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1893 Map of Lowell

Name: 1893 Topographic Map of Lowell
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1893
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1893

About this map

The industrial heart of the Merrimack Valley is anchored by Lowell, where a dense network of streets and canals meets the Merrimac River. In the late nineteenth century, the city is surrounded by outlying villages such as Pawtucketville and Centralville, while the Canal system facilitates the power needed for its manufacturing rise. To the west and south, the landscape transitions into a mosaic of rail-connected towns and mill hamlets, including Graniteville and Forge Village, which are tied together by the Stony Brook Railroad.

Genealogists will find a wealth of specific landmarks, from the Poor Farm in the north near the New Hampshire Boundary Line to family-named hills like Abrams Hill and Scribners Hill. The infrastructure of the era is remarkably detailed, showing the Nashua Acton and Boston Railroad and the Framingham and Lowell Railroad as they carved through the rural township of Chelmsford and toward the smaller settlements of Carlisle and Littleton.