The Boott Mills in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as ...

were a part of an extensive group of

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven b ...

s, built in 1835 alongside a power canal system in this important cotton town. Their founder was

Kirk Boott Kirk Boott (October 20, 1790 – April 11, 1837) was an American Industrialist instrumental in the early history of Lowell, Massachusetts. Biography Boott was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1790. His father had emigrated to the United State ...

, one of the early mill owners in Lowell. Today, the Boott Mills complex is the most intact in Lowell and is part of

Lowell National Historical Park Lowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises ...

. It houses the Boott Cotton Mills Museum.

Location

Lowell is north-west of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

on the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Mas ...

. Lowell was blessed with a river system that provided a drop over a distance of , suitable to provide . Water had been diverted through canals and locks to enable navigation, and by a simple diversion the overflow could be used to power

waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucke ...

History

worked for the company responsible for the

Merrimack Canal The Merrimack Canal is a power canal in Lowell, Massachusetts. The canal, dug in the 1820s, begins at the Pawtucket Canal just above Swamp Locks, and empties into the Merrimack River near the Boott Cotton Mills. The Merrimack Canal was the f ...

the first

power canal A Power canal refers to a canal used for hydraulic power generation, rather than for transport of watercraft. The power canal was a major factor in the Industrial revolution in New England in the 19th century. Most early power canals were mill ...

in Lowell, which was already driving other mills, and built his mills in 1835, staffing them using the

Waltham-Lowell system The Waltham-Lowell system was a labor and production model employed during the rise of the textile industry in the United States, particularly in New England, amid the larger backdrop of rapid expansion of the Industrial Revolution in the early 1 ...

. Running off of

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of ...

, the original operation consisted of four gable-roofed brick mill buildings. Eventually, floors were added, giving them flat roofs, the buildings were connected by stair towers and clock towers, and other buildings were added to the complex as well. Steam power and electric power were eventually introduced.

Decline

The New England textile industry was in decline by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and collapsed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

; the Boott Mills ceased operations in 1958. In the late 1970s, they became a key component of the

, largely because the complex stood virtually whole, unlike other complexes which had suffered fires, or selective or wholesale demolition, like the older Merrimack Manufacturing Company. Additionally, the Boott Mill still contains buildings dating from the 1830s, as well as containing new structures, dating closer to 1900. As such, it is a catalog of industrial development over that time period.

Boott Cotton Mills Museum

The Boott Mills are now an example of adaptive re-use; they contain the National Park weave room exhibit, condos, apartments, and offices.Boott Mills Apartments
Renovations of certain buildings still continues. A single row of Mill girl housing, built for the early operatives under the

Lowell System The Waltham-Lowell system was a labor and production model employed during the rise of the textile industry in the United States, particularly in New England, amid the larger backdrop of rapid expansion of the Industrial Revolution in the early 1 ...

, still stands after an extensive renovation, and features exhibits as well.

Archives and records

Boot Cotton Mills account book
at Baker Library Special Collections, Harvard Business School.

References

External links

Boott Cotton Mills Museum
- Lowell National Historical Park *{{HAER , survey=MA-16 , id=ma1289 , title=Boott Cotton Mills, John Street at Merrimack River, Lowell, Middlesex County, MA , photos=62 , color=5 , dwgs=100 , data=101 , cap=5

Images

Image:1850 Boott Corp Lowell Massachusetts detail of map by Sidney and Neff BPL 11051.png, Boott Corp, 1850 Image:Boott Mills Power Loom in operation.JPG, Boott Mills Power Loom in operation, 2015 Image:Boott Boardinghouse Store.jpg, Boardinghouse and storehouse, 2005 Image:Boott courtyard.jpg, Inner courtyard, 2005 File:Boott Mills east courtyard.jpg, Boott Mills east courtyard, 2014 File:Line shaft and power looms at Boott Mills, Lowell, Massachusetts.JPG, The exhibit, 2014 Textile mills in Lowell, Massachusetts Cotton mills in the United States Articles containing video clips Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts Museums in Lowell, Massachusetts Industry museums in Massachusetts Textile museums in the United States