Lawrence, MA Summary

In 1845, the need for water power to run huge textile mills drew Boston industrialists, led by American businessman and Congressman Abbott Lawrence, to the banks of the Merrimack River, 25 miles northwest of Boston. The subsequent need for jobs drew thousands of poorly-paid immigrant laborers to the planned industrial city of mills and canals that was built here.

At its peak the mills were producing 800 miles of cloth a day, and the Washington Mills, built in 1886, were once the largest woolen mills in the country. But conditions were considerably harsh and unsafe for the workers, and in 1860 a factory collapsed, killing 88 people.

In 1912 Lawrence’s workers launched the Bread and Roses Strike, one of the largest labor actions in American history. The massive strike of 23,000 workers, many of them women and children, followed decisions by the mill owners to increase the speed of factory looms and lower wages.

Many deaths and mass arrests occurred when the National Guard and private and city police were sent in against the strikers, resulting in a public outcry. Even though the mill owners backed down after two months and mill workers throughout New England won wage increases, the textile industry declined during the rest of the century. Today, the more diversified city of 70,200 residents manufactures electronic equipment, textiles, paper products, computers, and foodstuffs.

The Bread and Roses Strike is commemorated in the annual Bread and Roses Labor Day Heritage Festival in early September.

The 23-acre Lawrence Heritage State Park Boarding House Site records the story of Lawrence, whose immigrant heritage earned it the nickname “Immigrant City.” A visitor center is located in a restored 1840s mill boarding house. Visitors can also tour the North Canal Historic District, which is composed of 70 properties and features mills, factory boarding houses, locks, bridges, the North Canal, the 900-foot Great Stone Dam, and the Immigrant City Archives.

Lawrence is situated on I-495, and can be reached via I-93, traveling north from Boston.