The Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Massachusetts is part of the United States National Park System and was the first park in the system established to preserve and commemorate an urban area of national significance. Situated along the Merrimack River Lowell was considered an ideal location for a planned industrial city. Lowell’s manufacturing facilities were built based on a planned community design. Specifically Lowell was planned as reaction to the mill communities in Great Britain, which were perceived as cramped and inhumane. Some called it the “Lowell Experiment,” which was an attempt at creating a manufacturing center with a combination of production efficiency with democratic morals and social structure. Lowell attracted both immigrants from abroad and migrants from within New England and Quebec (including a large proportion of young women, known as Lowell mill girls) who lived in the dormitories and worked in the mills. The textile industry in New England experienced a sharp decline after World War II and by the 1960s, many of the Lowell’s textile mill buildings were abandoned. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, several important forces came together from which emerged the Lowell National Historical Park.
Mill buildings have been preserved
5.6 miles of canals
Visitor Center and Museum
Stamp your Passport to the National Parks
Transportation History
Downtown Lowell has plenty of shops and restaurants
