LibGuides: The Town & the City: Lowell Before The Civil War: Writings about early Lowell

Writings about early Lowell

No part of the earth's service is more worthy of study, for us, than that on which we live. No part can boast a history more replete with the elements of poetry and romance, — what she has done for the advancement of the mechanic arts, — what she has contributed to the comfort and well-being of civilized mankind, — what her citizens have done, and are now doing, for the preservation of the unity and nationality of America, — the world well knows.

Charles Cowley, 1862

[Lowell, Massachusetts] is in many ways a cosmopolis - the whole universe is represented there in a fourteen-square-mile municipality. And it is possible that by studying Lowell one might see the entire range of human experience and come away with a truer understanding of history.
Mehmed Ali, 2006

CULTURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY (CRI) LOWELL NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK AND PRESERVATION DISTRICT - CULTURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY (CRI)
The Lowell Neighborhoods: An Historical and Architectural Overview Prepared by Elizabeth Durfee Hengen as part of a Neighborhood Cultural Resource Inventory jointly funded by the City of Lowell through its Community Development Block Grant program and the Massachusetts Historical Commission through the National Historic Preservation Fund. August, 1981
Lowell in 1826, Written by A. B. Wright Contributions of the Old Residents Historical Association, Lowell, MA, 1884, Page 402
Lowell Cultural Resources Inventory - Lowell House / Coburn Block MACRIS
A Brief Concord River History Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust
Concord River Greenway - Industrialization Lowell Parks and ConservationTrust
Brief Biographical Notices of the Prominent Citizens of the Town of Lowell - 1826 to 1836 by C. C. Chase From - Contributions of the old residents' historical association, Lowell, Mass. Volume IV
Illustrated History of Lowell Cowley's Illustrated History of Lowell - Contains a general church history of Lowell from page 86 to 102
Illustrated History of Lowell - School History of Lowell By Charles Cowley
Cowley's Handbook of Business in Lowell - Events between 1800 and 1820 From - A hand book of business in Lowell, with a history of the city by Cowley, Charles, 1832-1908 Published 1856
Cowley's Handbook of Business in Lowell - Lowell as a Town From - A hand book of business in Lowell, with a history of the city by Cowley, Charles, 1832-1908 Published 1856
1825 Map of Lowell Mass. Brown University Library
Lowell Canal System 1836 Brown University Library
Dutton Street 1834 Brown University Library
Eastern proposal : 1824 map of development in Lowell, Mass. Brown University Library
Lower Pawtucket Plan, January 1824 Brown University Library
Pawtucket Dam, 1833 (oil painting) Brown University Library
Report to the directors of the proprietors of the locks and canals on Merrimack river on the measurement of the water power used by the manufacturing companies at Lowell. by James B. Francis and James F. Baldwin Report to the directors of the proprietors of the locks and canals on Merrimack river on the measurement of the water power used by the manufacturing companies at Lowell. by James B. Francis and James F. Baldwin. (Boston, Eastburn's Press, 1853), by James B. Francis (page images at HathiTrust)
Catalogue of the City School Library, Lowell, Mass. Established May 20, 1844. (Lowell, Printed by S.N. Merrill, 1858) Catalogue of the City School Library, Lowell, Mass. Established May 20, 1844. (Lowell, Printed by S.N. Merrill, 1858), (Lowell (page images at HathiTrust)
The charter and ordinances of the city of Lowell: together with the acts of the legislature relating to the city. (Boston: J.E. Farwell, 1863) The charter and ordinances of the city of Lowell: together with the acts of the legislature relating to the city. (Boston: J.E. Farwell, 1863), by Lowell (Mass.) (page images at HathiTrust)
Semi-centennial anniversary of the South Congregational Society (Unitarian), in Lowell, Friday, Sept. 26, 1879. Semi-centennial anniversary of the South Congregational Society (Unitarian), in Lowell, Friday, Sept. 26, 1879. (Lowell, Mass: Vox Populi Press, Huse, Goodwin & Co., 1880) (page images at HathiTrust)
From Building to Architecture, The Emergence of Victorian Lowell FROM: Harvard Architecture Review, MIT Press, Cambridge, Vol 2, Spring 1981

Proceedings in the city of Lowell at the semi-centennial (1876) Proceedings in the city of Lowell at the semi-centennial celebration of the incorporation of the town of Lowell, March 1st, 1876
Selection from Before the Power Loom by Z. E. Stone Selections from Before the Power Loom by Z. E. Stone in Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association, Volume 6
Walking Tour of Downtown Lowell: A Dozen Sites Associated with Anti-slavery in the Spindle City, 1830 – 1860 A Dozen Sites Associated with Anti-slavery in the Spindle City, 1830 – 1860 Gray Fitzsimons, May 2011. (Special Thanks to Martha Mayo, Director, Center for Lowell History, University of Massachusetts Lowell)
The Building of the Pawtucket Canal by Al Lorenzo, 2005
The Use of Granite in the Lowell Canal System by Al Lorenzo, 2004
The Water Powered Machinery that Drove King Cotton by Al Lorenzo, 2009
Hidden Waterways of the Lowell Canal System - Part 1 by Al Lorenzo, 2007 (Part 1 0f 4)
Hidden Waterways of the Lowell Canal System - Part 2 by Al Lorenzo, 2007 (Part 2 of 4)
Hidden Waterways of the Lowell Canal System - Part 3 by Al Lorenzo, 2007 (Part 3 of 4)
Hidden Waterways of the Lowell Canal System - Part 4 by Al Lorenzo, 2007 (Part 4 of 4)
The History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Vol 2, Hurd, 1890 The Chapters from The History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Vol 2, by D. Hampton Hurd, 1890 about Lowell (with portraits)
The Operatives' Magazine, 1842 The Operatives' Magazine; Published by an Association of Females; Lowell, 1842
A vindication of the character and condition of the females employed in the Lowell mills, by Elisha Bartlett, 1841 A vindication of the character and condition of the females employed in the Lowell mills, against the charges contained in the Boston Times, and the Boston quarterly review by Bartlett, Elisha, 1804-1855 Publication date 1841
A Factory Girl, "Factory Girls," Lowell Offering, December 1840 A Factory Girl, "Factory Girls," Lowell Offering, December 1840
Orestes Brownson, The Laboring Classes: 1840. Orestes Brownson, The Laboring Classes: An Article from the Boston Quarterly Review, Boston: Benjamin H. Greene, 1840.
A New England Girlhood, Outlined from Memory, by Lucy Larcom. A New England girlhood, outlined from memory, by Lucy Larcom. Boston, Houghton, Mifflin company, 1889.

The Voice of Industry
The Voice of Industry (1845-1848)
A digitized collection of the Voice of Industry newspaper, published by young women in Lowell, Mass. from 1845-1848.
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The Voice of Industry was a worker-run newspaper published by young American women, who came to work in the factories at the height of the Industrial Revolution. It was printed in Lowell
The Hours in Lowell; from the Voice of Industry, June 26, 1845
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The operatives in Lowell work:
In January, 11 hours and 24 min
In February, 12 hours
In March, 11 hours 52 min.
In April, 13 hours and 31 min.
In May, 12 hours 55 min.
In June, 12 hours 45 min.
In July, 12 hours and 45 min.
In August, 12 hours and 45 min.
In September, 12 hours and 43 min.
In October, 12 hours and 16 min.
In November, 11 hours 46 min.
In December, 11 hours 24 min.

Observations of Lowell

Captain Basil Hall - 1827 Travels in North America, in the Years 1827 and 1828, by Captain Basil Hall - Lowell 1827
Lorenzo de Zavala - 1830 Excerpt from Journey to the United States of North America (Viaje a los Estados Unidos del Norte de Amentica). Zavala visited Lowell during a tour of the the United States in 1830.
Michel Chevalier - 1834 Excerpts from Letters on North America by Michel Chevalier
Col. David Crockett - 1834 An Account of Col. Crockett’s Tour to the North and Down East By David Crockett Published: 1835
Charles Lyell - 1841 Travels In North America By Charles Lyell 1841 Chapter V – Lowell Factories Lowell, Massachusetts 1841
John Robert Godley - 1844 Letters from America By John Robert Godley Lowell 1844