Lowell, MA (IMG) (Images of America)

In 1604, Sieur De Monts wrote, “The Indians speak of a beautiful river far to the South, which they call Merrimac.” The common thread that runs through the history of Lowell is the Merrimac River. The river attracted European explorers and colonists in the seventeenth century, as it had attracted various Native American tribes before them. The fertile land around the river made agriculture profitable for many years, but it was the Merrimac’s potential for water power and transportation that opened the area up to industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Reminders of the Industrial Revolution can still be seen and felt in Lowell today, but few reminders are more powerful than the photographs contained in this dynamic visual history. Photographers captured Lowell on film firsthand as it developed into one of the most powerful centers of industry in the world. They also photographed the people that made Lowell what it was and is; the images of their faces, homes, workplaces, and daily lives say more about the city’s history than words ever can.