was also built; and Lowell numbered sixty-four hundred and seventy-seven inhabitants.
CENTRAL METHODIST CHURCH.
In 1830, Mr. Jackson undertook to connect Boston and Lowell with a railroad. A macadamized road had been surveyed, when this new road was projected; and it was a part of the original plan to have the cars drawn by horses. The successful operation of Stephenson's Liverpool and Manchester Railroad was known to Mr. Jackson, and he was encouraged to persevere. The road was completed at a cost of $1,800,000 and was opened to the public, July 4, 1835. The cars and locomotive would be a curiosity to-day. The former, resembling Concord coaches, were divided by a partition into two compartments, each entered by two doors, on the sides. The interiors of the compartments were upholstered with drab-colored cashmere, and each accommodated eight passengers. The conductor and engineer had each a silver whistle. After the former had ascertained the destination of each passenger and collected the necessary fare, he would close the car doors, climb to his place in a cab at the top of the coach, and whistle to the engineer as a signal for starting. The engineer, who was protected by no cab, would respond with his whistle, when the train would dash out of the station. The brakes were such as are used on a coach, and it was a scientific matter, when the engineer gave his warning-whistle to break up a train on arriving at a station. The rails were secured to granite ties, by means of cast-iron plates, and the road was very, very solid. Frost soon rendered it necessary to introduce wooden ties, and nothing has yet been discovered which can be used as a substitute for them.
JOHN NESMITH.
Born in Londonderry, New Hampshire, August 3, 1793.
The Lowell Railroad was not the first opened in the United States, but it was the first passenger road in successful operation in New England.
In 1831, the Railroad Bank was established.
In 1832, the Suffolk and Tremont Mills were established.
In 1833, the town felt the need of a police court, and one was established. Joseph Locke was the first justice. During the same year the Lawrence Mills were started; and the town was visited by President Andrew Jackson and members of his Cabinet, and later by the great statesman, Henry Clay.
In 1834, Belvidere was included in Lowell, and the town had the honor of entertaining Colonel David Crockett, George Thompson, M.P., the English abolitionist (not cordially), and M. Chevalier, the French political economist.
In 1835, Joel Stone, of Lowell, and Joseph P. Simpson, of Boston, built the steamboat Herald, for navigating between Lowell and Nashua, but the enterprise proved a failure; the Nashua and Lowell Railroad Company was incorporated; the Lowell Almshouse was started; the hall of the Middlesex Mechanics' Association was built; and the Lowell Courier, the oldest daily newspaper in Middlesex County, was established.
SUFFOLK-STREET ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.
In 1836, the population of Lowell was 17,633. During the year the Boott Mills were started, and a city charter was adopted.
THE THIRD UNIVERSALIST CHURCH.
Now Barristers' Hall.
Dr. Elisha Bartlett was elected first mayor of the city of Lowell. He was succeeded, in 1838, by the Honorable Luther Lawrence; in 1840, by the Honorable Elisha Huntington, M.D.; in 1842, by the Honorable Nathaniel Wright; in 1844, by Dr. Huntington; in 1846, by the Honorable Jefferson Bancroft; in 1849, by the Honorable Josiah B. French; in 1851, by the Honorable J.H.B. Ayer; in 1852, by Dr. Huntington; in 1853, by the Honorable Sewall G. Mack; in 1855, by the Honorable Ambrose Lawrence; in 1856, by Dr. Huntington; in 1857, by the Honorable Stephen Mansur, the first Republican mayor; in 1858, by Dr. Huntington, for his eighth term; in 1859, by the Honorable James Cook; in 1860, by the Honorable Benjamin C. Sargent; in 1862, by the Honorable Hocum Hosford; in 1865, by the Honorable Josiah G. Peabody; in 1867, by the Honorable George F. Richardson; in 1869, by the Honorable Jonathan P. Folsom; in 1871, by the Honorable Edward F. Sherman; in 1872, by the Honorable Josiah G. Peabody; in 1873, by the Honorable Francis Jewett; in 1876, by the Honorable Charles A. Stott; in 1878, by the Honorable John A.G. Richardson; in 1880, by the Honorable Frederic T. Greenhalge; in 1882, by the Honorable George Runels; in 1883, by thepresent mayor, the Honorable John J. Donovan.
The young city met with a serious loss April 11, 1837, in the sudden death of Kirk Boott.
A county jail was built in 1838, and the Nashua and Lowell Railroad was opened for travel.
Luther Lawrence was killed, April 17, 1839, by a fall into a wheel-pit. He was serving his second term as mayor of the city at the time of the accident. His residence was bought by the corporations and converted into the Lowell Hospital.
WILLIAM LIVINGSTON.
Born April 12, 1803. Died March 17, 1855.
In 1840, the Massachusetts Mills were established; and the South Common, of about twenty acres, and the North Common, of about ten acres, were laid out. During this year appeared the Lowell Offering, a monthly journal, edited by Miss Harriet Farley and Miss Hariot Curtiss, two factory girls. The journal was praised by John G. Whittier, Charles Dickens, and other gifted writers, for its intrinsic merits.
Lowell is largely indebted to Oliver M. Whipple for its cemetery, which was consecrated June 20, 1841. It contains about forty-five acres, and has near the centre a small gothic chapel.
In January, 1842, Charles Dickens made a flying visit to Lowell, and has left on record in American Notes his impressions of the city.
During this period the court-room of the city was occasionally graced by the presence of Daniel Webster and Rufus Choate.
The City Library was instituted in 1844.
The Stony Brook Railroad Company was incorporated in 1845.
The Honorable Nathan Crosby was appointed justice of the police court in 1846, and still continues in office. The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad was incorporated this year, and the population of Lowell numbered 29,127.
SAINT ANNE'S CHURCH, 1840.
President James K. Polk visited Lowell in 1847; and the city met with the loss of Patrick Tracy Jackson, a man whose name should be always honored in Lowell. The great Northern Canal was completed this year by James B. Francis, the most distinguished hydraulic engineer in the United States. It was a stupendous work and stands a monument to the genius of its constructor. Daniel Webster, in company with Abbott Lawrence, rode along its dry channel, before the water was admitted, and fully appreciated the immense undertaking.
The Salem and Lowell Railroad was incorporated in 1848, and was opened for travel two years later.
The reservoir on Lynde's Hill was constructed in 1849.
Gas was introduced, and the Court House on Gorham Street built, in 1850.
In 1851, Centralville, previously a part of Dracut, was included within the city limits, and the Lowell Reform School was established.
In 1852, George Wellman completed his first working model of his self top card stripper—one of the most valuable inventions of the present century; Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, visited Lowell; and the Legislature of Massachusetts enacted the first prohibitory liquor law.
The City Hall was reconstructed in 1853. The Lowell Jail was built in 1856. Thomas H. Benton visited Lowell in 1857. Washington Square was laid out in 1858.
OLIVER M. WHIPPLE.
During the dark days of the Rebellion, Lowell responded loyally to the appeal for soldiers and money, and of her young men many of the best were sacrificed to preserve the Union.
The fall of Fort Sumter produced a profound sensation in Lowell. Four companies from the city hastened to join their regiment: the Mechanic Phalanx, under command of Captain Albert S. Follansbee; the City Guards, Captain James W. Hart; the Watson Light Guard, Captain John F. Noyes, and the Lawrence Cadets (National Grays), Captain Josiah A. Sawtelle. They assembled at Huntington Hall, the day after President Lincoln's call for troops, and were mustered into the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment under command of Colonel Edward F. Jones. They at once proceeded to Boston and were joined at Faneuil Hall by the other companies of the regiment and the next day were on their way to the seat of war. A detachment of the regiment had to fight their way through a mob in Baltimore, and four of the Lowell City Guards were the first to lay down their lives in the great drama of war known as the Rebellion. Addison O. Whitney and Luther C. Ladd, of Lowell, were the first martyrs; their last resting-place is commemorated by a monument in a public square of the city. The regiment arrived at Washington, were quartered in the Senate Chamber, and formed the nucleus of the rapidly gathering Northern army. The Hill Cadets, under Captain S. Proctor, and the Richardson Light Infantry, Captain Phineas A. Davis, were formed the day after the Baltimore riot. The company known as the Abbott Grays, under Captain Edward Gardner Abbott, was organized five days later. That called the Butler Rifles was organized May 1, by Eben James and Thomas O'Hare.
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, 1860.
While these active preparations for war were progressing, Judge Crosby called a public meeting, April 20, at which the Pioneer Soldiers' Aid Association, the germ of the Sanitary Commission, was formed. The city government was liberal, too, in its appropriations for the families of absent soldiers. In September, Camp Chase, a military rendezvous, was established at Lowell.
KIRK-STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, 1840.
Among the first, and most distinguished, of the citizens of Lowell to offer his services to the general government at this crisis, was General Benjamin F. Butler, already a lawyer and orator of great reputation, who had previously held high rank in the militia. Six companies from Lowell joined his expedition to the Gulf.
Early in 1862, the Sixth and Seventh Batteries, mostly Lowell men, were organized. In response to the President's call in July, 1862, three companies joined the Thirty-third Regiment. In August, the Sixth Regiment again entered the field for a campaign of nine months.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 1840.
In February, 1863, Lowell sent to the war the Fifteenth Battery, in command of Captain Timothy Pearson and Lieutenant Albert Rowse. During this month the ladies of the city raised about five thousand dollars for the Sanitary Commission by a Soldiers' Fair—the second held in the Northern States. In July, 1863, the "draft" called for over four hundred additional soldiers from Lowell; less than thirty were forced into the service. These were the palmy days for the substitute brokers and bounty-jumpers. In July, 1864, the Sixth Regiment again responded, and served one hundred days.
In 1865, came the close of the war and the return of the battle-scarred veterans. During the long struggle more than five thousand citizens of Lowell were in the army and navy of the United States, and the city expended over $300,000 in equipment and bounties.
The Lowell Horse Railroad Company and the First National Bank were incorporated in 1864. The French-Canadians began to settle in Lowell just after the war.
ST. PETER'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1860.
In October, 1866, Dr. J.C. Ayer presented the city with the statue of Victory which stands in Monument Square.
The Old Ladies' Home was dedicated July 10, 1867. St. John's Hospital was completed and opened in 1868. It occupies the site of the old yellow house built in 1770 by Timothy Brown. In November of the same year the first meeting of the Old Residents' Historical Association of Lowell was held at the store of Joshua Merrill; in December, the city was visited by General Grant.
In 1869, the city authorities undertook a system of water-supply works which was completed four years later; the Lowell Hosiery Company was incorporated in May. The Thorndike Manufacturing Company commenced operations in June, 1870.
The fire-alarm telegraph was introduced in 1871; in August, trains on the Lowell and Framingham Railroad commenced running; in November, the new iron bridge across the Merrimack was finished; during the year, the city suffered severely from the scourge of small-pox.
The boundaries of Lowell were extended, in 1873, to include Middlesex Village, taken from Chelmsford, and a part of Dracut and Tewksbury. A new railroad by the way of Andover connected Lowell with Boston in 1874.
OLD FIRST UNIVERSALIST CHURCH,
Which stood on site of the Boston and Maine Railroad Station.
The city celebrated the semi-centennial of its incorporation, March 1, 1876.
The Emperor Dom Pedro of Brazil visited the city in June of the same year.
The Lowell Art Association was formed in May, 1878. In December of that year the waters of the Merrimack rose nearly eleven feet on Pawtucket Dam; in the same month the Merrimack Company introduced the electric light.
JOHN DYNELY PRINCE.
Born in England, 1780. Died January 5, 1860.
Merrimack Company introduced the electric light.
In August, 1880, Boston and Lowell were connected by telephone.
As one glances over the history of Lowell, he recognizes the fact that the city has gained its prominence, its wealth, and its population, chiefly through the great corporations, and the wisdom of their early managers; accordingly the record of these corporate bodies is intimately connected with the annals of the city. The reader has noted the fact that the first impetus was given to the place by the acts of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company. This company was incorporated February 5, 1822; and the first mill was started the following year. The company is not only the oldest in the city but is the largest, employing the most operatives and producing the most cloth; their chimney, two hundred and eighty-three feet high, is the tallest in the country.
Ezra Worthen, the first superintendent of the mills, died, suddenly, June 18, 1824, and was succeeded by Warren Colburn, the author of the popular arithmetic. Mr. Colburn died September 13, 1833, and was succeeded by John Clark, who held the office until 1848. Mr. Clark was succeeded by Emory Washburn, afterward Governor of Massachusetts, by Edward L. Lebreton, and from 1850 to 1865 by Isaac Hinckley, now president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad. John C. Palfrey was superintendent from 1865 to 1874, when Joseph S. Ludlam was appointed. The print-works were in charge of Kirk Boott in 1822; after him was Allen Pollock, 1823 to 1826; John D. Prince, 1826 to 1855; Henry Barrows, 1855 to 1878; James Duckworth, 1878 to 1882; Robert Latham, since 1882. The treasurers of the company have been Kirk Boott, Francis C. Lowell, Eben Chadwick, Francis B. Crowinshield, Arthur T. Lyman, Augustus Lowell, and Charles H. Dalton.
UNITARIAN CHURCH, 1845.
"Lowell" from The Bay State Monthly, Mar., 1884. Volume 1, Issue 3 (continued)
The property of the company occupies twenty-four acres of land. They have five mills besides the print-works, 153,552 spindles, 4,465 looms, and employ 3,300 operatives. They use up 18,000 tons of coal. The prints made at this establishment, are marked "Merrimack," and are too well known to require description.
The Hamilton Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1825. The treasurers have been William Appleton, 1825; Ebenezer Appleton, 1830; George W. Lyman, 1833; Thomas G. Cary, 1839; William B. Bacon, 1859; Arthur T. Lyman, 1860; Arthur L. Devens, 1863; Eben Bacon, 1867; Samuel Batchelder, 1869; George R. Chapman, 1876;
First Universalist Church, Hurd Street
James A. Dupee, since 1870. The agents have been Samuel Batchelder, 1825; John Avery, 1831; O.H. Moulton, since 1864. The superintendents of print-works have been William Spencer, 1828; William Hunter, 1862; William Harley, 1866; Thomas Walsh, 1876. The company manufactures flannels, prints, ticks, stripes, drills, and sheetings.
The Appleton Company was incorporated in 1828. The treasurers have been William Appleton, 1828; Patrick T. Jackson, 1829; George W. Lyman, 1832; Thomas G. Cary, 1841; William B. Bacon, 1859; Arthur T. Lyman, 1861; Arthur L. Devens, 1863; John A. Burnham, 1867; George Motley, 1867; James A. Dupee, since 1874. The superintendents have been John Avery, 1828; George Motley, 1831; J.H. Sawyer, 1867; Daniel Wright, 1881. The company manufactures sheetings, drillings, and yarn.
Nathan Crosby
Born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, February 12, 1798.
The Lowell Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1828. The treasurers have been Frederick Cabot, 1828; George W. Lyman, 1831; Nathaniel W. Appleton, 1841; William C. Appleton, 1843; J. Thomas Stevenson, 1847; Israel Whitney, 1848; Charles L. Harding, 1863; David B. Jewett, 1865; Samuel Fay, 1874; George C. Richardson, 1880; Arthur T. Lyman, 1881. The superintendents have been Alexander Wright, 1828; Samuel Fay, 1852; Andrew F. Swapp, 1874; Albion C. Lyon was appointed June 1, 1883. The company makes ingrain, Brussels, and Wilton carpets.
First Baptist Church
The Middlesex Company was incorporated in 1830. The treasurers have been William D. Stone, 1830; Samuel Lawrence, 1840; R.S. Fay, 1857; George Z. Silsbee, 1882. The agents have been James Cook, 1830; Nelson Palmer, 1845; Samuel Lawrence, 1846; O.H. Perry, 1848; William T. Mann, 1851; Josiah Humphrey, 1852; James Cook, 1858; O.H. Perry, 1858; G.V. Fox, 1869; William C. Avery, 1874; O.H. Perry, from June, 1882. O. Saunderson, superintendent. The company makes indigo blue coatings, cassimeres, police, yacht, and cadet cloth, ladies' sackings, beavers, and shawls.
The Suffolk Manufacturing Company was incorporated January 17, 1831. The proprietors of the Tremont Mills were incorporated March 19, 1831. The two were consolidated in 1871. The treasurers of Suffolk Manufacturing Company were John W. Boott, 1831; Henry Hall, 1832; Henry V. Ward, 1857; Walter Hastings, 1865; William A. Burke, 1868; James C. Ayer, 1870. The treasurers of the proprietors of the Tremont Mills were William Appleton, 1831; Henry Hall, 1832; Henry V. Ward, 1857; Walter Hastings, 1865; William A. Burke, 1868; James C. Ayer, 1870. The treasurers of Tremont and Suffolk Mills have been James C. Ayer, 1871; John C. Birdseye, 1872. The agents of Suffolk Manufacturing Company were Robert Means, 1831; John Wright, 1842; Thomas S. Shaw, 1868.
Worthen-Street Methodist Church
The agents of the proprietors of the Tremont Mills were Israel Whitney, 1831; John Aiken, 1834; Charles L. Tilden, 1837; Charles F. Battles, 1858; Thomas S. Shaw, 1870. The agent of Tremont and Suffolk Mills is Thomas S. Shaw, appointed August 19, 1871. These mills make jeans, cotton flannels, drillings, sheetings, shirtings and print cloth.
The Lawrence Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1831. The treasurers have been William Appleton, 1831; Henry Hall, 1832; Henry V. Ward, 1857; T. Jefferson Coolidge, 1868; Lucius M. Sargent, 1880. The agents have been William Austin, 1830; John Aiken, 1837; William S. Southworth, 1849; William F. Salmon, 1865; Daniel Hussey, 1869; John Kilburn, 1878. The company makes shirtings, sheetings, cotton flannels, and cotton and merino hosiery.
George Wellman
Born in Boston, March 16, 1810. Died April 4, 1864.
The Boott Cotton Mills were incorporated in 1835. The treasurers have been John Amory Lowell, 1835; J. Pickering Putnam, 1848; T. Jefferson Coolidge, 1858; Richard D. Rogers, 1865; Augustus Lowell, 1875. The agents have been Benjamin F. French, 1836; Linus Child, 1845; William A. Burke, 1862; Alexander G. Cumnock, 1868. The company makes sheetings, shirtings, and printing cloth.
The Massachusetts Cotton Mills were incorporated in 1838. The treasurers have been John Amory Lowell, 1839; Homer Bartlett, 1848; George Atkinson, 1872. The agents have been Homer Bartlett, 1840; Joseph White, 1848; Frank F. Battles, 1856. The mills turn out sheetings, shirtings, and drillings.
Lee-Street Unitarian Church
Now French Catholic. Enlarged and rebuilt.
The Lowell Machine Shop was incorporated in 1845. The treasurers have been J. Thomas Stevenson, 1845; William A. Burke, from 1876. The agents have been William A. Burke, 1845; Mertoun C. Bryant, 1862; Andrew Moody, 1862; George Richardson, 1870; Charles L. Hildreth, 1879. The company makes all kinds of machinery for mills.
The Proprietors of Locks and Canals on Merrimack River were incorporated in 1792. The treasurers have been Joseph Cutler, 1792; W.W. Prout, 1804; Samuel Cutler, 1809; Samuel Tenney, 1817; Kirk Boott, 1822; Joseph Tilden, 1837; P.T. Jackson, 1838; John T. Morse, 1845. The agents have been Kirk Boott, 1822; Joseph Tilden, 1837; William Boott, 1838; James B. Francis, 1845, to present date.
Prescott-Street Church
The Winnipiseogee Lake Cotton and Woolen Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1831. The presidents were Abbott Lawrence, from August, 1846, to July, 1850; Henry Hall, to June, 1856; Francis B. Crowinshield, to August, 1857; John Amory Lowell, to June, 1864; J. Thomas Stevenson, to June, 1877; Richard S. Fay, until his decease, March 7, 1882. The treasurers were James Bell, from 1845 until his decease, in May, 1857; Francis B. Crowinshield, to October, 1861; J. Thomas Stevenson, to June, 1864; Homer Bartlett, to June, 1872; Charles S. Storrow, to June, 1878; James A. Dupee, to June, 1882. Directors,
1883: Charles Storrow, president; James A. Dupee, Augustus Lowell, Howard Stockton, George Atkinson. Clerk of corporation, Augustus T. Owen; treasurer, George Atkinson; agent, T.P. Hutchinson. The company guards the storage of water at Lake Winnipiseogee.
Lowell Machine Shop About 1860
Appleton Mills 1845
Nor would a sketch of Lowell be complete without mention of the firm of J.C. Ayer and Company. Dr. J.C. Ayer started the business in 1837, when he offered to physicians the prescription of cherry pectoral. It soon became a very popular remedy, and he was soon embarked in the enterprise of manufacturing it. Liter he added to the list of his proprietary medicines cathartic pills, sarsaparilla, ague cure, and hair vigor. He died July 3, 1878, after having accumulated a princely fortune. His brother, and partner, Frederick Ayer, conducts the business. The firm occupy several large buildings and employ three hundred people. The world demands fifteen tons of Ayer's pills yearly. They publish thirteen million almanacs, in ten languages, issuing twenty-six editions for different localities, keeping several large presses constantly at work.
High-Street Congregational Church
C.J. Hood and Company also make sarsaparilla and other proprietary medicines. They employ seventy-five operatives.
E.W. Hoyt and Company employ twenty hands, and make two million bottles of German cologne.
There are numerous other manufactories in the city, of more or less extent. Their products consist of porus and adhesive plasters, lung protectors, sulphuric, hydrochloric, and nitric acids, and other chemicals and dye-stuffs, belting, paper stock, yarns, shoulder-braces, suspenders, shoe-linings, elastic webbing, sackings, rugs, mats, gauze undergarments, looms, harnesses, felting, hose, bunting, seamless flags, awning stripes, reeds, braid, cord, chalk-lines, picture cords, twines, belts, fire hose, leather, bolts, nuts, screws, washers, boilers, tanks, kettles, presses, fire-escapes, water-wheels, wire-heddles, card-clothing, wood-working and knitting machinery, cartridges, chimney-caps, stamps, tools, lathes, files, wire-cloth, scales, steel wire, paper boxes, music stands, mouldings, carriages, sleighs, shuttles, doors, sashes, blinds, furniture, asbestos covering, blotters, crayons, drain-pipe, glue, lamp-black, machine brushes, matches, croquet sets.
Merrimac House
Built in 1833, rebuilt in 1873. Henry Emery proprietor since 1845.
Proper attention has always been paid to education in Lowell, In 1822, there were two schoolhouses within the territory, one near the pound, the other near the stone house at Pawtucket Falls. The Merrimack Company soon after its organization built a schoolhouse on Merrimack Street and paid the teacher. The Reverend Theodore Edson had charge of the school. Joel Lewis was the first male teacher. Alfred V. Bassett was the second. In 1829, the school had one hundred and sixty-five pupils. In 1834, the school was divided. The High School building on Kirk Street was erected in 1840, and remodeled in 1867. Charles C. Chase was teacher from 1845 to 1883. He was succeeded by Frank F. Coburn, the present teacher.
Solon A. Perkins
Born in Lancaster, N.H., December 6, 1836. Killed in Louisiana, June 3, 1863.
After the log chapel presided over by the Indian Samuel had fallen into decay, a century and a half passed before another place of worship was erected within the limits of Lowell. In December, 1822, a committee was appointed by the Merrimack Corporation to build a suitable church, and in April, 1824, the sum of nine thousand dollars was appropriated for the purpose. The church was organized February 24, 1824, as "The Merrimack Religious Society," and the Episcopal form of worship was adopted. The first religious services were conducted by the Reverend Theodore Edson, on Sunday, March 7, 1824, in the schoolhouse. The church edifice is known as St. Anne's, and was consecrated by Bishop Griswold, March 16, 1825. The Reverend Dr. Edson was the first rector. After a pastorate of over half a century, he died in 1883. In the tower of St. Anne's is a chime of eleven bells, mounted in 1857, and weighing five tons.
Bvt. Brig. Gen. Henry Livermore Abbott
Born in Lowell, January 21, 1842. Killed in battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864.
Major Edward Gardner Abbott
Born in Lowell, September 29, 1840. Killed at the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9, 1862.
The First Baptist Church was organized February 8, 1826. The church edifice, built the same year, occupied land given to the society by Thomas Hurd. It was dedicated November 15, 1826, when the Reverend John Cookson was installed as pastor. He was dismissed August 5, 1827, and was succeeded, June 4, 1828, by the Reverend Enoch N. Freeman, who died September 22, 1835. The Reverend Joseph W. Eaton was ordained pastor, February 24, 1836, and dismissed February 1, 1837. The Reverend Joseph Ballard was installed December 25, 1837, and dismissed September 1, 1845. The Reverend Daniel C. Eddy was ordained January 29, 1846, was speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1855, was chaplain of the Senate in 1856, and was dismissed at the close of 1856. The Reverend William H. Alden was installed June 14, 1857, and dismissed in April, 1864. The Reverend William E. Stanton was ordained November 2, 1865, and resigned June 30, 1870; the Reverend Norman C. Mallory was settled September 14, 1870, and resigned June 30, 1874; the Reverend Orson E. Mallory was settled March 24, 1875, resigned February 28, 1878; the Reverend Thomas M. Colwell was settled May 4, 1878.
Block at Corner of Central and Middle Streets, 1848.
The First Congregational Church was organized June 6, 1826. The church edifice was built, in 1827, on land given by the Locks and Canals Company. The Reverend George C. Beckwith, the first pastor, was ordained July 18, 1827, and dismissed March 18, 1829. The Reverend Amos Blanchard, D.D., was ordained December 5, 1829, and dismissed May 21, 1845, when he became pastor of the Kirk-street Church. The Reverend Willard Child was installed pastor, October 1, 1845, and dismissed January 31, 1855. The Reverend J.L. Jenkins was ordained October, 17, 1855, and dismissed in April, 1862. The Reverend George N. Webber was installed in October, 1862, and dismissed April 1, 1867. The Reverend Horace James was installed October 31, 1867, and dismissed December 13, 1870. The Reverend Smith Baker was installed September 13, 1871.
Northern Railroad Station
The Hurd-street Methodist Episcopal Church dates from 1826; the church edifice was built in 1839. The Reverend Benjamin Griffin was pastor in 1826; the Reverend A.D. Merrill, in 1827; the Reverend B.F. Limbert, in 1828; the Reverend A.D. Sargent, in 1829; the Reverend E.K. Avery, in 1830 and 1831; the Reverend George Pickering, in 1832; the Rev. A.D. Merrill, in 1833 and 1834; the Reverend Ira M. Bidwell, in 1835; the Reverend Orange Scott, in 1836; the Reverend E.M. Stickney, in 1837 and 1838; the Reverend Orange Scott, in 1839 and 1840; the Reverend Schuyler Hoes, in 1841 and 1842; the Reverend W.H. Hatch, in 1843 and 1844; the Reverend Abel Stevens, in 1845; the Reverend C.K. True, in 1846 and 1847; the Reverend A.A. Willets, in 1848; the Reverend John H. Twombly, in 1849 and 1850; the Reverend G.F. Cox, in 1851 and 1852; the Reverend L.D. Barrows, in 1853 and 1854; the Reverend D.E. Chapin, in 1855; the Reverend George M. Steele, in 1856 and 1857; the Reverend H.M. Loud, in 1858 and 1859; the Reverend William R. Clark, in 1860 and 1861; the Reverend Daniel Dorchester, in 1862 and 1863; the Reverend Samuel F. Upham, in 1864, 1865, and 1866 (during the year 1865 he was chaplain of the Massachusetts House of Representatives); the Reverend S.F. Jones, in 1867. The church is known as St. Paul's, and the Reverend Hiram D. Weston is the present pastor.
Country Court House, Gorham Street
Lowell Skating Rink, Gorham Street
The First Universalist Church was organized in July, 1827. The following year they built their church on Chapel Street, but removed it in 1837 to Central Street. The Reverend Eliphalet Case was pastor from 1828 to 1830; the Reverend Calvin Gardner, from 1830 to 1833; the Reverend Thomas B. Thayer, from 1833 to 1845; the Reverend E.G. Brooks, in 1845; the Reverend Uriah Clark, from 1846 to 1850; the Reverend Thomas B. Thayer, from 1851 to October, 1857; the Reverend J.J. Twiss, from 1859 to January 1, 1872; the Reverend G.T. Flanders was settled in 1872; the Reverend George W. Bicknell was settled December 21, 1880.
The South Congregational (Unitarian) Church was organized November 7, 1830, and the edifice was dedicated December 25, 1832. The Reverend William Barry was pastor from 1830 to 1835; the Reverend Henry A. Mills, D.D., from 1836 to 1853; the Reverend Theodore Tibbetts, in 1855 and 1856; the Reverend Frederick Hinckley, from 1856 to 1864; the Reverend Charles Grinnell was settled February 19, 1867; the Reverend Henry Blanchard was ordained January 19, 1871; the Reverend Josiah Lafayette Seward was ordained December 31, 1874.
DANIEL LOVEJOY AND SON'S MACHINE KNIFE WORKS.
The Appleton-street (Orthodox) Congregational Church was organized December 2, 1830; their edifice was built the following year. The Reverend William Twining was pastor from 1831 to 1835; A.C. Burnap, from 1837 to 1852; the Reverend George Darling, from 1852 to 1855; the Reverend John P. Cleaveland, D.D., from 1855 to 1862, when he became chaplain of the Thirtieth Massachusetts Regiment in the Department of the Gulf; the Reverend J.E. Rankin, from 1863 to 1865; the Reverend A.P. Foster, was settled October 3, 1866, resigned October 17, 1868; the Reverend J.M. Green was installed July 30, 1870.
The Worthen-street Baptist Church was organized in 1831. The edifice known as St. Mary's Church was built for this society. Their present edifice was built in 1838. The Reverend James Barnaby was pastor from 1832 to 1835; the Reverend Lemuel Porter, from 1835 to 1851; the Reverend J.W. Smith, from 1851 to 1853; the Reverend D.D. Winn, from 1853 to 1855; the Reverend T.D. Worrall, from 1855 to 1857; the Reverend J.W. Bonham, from 1857 to 1860; the Reverend George F. Warren, from 1860 to 1867; the Reverend F.R. Morse, from 1867 to 1870; the Reverend D.H. Miller, D.D., from 1870 to 1873; the Reverend E.A. Lecompte, in 1873. The present pastor is the Reverend John C. Emery.
HOYT & SHEDD'S BLOCK, MIDDLESEX STREET.
In 1831, the St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church was erected, but was replaced in 1854 by the present more spacious edifice. The church was consecrated October 29, 1854, by Bishop Fitzpatrick, of Boston, and Bishop O'Riley, of Hartford. The pastors have been the Reverend John Mahoney, the Reverend Peter Connelly, the Reverend James T. McDermott, the Reverend Henry J. Tucker, and the Reverend John O'Brien.
In 1833, a free church of the Christian denomination was organized under the ministry of the Reverend Timothy Cole. The experiment proved a failure and the building was afterwards converted to the uses of an armory.
The Freewill Baptist Church was organized in 1834, and in 1837 a spacious edifice was erected. Through mismanagement the society came to grief and the building was used for commercial purposes. In 1853, the society built another edifice on Paige Street. The pastors of this church have been the Reverend Nathaniel Thurston, the Reverend Jonathan Woodman, the Reverend Silas Curtis, the Reverend A.K. Moulton, the Reverend J.B. Davis, the Reverend Darwin Mott, the Reverend George W. Bean, the Reverend J.B. Drew, the Reverend D.A. Marham, the Reverend J.E. Dame, and the Reverend E.W. Porter.
CHALIFOUX BLOCK.
The Second Universalist Church was organized in 1836, and their house was built the following year. The pastors of this church have been the Reverend Z. Thompson, from 1837 to 1839; the Reverend Abel C. Thomas, from 1839 to 1842; the Reverend A.A. Miner, D.D., from 1842 to 1848; the Reverend L.J. Fletcher; the Reverend L.B. Mason, from 1848 to 1849; the Reverend I.D. Williamson, from 1849 to 1850; the Reverend N.M. Gaylord, from 1850 to 1853; the Reverend John S. Dennis; the Reverend Charles Cravens; the Reverend Charles H. Button; the Reverend L.J. Fletcher, from 1859 to 1862; the Reverend F.E. Hicks, from 1862 to 1866; the Reverend John G. Adams, from 1866; the Reverend R.A. Greene, from 1877.
The John-street (Orthodox) Congregational Church was organized May 9, 1839. The house was dedicated January 24, 1840. The Reverend Stedman W. Hanks, the first pastor, was ordained March 20, 1840, and dismissed February 3, 1853. He was succeeded by the Reverend Eden B. Foster, D.D., who resigned his charge in 1861, but resumed it in 1866. During his absence the Reverend Joseph W. Backus was pastor. The Reverend J.B. Seabury was installed as associate pastor in 1875. The present pastor is the Reverend Henry T. Rose.
FIVE CENTS SAVINGS BANK.
In 1840, the Third Baptist Church was organized. In 1846, the edifice, afterwards occupied by the Central Methodist Church, was built for this society. The pastors were the Reverend John G. Naylor, the Reverend Ira Person, the Reverend John Duncan, the Reverend Sereno Howe, the Reverend John Duer, and the Reverend John Hubbard. The church was disbanded in 1861.
The Worthen-street Methodist Episcopal Church was organized October 2, 1841, and the edifice was erected the following year. The succession of pastors has been the Reverend A.D. Sargent, the Reverend A.D. Merrill, the Rev. J.S. Springer, the Reverend Isaac A. Savage, the Reverend Charles Adams, the Reverend I.J.P. Collyer, the Reverend M.A. Howe, the Reverend J.W. Dadmun, the Reverend William H. Hatch, the Reverend A.D. Sargent, the Reverend L.R. Thayer, the Reverend William H. Hatch, the Reverend J.O. Peck, the Reverend George Whittaker. The present pastor is the Reverend Nicholas T. Whittaker.
APPLETON BLOCK, CENTRAL STREET.
The St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church was gathered on Christmas, 1841. The Reverend James Conway, the first pastor, was succeeded in March, 1847, by the Reverend Peter Crudden. The present rector is the Reverend M. Ronan, assisted by the Reverends John D. Colbert and Thomas F. McManus.
In 1843, the Lowell Missionary Society was established. The Reverend Horatio Wood officiated in the ministry and labored in free evening schools and Sunday mission schools, successfully.
The Kirk-street Congregational Church was organized in 1845; the edifice was built in 1846. The Reverend Amos Blanchard was installed the first pastor and continued to his death, January 14, 1870. He was succeeded by the Reverend C.D. Barrows. The present pastor is the Reverend Charles A. Dickinson.
The High-street Congregational Church was organized in 1846. Their edifice was built by the St. Luke's Episcopal Church, which was formed in 1842 and was disbanded, in 1844, under the ministration of the Reverend A.D. McCoy. The Reverend Timothy Atkinson was pastor from 1846 to 1847; the Reverend Joseph H. Towne, from 1848 to 1853; the Reverend O.T. Lanphier, from 1855 to 1856; the Reverend Owen Street, from September 17, 1857.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church was originally built for the Baptists, but was purchased in 1846 by the Reverend James T. McDermott, and consecrated March 7, 1847.
SCENE BELOW HUNT'S FALLS.
The Third Universalist Church was organized in 1843, and the edifice known as Barristers' Hall was built for its use. It was disbanded after a few years. The pastors were the Reverend H.G. Smith, the Reverend John Moore, the Reverend H.G. Smith, and the Reverend L.J. Fletcher. The Central Methodist Church occupied the edifice for a time, before they secured the building of the Third Baptist Society. The Society was gathered in 1854. The pastors have been the Reverend William S. Studley, the Reverend Isaac S. Cushman, the Reverend Isaac J.P. Collyer, the Reverend Chester Field, the Reverend Lorenzo R. Thayer, the Reverend J.H. Mansfield, the Reverend Andrew McKeown, in 1865 and 1866, the Reverend William C. High, in 1867. The Reverend Isaac H. Packard is the present pastor.
FISKE'S BLOCK, CENTRAL STREET.
In 1850, a Unitarian Society, organized in 1846, built the Gothic Chapel on Lee Street, and occupied it until 1861, when it passed into the hands of a society of Spiritualists. The Unitarian pastors were the Reverend M.A.H. Niles, the Reverend William Barry, the Reverend Augustus Woodbury, the Reverend J.K. Karcher, the Reverend John B. Willard, and the Reverend William C. Tenney. It became the property of the St. Joseph (French) Roman Catholic Church.
On July 5, 1855, the stone church on Merrimack Street was dedicated as a Methodist Protestant Church. There preached the Reverend William Marks, the Reverend Richard H. Dorr, and the Reverend Robert Crossley. The building passed into possession of the Second Advent Society, which had been organized as early as 1842.
Lowell Machine Shop
St. John's Episcopal Church was erected in 1861, and consecrated by Bishop Eastburn, July 16, 1863. The Reverend Charles W. Homer was the first rector. He was succeeded by the Reverend Cornelius B. Smith, in 1863, who, in 1866, was succeeded by the Reverend Charles L. Hutchins. The present pastor is the Reverend Leander C. Manchester.
There are in Lowell thirty edifices exclusively devoted to public worship.
Edson Block Merrimack Street
We have followed the course of events which have developed the city of Lowell from a small, scattering settlement to an important city, with an area of nearly twelve square miles, occupied by more than sixty thousand inhabitants. The daily life of its continually changing population has not been dwelt upon. In the early days the projectors of the city cared for the religion, the education, and the savings of those whom they employed. New England farms contributed their fairest children to the mills. The field was open to the world, and from every section flocked those seeking honest employment. First in great numbers came the people from England and Ireland, and, later, the thrifty French, Germans, Swedes, and Canadians. All nations have contributed to the advancement of Lowell, each adding of his labor or thought to the improvement of the city.
Lowell is laid out with a certain irregular regularity. The mills came first: the business came afterward; and one finds canals, business blocks, and mills built close together. Only an intelligent study of a map of the city will give one an idea of its plan. It was not modeled after the city of Philadelphia.
A Plan of Sundry Farms & c PLAN of SUNDRY FARMS &c.
Patucket in the town of Chelmsford MDCCCXXI
Over seventeen millions of dollars are invested in manufacturing. There are one hundred and fifty-three mills, over eight hundred thousand spindles, and twenty thousand looms. The mills give employment to thirteen thousand female operatives and ten thousand male operatives. Two hundred million yards of cotton goods are yearly sent from Lowell to clothe the world. Of woolen goods, more than eight million yards. Nearly three million yards of carpeting are made in the city every year, and a fabulous number of shawls. Thirteen million pairs of stockings were the last year's product. The Southern States contribute yearly thirty-four thousand tons of cotton, which is here made into the most delicate fabrics. The calico and printed goods made in Lowell in the year 1882 would twice encircle the earth at the equator—and then all would not be used to do it.
