HISTORY

 The history of the Lowell "mill girls" begins with the history of the Industrial Revolution in America.   In the early 1800's American engineers learned how to use the energy from falling water to drive machinery.  

In 1812, Francis Cabot Lowell returned from England with a vision of a community dedicated to textile production using new mechanical power looms. With the help of mechanic Paul Moody, a working American power loom was created. 

 The Pawtucket Falls, where the Merrimack and Concord rivers converge as the waters rush to the Atlantic, was a perfect location on which to build Lowell's dream of a textile manufacturing center.  The first mills opened in Lowell in 1823. 

 The textile mills of Lowell and other New England mill towns housed thousands of looms and produced millions of yards of cotton cloth each year. 

The Early Industrial Revolution, Tsongas Industrial History Center

Lowell and Moody were just two of many inventors during the Industrial Revolution. LEARN MORE ABOUT INVENTIONS:

• What do you think are the 10 most important inventions? Visit the Invention Timeline to make your list!
• Play Inventions! from National Geographic
• Play Guess My Invention
• Visit the National Inventors Hall of Fame, find out who invented almost everything!

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