Lowell, << LOH uhl >> , Massachusetts (pop. 115,554) is a city in the northeastern part of the state. It lies along the Merrimack River. Lowell is best known as the nation’s first planned industrial community. It was founded in the early 1800’s by textile manufacturers. In 1978, the part of Lowell where early textile manufacturing was centered became a national historical park. That event helped lead to a redevelopment of the region.
Lowell’s historic sites include the restored Francis Gatehouse and Merrimack Gatehouse. The gatehouses formerly served as locks that controlled the water level in the city’s canal system. The canals provided water power to run the textile mills. Lowell’s Visitor Center has exhibits of fabrics and of looms and other machinery used in the mills. The birthplace of the painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler is in Lowell and is preserved as a museum. Other museums include the Boott Cotton Mills Museum and the New England Quilt Museum.
Textile manufacturing is still performed in Lowell. However, research companies, educational institutions, and service industries are the city’s major employers.
Lowell was incorporated as a town in 1826, and as a city in 1836. It was named for the American textile manufacturer Francis Cabot Lowell. Lowell has a council-manager form of government.
