Link to Tsongas Industrial Center Home Page Go to Tsongas Center Home Page Go to Center for Lowell History

 

Timeline

   
 
  1821
Boston investors select Pawtucket Falls on the Merrimack River as the site to expand textile production.

 

1822
Construction and operation of canals, mills, boardinghouses, machine shops & businesses creates an unprecedented demand for Yankee and Irish workers both men and women.
 
  1826
Town of Lowell incorporated with a population 2,300 of which nearly 2,000 are textile workers
1834
Lowell textile corporations cut wages resulting in one of the first strikes led by female workers.
 
 

 

1836
City of Lowell incorporated as the 2nd largest City in Massachusetts with a population of 17,633 of which nearly 9,000 are textile workers.
1840
Working women begin writing and publishing their own magazines and newspapers like "The Lowell Offering".
 
  1845
Reform leaders like Rev. Theodore Edson propose sweeping changes in labor conditions, temperance, slavery, education, and suffrage.
1847
Famine in Ireland force thousands of men, women, and children to emigrate to cities in New England.
 

  1850
The Fugitive Slave Law is passed in the Congress requiring escaped slaves to be turned over to federal officers.
1853
As a result of strikes and protests, Lowell textile corporation reduce the workday to 11 hours.
 
  1856
Lowell textile companies are producing 115 million yards cotton and wool cloth a year.
1861
Sectional tensions over issues of slavery and the union lead to Civil War.
 

Learn More... Glossary | Primary Sources | Links |Bibliography |Timeline

 

 

Copyright ©2003 Tsongas Industrial History Center, 400 Foot of John St., Lowell, MA 01852. E-Contact: Ellen_Anstey@uml.edu.

HOME