The Merrimack Canal is a
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, 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 of ...
. The canal, dug in the 1820s, begins at the
Pawtucket Canal
Completed in 1796, the Pawtucket Canal was originally built as a transportation canal to circumvent the Pawtucket Falls of the Merrimack River in East Chelmsford, Massachusetts. In the early 1820s it became a major component of the Lowell p ...
just above Swamp Locks, and empties into 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 M ...
near the
Boott Cotton Mills. The Merrimack Canal was the first major canal to be dug at Lowell exclusively for power purposes, and delivered of
hydraulic head to the mills of the
Merrimack Manufacturing Company
The Merrimack Manufacturing Company (also known as Merrimack Mills) was the first of the major textile manufacturing concerns to open in Lowell, Massachusetts, beginning operations in 1823.
History
After the death of Francis Cabot Lowell o ...
.
ASME Landmark report
The Merrimack Manufacturing Company was the first of the major textile mill
Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...
s constructed in Lowell. It was demolished around 1960.
The canal, which runs along the southeast side of Dutton Street and then between the two halves of Lowell High School, is unique in the Lowell Canal System as it delivers the full drop of the Merrimack at once, instead of operating on a and a two-level system.
See also
*Lowell Power Canal System and Pawtucket Gatehouse
The Lowell Power Canal System is the largest power canal system in the United States, at 5.6 miles in length. It is operating through six major canals on two levels, controlled by numerous gates. The system was begun in the 1790s, beginning ...
References
External links
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{{coord, 42, 38, 40.1, N, 71, 18, 49.1, W, display=title
Canals in Massachusetts
Canals in Lowell, Massachusetts
Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts