After the war Lowell abandoned politics, and won for himself the title of "the Columella of New England" by his interest in agriculture — he was for many years president of the Massachusetts Agricultural Society. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1804. From 1810 until 1828, he was a member of the corporation of Harvard, which gave him the degree of LL.D. in 1814. In this role, he was a driving force behind the establishment of Harvard Law School, although he declined an offer to serve as the school's first professor of law. He was a benefactor of the Boston Athenaeum, serving at various times as President and Vice President, as well as the Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1839, he traveled to the Caribbean in an attempt to recover his failing health. After his return, he died suddenly on 12 March 1840, at his townhouse in Boston on Tremont Street. His funeral sermon was delivered by the Rev. Francis W. P. Greenwood.