Lowell town was named after Harvard trained and Massachusetts born scholar, Francis Cabot Lowell. Lowell was also an industrialist and died in 1817 at the age of 42 years. F.C Cabot Lowell had gone to Britain for treatment where he learnt about the textile manufacturing industry. At the end of his two years stay in Britain, he returned home and started applying the expertise he had learnt in Britain. Together with his accomplices, he opened Boston manufacturing company, a company established along the Charles River. (Coburn, F.W. 1920). The Lowell Company became so successful and was a great attraction for immigrants began who hoped to find job opportunities here.. The availability of hydropower and the land gave way to the establishment of many manufacturing companies in the town. The population continued to rise due to the influx of immigrants and job seekers in the new established companies. The town grew exponentially and became a city in 1836.
Earlier during the colonization era in Lowell, the colonial settlers settled in the area and tried to do some farming. Owing to the unfavorable climatic conditions in the area coupled with poor soil quality and fertility, farming business in some part of Lowell was not attractive and this explained the reason why most of the farmers preferred the area near Merrimack River. The arrival of British settlers annexed the land of the locals and displaced them. This changed the settlement pattern of Lowell permanently. The rise of the manufacturing industry created a high demand for raw materials that comprised mostly cotton and lumbering. The areas near the river provided the raw materials to the textile industry although the raw materials did not entirely come from within Lowell. During the era of industrial revolution, Lowell experienced an overflow of immigrants that were seeking jobs opportunities in the established industries. The immigrants created a high demand for land to settle. This led to most of the land in the area to be turned into settlements to accommodate the workers and to do farming especially livestock keeping (Prendergast, J. 1996).
There was development of gender awareness that came along with the Lowell industrial revolution. F.C Lowell in his manufacturing industry emphasized greatly on matters the matters related to gender equality and tried wade off the gender discrimination that was directed to women in his time by employing more women than men. At one time in his industry, there were over 80% of women employees in his company. Apart from the employment opportunity accorded to women, they were also offered accommodation facilities as well as freedom of worship and education. This approach to women labor led to the change of the way women were viewed in the work place. It was a positive step toward gender equality and working pace fairness.
Provision of housing facilities also promoted the working class in Lowell and the America in general unlike Britain where workers were left to languish in slums with little consideration of their physical and health needs. This activity led to the development of social, economic progression and the way workers were viewed. The provision of housing facilities was also a step forward in taking care of the employees, as they are a valuable component to the healthy operation of the company. It is in Lowell that the welfare of workers gained attention of their employers and this spread to the entire American nation (Hannah J. 1949).
Lowell city has a few things to show about its culture apart from its history of industrial revolution. Many of her residents come from a generation of immigrants who descended into the area during the time of industrial expansion. The St. Patrick Catholic Church is one of the churches that were built during the industrial expansion. Recently toward the late 20th century, the Lowell Heritage State Park was founded in order to preserve the city history.
References
Coburn, Frederick William (1920). History of Lowell and Its People. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
Prendergast, John (1996). The Bend in the River (Third ed.). Tyngsborough, Massachusetts: Merrimack River Press
Hannah Josephson (1949). The Golden Treads: New England's Mill Girls and Magnates. New York, 238.
