Lowell, Massachusetts

City of Lowell
—  City  —
Lowell on the Merrimack river with Cox Bridge

Seal
Nickname(s): Mill City, Spindle City
Motto: Art is the Handmaid of Human Good
Location in Middlesex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Middlesex
Settled 1653
Incorporated 1826
A city 1836
Government
 - Type Manager-City council
 - Mayor Bud. C. Caulfield
 - City Manager Bernard F. Lynch
Area
 - Total 14.5 sq mi (37.7 km2)
 - Land 13.8 sq mi (35.7 km2)
 - Water 0.8 sq mi (2.0 km2)
Elevation 102 ft (31 m)
Population (2007)
 - Total 103,512
 - Density 7,500.9/sq mi (2,899.5/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 01850, 01851, 01852, 01853, 01854
Area code(s) 978 / 351
FIPS code 25-37000
GNIS feature ID 0611832
Website http://www.lowellma.gov/

Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 105,167. It is the fifth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County.[1]

Contents

History

The Massachusetts Mill at the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord Rivers

Founded in the 1820s as a planned manufacturing center for textiles, Lowell is located along the rapids of the Merrimack River, 30 miles northwest of Boston in what was once the farming community of East Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The so-called Boston Associates, including Nathan Appleton and Patrick Tracy Jackson of the Boston Manufacturing Company, named the new mill town after their visionary leader, Francis Cabot Lowell, who had died five years before its 1823 incorporation. As Lowell's population grew, it acquired more land from neighboring towns, and diversified into a full-fledged urban center, with many of canal & factory construction labor force immigrating from Ireland, escaping the Potato Famines of the 1830s & 1840s, as well as, the mill workers or Mill Girls coming from the farms of New England. By the 1850s it was the largest industrial complex in the United States. In 1860, there were more cotton spindles in Lowell than in all eleven states that would form the Confederacy combined.[2] The city continued to thrive as a major industrial center during the 19th century, attracting more migrant workers and immigrants to its mills. Next were the Catholic Germans, then a large influx of French Canadians during the 1870s & 1880s, then other waves of immigrants, such as, Portuguese, Polish, Lithuanians Swedes, and Jews came to work in Lowell and settled their own neighborhoods, with the cities' population reaching almost 50% foreign-born by 1900.[3] By the time World War I broke out in Europe, the city had reached its economic and population peak of over 110,000 people.

With the decline of the Mill Cities' manufacturing base, with many companies moving to the South in the 1920s,[3] the city fell into deep hard times, and was called a "depressed industrial desert" by Harper's Magazine in 1931, and over a third of its population was "on relief" as only three of its major textile corporations remained active.[3] A few short years later, the mills were reactivated, making parachutes and other military necessities for the War effort. However, this economic boost was short-lived and the post-war years saw the last textile plants close. Over the next few decades the city was just a shadow of itself, until the 1970s, when Lowell became part of the Massachusetts Miracle, being the headquarters of Wang Laboratories. At the same time, Lowell became home to thousands of new immigrants, many from Cambodia, following the genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. The city continued to rebound, but this time, focusing more on culture. The former mill district along the river was partially restored and became part of the Lowell National Historical Park, founded in the late 1970s. Even though Wang went bankrupt in 1992, the city continued its cultural focus by hosting the nations largest free folk festival, Lowell Folk Festival, as well as many other cultural events. This effort began to attract other companies and families back to the urban center with other historic manufacturing and commercial buildings being repurposed as residential units and office space. By the 1990s, Lowell built a new ballpark and arena, which became home to two minor league sports teams, the Lowell Devils and Lowell Spinners. The city also began to include a larger student presence as well, through expansions of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Middlesex Community College.

Geography

Lowell is located at (42.639444, -71.314722).[4] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.5 square miles (37.7 km²).13.8 square miles (35.7 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.0 km²) of it (5.23%) is water.

Physical

Lowell's canal system (1975)

Lowell is located at the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord Rivers. The Pawtucket Falls, a mile-long set of rapids with a total loss in elevation of 32 feet, ends where the two rivers meet. At the top of the falls is the Pawtucket Dam - designed to turn the upper Merrimack into a millpond, diverted through Lowell's extensive canal system.

The Merrimack, which flows southerly from Franklin, New Hampshire to Lowell, makes a northeasterly turn there before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport, Massachusetts, approximately 40 miles downriver from Lowell. It is believed that in prior ages, the Merrimack continued south from Lowell to empty into the ocean somewhere near Boston. The glacial deposits that redirected the flow of the river are also responsible for the drumlins that dot the city, most notably, Fort Hill in the Belvidere neighborhood. Other large hills in Lowell include Lynde Hill, also in Belvidere, and Christian Hill, in the easternmost part of Centralville.

The Concord, or Musketaquid (its original name), forms from the confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury Rivers at Concord, Massachusetts. This river flows north into the city, and the area around the confluence with the Merrimack was known as Wamesit. Like the Merrimack, the Concord, although a much smaller river, has many waterfalls and rapids that served as power sources for early industrial purposes, some well before the founding of Lowell. Immediately after the Concord joins the Merrimack, the Merrimack descends another ten feet in Hunt's Falls.

There is a ninety-degree bend in the Merrimack partway down the Pawtucket Falls. At this point, the river briefly widens and shallows. Here, Beaver Brook enters from the north, separating the City's two northern neighborhoods - Pawtucktville and Centralville. Entering the Concord River from the southwest is River Meadow, or Hale's Brook. This brook flows largely in a man-made channel, as the Lowell Connector was built along it. Both of these minor streams have limited industrial histories as well.

The bordering towns (clockwise from north) are Dracut, Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford, and Tyngsboro. The border with Billerica is a point in the middle of the Concord River where Lowell and Billerica meet Tewksbury and Chelmsford.

The ten communities designated part of the Lowell Metropolitan area by the 2000 US Census are Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Lowell, Pepperell, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, and Westford, and Pelham, NH. See Greater Lowell.

Lowell received an "All-America City" award in 1999, and was a finalist in 1997 and 1998.[5]

Neighborhoods

Lowell's Neighborhoods

Lowell currently has eight distinct neighborhoods; the Acre, Back Central, Belvidere, Centralville, Downtown, Highlands, Pawtucketville, and South Lowell.[6] The City also has 5 zip codes, 4 are geographically distinct general zip codes and 1 is for PO-boxes only (01853).

The Centralville neighborhood, zip code 01850, is the northeastern section of the city, north of the Merrimack River and east of Beaver Brook. Christian Hill is the section of Centralville, located east of Bridge Street.

The Highlands is the most populated neighborhood with almost a quarter of the city residing here, zip code 01851, and is the southwestern section of the city, bordered to the east by the Lowell Connector and to the north by the railroad. Lowellians further distinguish the sections of the Highlands as the Upper Highlands and the Lower Highlands referring to the area closer to downtown. Middlesex Village, Tyler Park and Drum Hill are in this zip code.

Belvidere, Back Central and South Lowell make up the 01852 zip code, and are the southeastern sections of the city (south of the Merrimack River and south east of the Lowell Connector). Belvidere is the mostly residential area south of the Merrimack River, east of the Concord River and north of the Lowell and Lawrence railroad. Belvidere Hill is an Historic District along Fairmount St. Lower Belvidere refers to the section west of Nesmith Street. Back Central is an urban area south of downtown towards the mouth of River Meadow Brook. South Lowell is the area south of the railroad and east of the Concord River. Other neighborhoods in this zip code are Ayers City, Bleachery, Chapel Hill, the Grove, Oaklands, Riverside Park, Swede Village and Wigginsville, but their use is mostly antiquated

The zip code 01854 is the northwestern portion of the city and includes Pawtucketville, the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and the Acre. Pawtucketville is where famous writer Jack Kerouac resided around the area of University Ave (previously known as Moody st.). North campus of UMASS Lowell is located in Pawtucketville. The older parts of the neighborhood are located around University Ave. and Mammoth Road whereas the newer parts are located around Varnum Ave. Middle and elementary schools for this area include Wang Middle School, Pawtucketville Memorial, Mccavinue elementary school and private school St. Jeanne D'arc. Pawtucketville is the official entrance to the Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest. Pawtucketville's Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsborough State Forest is the probable site of a notable Native American tribe, and in age of the Industrial Revolution was a prominent source where granite for canals and factory foundations were obtained.[7]

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1830 6,474
—
1840 20,796 221.2%
1850 33,383 60.5%
1860 36,827 10.3%
1870 40,928 11.1%
1880 59,475 45.3%
1890 77,696 30.6%
1900 94,969 22.2%
1910 106,294 11.9%
1920 112,759 6.1%
1930 100,234 −11.1%
1940 101,389 1.2%
1950 97,249 −4.1%
1960 92,107 −5.3%
1970 94,239 2.3%
1980 92,418 −1.9%
1990 103,439 11.9%
2000 105,167 1.7%

According to the 2000 Census[8], there were 105,167 people residing in the city. The population density was 7,635.6 people per square mile (2,948.8/km²). There were 39,468 housing units at an average density of 2,865.5/sq mi (1,106.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was;

Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.01% of the population. (U.S. Average: 12.5%)

Lowell had the highest percentage of Cambodians of any place in the United States, with 10.37% of its population being Cambodian,[9] and is only second in population to Long Beach, California. There are an estimated 11,000 Cambodians living in the city of Lowell, but local community leaders estimate the number to be around 35,000.[10] The Government of Cambodia had opened up its third U.S. Consular Office in Lowell, on April 27, 2009, with Sovann Ou as current advisor to the Cambodian Embassy.[11] The other two are in Seattle and Long Beach.

In 2000, there were 37,887 households, and 23,982 families living in Lowell; with the average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.35.

In 2000, the city's population had a median age of 31 (U.S. Average: 35.3).

For every 100 females there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,192 (U.S. Average: $41,994). The median income for a family was $45,901. (U.S. Average: $50,046) Males had a median income of $33,554 versus $27,399 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,557. About 13.6% of families (U.S. Average: 9.2%) and 16.8% of individuals (U.S. Average: 12.4%) were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Lowell City Council 2010-2011[12]
  • James L. Milinazzo, Mayor
  • Kevin P. Broderick, Vice Mayor
  • Edward C. Caulfield
  • Franky D. Descoteaux
  • Rodney M. Elliott
  • Joseph M. Mendonça
  • Michael J. Lenzi
  • William F. Martin
  • Rita M. Mercier
  • Patrick O. Murphy
Lowell City Hall

Lowell has a "Plan E form" Council-manager government. There are nine city councilors and six school committee members, all elected at large in a non-partisan election. The City Council chooses one of its members as mayor, and another as vice-mayor; the mayor serves as chair of the council, serves as the seventh member of the school committee, and performs certain ceremonial duties. The administrative head of the city government is the City Manager, who is responsible for all day-to-day operations, functioning within the guidelines of City Council policy, and is hired by and serves at the pleasure of the City Council as whole. As of January 2010, the City Manager is Bernard F. Lynch and James L. Milinazzo is the Mayor.

As of August 2005, Lowell became part of one Massachusetts Senate district.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 15, 2008[13]
Party Number of Voters Percentage
  Democratic 21,505 41.37%
  Republican 4,877 9.38%
  Unaffiliated 25,083 48.25%
  Minor Parties 523 1.01%
Total 51,988 100%

State Representatives

Lowell's State Representatives are currently

The two U.S. Senators from Massachusetts, representing at large, are John Kerry (D) and Scott Brown (R).

==

Massachusetts General Court

In the Massachusetts General Court Lowell's State Senator to the Massachusetts Senate is currently:

United States Congress

The City of Lowell is part of the Massachusetts Fifth Congressional District, represented by Niki Tsongas (D), as well as the Third Governor's Council District represented by Marilyn Petitto Devaney.kos]] (D)

Transportation

Lowell can be reached by automobile from Interstate 495, US Route 3, the Lowell Connector, and Massachusetts Routes 3A, 38, 110, 113, and 133.[14]

For public transit, Lowell is served by the Lowell Regional Transit Authority, which provides fixed route bus services and paratransit services to the city and surrounding area. These connect at the Gallagher Transit Terminal to the Lowell Line of the MBTA commuter rail system, which connects Lowell to Boston. The terminal is also served by several intercity bus lines.[14]

The Lowell National Historical Park provides a free streetcar shuttle between its various sites in the city center, using track formerly used to provide freight access to the city's mills.

Media

Newspapers

Radio

Points of interest

Among the many tourist attractions, Lowell also currently has 39 places on the National Register of Historic Places including many buildings and structures as part of the Lowell National Historical Park.

The Boott Cotton Mill Museum & Trolley
The National Park Boat Tour

Culture

Birthplace of painter James McNeill Whistler.
The Boott Cotton Mill and Museum

In the early years of 1840's when the population quickly exceeded 20,000, Lowell became very active as a cultural center, with the construction of the Lowell Museum, the Mechanics' Hall, as well as, the new City Hall used for art exhibits, lectures, and for the performing arts. The Lowell Museum was lost in a devastating fire in the early morning of January 31, 1856,[15] but was quickly rehoused in a new location. The Lowell Art Association was founded in 1876, and the new Opera House was built in 1889.[16]

Continuing to inspire and entertain, Lowell currently has a plethora of artistic exhibitions and performances throughout a wide range of venues in the city:

Museums and public galleries

Interactive and live performances

Sports

Lowell Devils Hockey game

On April 1, 2006, Lowell held the 2006 World Curling Championships for the men's teams at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell.

Venues

LeLacheur Park

Annual events

Businesses started and/or products invented in Lowell

Hospitals

Education

Lowell Schools

High Schools

Grades 5-8

[25]

Grades K-8

Grades K-4

[25]

Private Grade Schools

[29]

Higher education

Crime

The Old Jail House, Lowell, MA ca.1900

The city of Lowell is primarily policed and protected by the Lowell Police Department and secondarily by the Massachusetts State Police.

Since 1990, Lowell has averaged about 5 homicides per year with the highest being 13 homicides in 2006. As of 2008, the crime index rating was 446.8. The national average was 320.9. Lowell has been locally notorious over the years for being a place of high drug trafficking and gang activity. The Lowell Police Department has made positive progress in bringing the crime rates down in recent years. In the years from 1994 to 1999, crime dropped 50 percent, the highest rate of decrease for any city in America with over 100,000 residents.[33] In 2009, Lowell was ranked as the 139th most dangerous city of over 75,000 residents in the United States, out of 393 communities. Out of Massachusetts cities, nine are larger than 75,000 residents, and Lowell was fifth most dangerous or safest.[34] For comparison Lowell is rated safer than Boston (104 of 393), Providence RI (123), Springfield (51), Lynn (120), Fall River (103), and New Bedford (85), but rated more dangerous than Cambridge (303) , Newton (388), Quincy (312), and Worcester (175).[34]

References to Lowell

Music

The city is the subject of Death Cab for Cutie's song, "Lowell, MA," from their album We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes

The city was also featured in the song "Lowell Man" by Tom Doyle. Doyle, of WROR-FM 105.7 in Boston, does many songs like this spoofing classic rock by rewording them to make fun of various things about New England (Lowell Man is a spoof of Soul Man by Sam & Dave).

The Dropkick Murphys' Warrior's Code tells story of Lowell Boxer Micky Ward, mentioning Lowell and several city facts in the song.

Novels

Lowell has also been the subject of a number of novels. Some of the better known ones are:

Memorial stone of Jack Kerouac in Lowell, Mass. (USA)

Films

Notable residents

See List of People from Lowell, Massachusetts

References

  1. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  2. ↑ Menand, Louis (2001), The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. 10, ISBN 0-374-52849-7 .
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Marion, Paul, "Timeline of Lowell History From 1600s to 2009", Yankee magazine, November 2009.
  4. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  5. ↑ [1]
  6. ↑ Lowell's Neighborhoods
  7. ↑ http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/ldtf.htm
  8. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  9. ↑ Cambodian ancestry by city - ePodunk
  10. ↑ [2]
  11. ↑ http://khmerization.blogspot.com/2009/04/cambodian-consulate-opens-in-lowell.html
  12. ↑ http://www.lowellma.gov/govt
  13. ↑ "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 15, 2008" (PDF). Massachusetts Elections Division. http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/st_county_town_enroll_breakdown_08.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-08. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "City of Lowell - Location". http://www.Lowellma.gov/depts/dpd/services/econdev/Location. Retrieved 2007-10-02. 
  15. ↑ "New York Times" article "Destruction of the Lowell Museum by Fire" January 31, 1856
  16. ↑ http://ecommunity.uml.edu/lhs/lowell_history.htm
  17. ↑ http://www.athm.org/
  18. ↑ http://www.trolleymuseum.org/lowell/
  19. ↑ Tuttle, Nancye, "Cambodian art, a New England tradition", The Lowell Sun, May 15, 2008.
  20. ↑ http://library.uml.edu/clh/Fath/Fath2.Html
  21. ↑ http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/2009-11/features/lowell-timeline
  22. ↑ http://fredcchurch.com/about/history.php?PHPSESSID=a70f3f4ae8d2dc644ec8e08f6b2a808c
  23. ↑ http://www.gltech.org/
  24. ↑ http://www.lmacs.org/qa/faq.html
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/schools
  26. ↑ http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/schools/pynearts
  27. ↑ http://www.lowell.k12.ma.us/schools/bartlett
  28. ↑ http://www.lccps.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=120632&sessionid=101f53a30bdcd7c7f601692f93ac927a
  29. ↑ http://www.privateschoolreview.com/
  30. ↑ Hellenic American Academy
  31. ↑ Franco American School
  32. ↑ Saint Stanislaus/History
  33. ↑ The police behind America's biggest crime drop.(Edward F. Davis III and the Lowell, Massachusetts police department)
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 City Crime Rankings, 2009-2010

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