# Timeline of Lowell, Massachusetts

The following is a timeline of the history of Lowell, Massachusetts, US.

## 19th century

* 1822
** Merrimack Manufacturing Company incorporated.
** Hugh Cummiskley leads 30 Irishmen up the Middlesex Canal starting in Charlestown, Mass to Pawtucket falls in Chelmsford, Ma
* 1824
** St. Anne's Church organized.
** Lowell Daily Journal and Courier begins publication.
* 1825 - Middlesex Mechanic Association, Hamilton Manufacturing Company,and Mechanic Phalanx established.
* 1826
** Town of Lowell established from Chelmsford land.
** First Baptist Church and First Universalist Church organized.
** Merrimack Journal newspaper in publication.
** Central Bridge opens.
* 1827 - First Methodist Episcopal Church organized.
* 1828 - Appleton Company, Lowell Bank, and Lowell Manufacturing Company incorporated.
* 1829
** Lowell Institution for Savings incorporated.
** Lowell Fire Department established.
* 1830
** Lawrence Manufacturing Company, Middlesex Company, Suffolk Manufacturing Company, and Tremont Mills incorporated.
** Appleton Street Church, South Congregational Church, and Worthen Street Baptist Church established.
** Town Hall built.
** Population: 6,474.
* 1831
** First Roman Catholic Church organized.
** Railroad Bank incorporated.
* 1832 - Lowell Bleachery incorporated.
* 1833 - Police Court established.
* 1834
** Women's labor strike.
** First Freewill Baptist Church organized.
** Lowell Advertiser and Lowell Patriot newspapers begin publication.
** Lowell Circulating Library in business.
** James Abbott McNeill Whistler, painter born.
* 1835
** Boston and Lowell Railroad begins operating.
** Boott Cotton Mills incorporated.
** Lucy Larcom, teacher, poet and author moves to Lowell.
* 1836
** City of Lowell incorporated.
** Factory Girls' Association, Dispensary, Lowell Temperance Society, and Second Universalist Parish established.
* 1838
** Nashua and Lowell Railroad begins operating.
** County jail built.
* 1839
** Massachusetts Cotton Mills incorporated.
** Middlesex Horticultural Society and Lowell Medical Association founded.
* 1840
** Hospital Association and Lowell Museum established.
** Lowell Offering begins publication.
** By now, Lowell mills had recruited over 8,000 Lowell mill girls.
** Population: 20,796.
* 1841
** Lowell Cemetery established.
** Vox Populi newspaper begins publication.
* 1842 - Charles Dickens visits Lowell.
* 1843 - First Wesleyan Methodist Churchand Missionary Association established.
* 1844 - City Library, Lowell Female Labor Reform Association, and New Jerusalem Swedenborgian Church established.
* 1845 - Lowell Machine Shop incorporated.
* 1846
** Lowell and Lawrence Railroad incorporated.
** Jefferson Bancroft becomes mayor.
* 1847 - June: U.S. president Polk visits Lowell.
* 1848 - Francis floodgate and Colburn School built.
* 1850
** Lowell Gas Light Company in business.
** Salem and Lowell Railroad begins operating.
** Middlesex County Law Library founded.
** Court-House built.
** Population: 33,383.
* 1851 - Lowell Daily Citizen newspaper begins publication.
* 1852 - May: Lajos Kossuth visits Lowell.
* 1853
** Belvidere Woollen Manufacturing Company organized.
** St. Patrick's Church and Merrimack Street Depot built.
* 1856 - Jail built.
* 1857 - Varnum School built.
* 1863 - High School Association organized.
* 1864 - Lowell Horse Railroad begins operating.
* 1865
** United States Bunting Company in business.
** Wamesit Power Company incorporated.
* 1867 - St. John's Hospital and Young Men's Christian Association established.
* 1868 - Old Franklin Literary Association and Old Residents' Historical Association organized.
* 1870 - Coggeshall's Circulating Library in business.
* 1873 - Young Women's Home established.
* 1875 - Riding Park, and Club Dramatique established.
* 1876
** Moxie beverage invented.
** Lowell Art Association founded.
* 1882 - Butler School built.
* 1883
** Public Library opens.
** Yorick Club active.
* 1887 - Board of Trade established.
* 1889 - Opera House built.
* 1890 - Population: 77,696.
* 1891 - Lowell General Hospital founded.
* 1893 - Lowell Post Office built.
* 1894 - Normal School and Middlesex Women's Club founded.
* 1895 - Middlesex Village School built.
* 1897 - Lowell Textile School opens.
* 1898 - Pawtucket Congregational Church built.
* 1900
** Gaity Theatre opens.
** Population: 94,969.

## 20th century

* 1902 - Lowell Historical Society incorporated.
* 1905 - Tewksbury's Wigginville neighborhood annexed to the City of Lowell.
* 1908 - Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church built.
* 1909 - Lowell's Merrimack Valley Course hosted a motor racing festival that featured four AAA-sanctioned championship car races.
* 1910 - Population: 106,294.
* 1911 - Colonial Theatre opens.
* 1917 - Demoulas Market (grocery) in business.
* 1918 - International Institute active.
* 1922 - Lowell Memorial Auditorium built.
* 1924 - Commodore Ballroom opens.
* 1925 - Edith Nourse Rogers becomes U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.
* 1927 - Victory Theater opens.
* 1930 - Post Office built.
* 1937 - Cawley Memorial Stadium built.
* 1942 - Lowell Ordnance Plant active.
* 1946 - New England Golden Gloves boxing tournament begins.
* 1951
** WCAP (AM) radio begins broadcasting.
** Monarch Diner in business.
* 1970 - Lowell Community Health Center established.
* 1971 - Lowell Historic District Commission proposed by City Councilor M. Brendan Fleming approved by the Lowell City Council
* 1974 - Lowell Regional Transit Authority created.
* 1975
** University of Massachusetts Lowell established.
** Paul Tsongas becomes U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.
* 1976 - Wang Laboratories relocates to Lowell.
* 1978
** Lowell National Historical Park established.
** Yorick Club goes bankrupt.
* 1979
** B. Joseph Tully becomes city manager.
** Merrimack Regional Theatre active.
* 1980
** Wang headquarters construction begins.
** Population: 92,418.
* 1983 - Lowell Historic Board and Downtown Lowell Historic District established.
* 1987
** Middlesex Community College opens campus in Lowell.
** New England Quilt Museum founded.
* 1989
** Glory Buddhist Temple established.
** Sister city relationship established with Saint-Dié-des-Vosges, France.
* 1990
** Lowell Folk Festival begins.
** Baystate Marathon begins.
* 1991
** Richard Johnson becomes city manager.
** University of Massachusetts' Industrial History Center established.
* 1992 - August: Wang goes bankrupt.
* 1995
** Brian J. Martin becomes city manager.
** Chamber of Commerce formed.
* 1996
** Lowell Spinners baseball team founded.
** Stoklosa Alumni Field opens.
* 1997
** Showcase Cinema in business.
** Merrimack Valley Textile Museum relocated to Lowell.
* 1998
** Edward A. LeLacheur Park and Paul E. Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell open.
** Lowell Lock Monsters hockey team formed.
** City website online (approximate date).

## 21st century

* 2000
** John Cox becomes city manager.
** String Project (music education) established.
* 2001
** Cultural Organization of Lowell established.
** Winterfest begins.
** Sister city relationships established with Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia.
* 2006
** Bernard Lynch becomes city manager.
** Shree Swaminarayan Temple established.
** Sister city relationship established with Bryansk, Russia.
* 2007 - Niki Tsongas becomes U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district.
* 2010
** Patrick O. Murphy becomes mayor.
** Sister city relationship established with Winneba, Ghana.
** Population: 106,519.
* 2014
** July: Fire.
** Kevin Murphy becomes city manager.