Lawrence History Center:
Immigrant City Archives and Museum
- Address:
6 Essex Street, Lawrence, MA 01840
978-686-9230 - Hours: The Lawrence History Center is open 4½ days a week: Tuesday – Friday 9:00 – 4:00, and Saturday 9:00 – 12:00
- Website: www.lawrencehistorycenter.org
- Map:
Map - Trails: The Industrial Trail
Since 1978, Lawrence History Center, formerly Immigrant City Archives, has collected and preserved documents and artifacts pertaining to the history of Lawrence, Massachusetts and its people. The collection contains the bulk of the business and planning records of the Essex Company that created Lawrence, non current municipal records, thousands of historic photographs and glass plate negatives, organizational records from local businesses and agencies, 700 oral histories with eye witness accounts as far back as 1910, and an array of family and individual records that document the diverse and intellectually challenging nature of Lawrence. LHC employs those materials through exhibits, educational programs and research services to foster understanding of the interaction of the built community and the lives of ordinary people.
Lawrence played a central role in the Industrial Revolution in America. Lawrence was the site of the Great Textile Strike in 1912, also called the "Bread and Roses Strike," which helped shape the character of both the labor and women's movements. At its height Lawrence was regarded as the Woolen Manufacturing Capital of the World.
The Lawrence History Center is located in the original Essex Company building built in 1845. The building, one of five structures located in a courtyard surrounded by a brick wall, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the North Canal Historic District.Nearby Area Sites
- Lawrence History Center: Immigrant City Archives and Museum
Established in 1978 to preserve the history of Lawrence and its people, it is the official repository for all Lawrence city records. - Lawrence Heritage State Park/Boarding House Site
The park includes 23 acres spread throughout the city and the officially designated ENHC Visitor Center provides visitors with information on Lawrence and the surrounding area and exhibits. - North Canal Historic District
The district is comprised of 70 properties that feature mills, boarding houses, locks, and bridges, the North Canal, the Great Stone Dam and the Immigrant City Archives.
[Top]
Lawrence's distinctive landscape features — especially its rivers and hills — were instrumental in shaping the history of the community from the earliest use of the land to the present day. Native American transportation routes probably existed along the Merrimack, Spicket and Shawsheen Rivers prior to European settlement. English settlers arrived by the mid-1600s, but the area was sparsely settled and remained largely agricultural until the mid-19th century.
Lawrence, which is located on both sides of the Merrimack River, was originally part of Methuen and Andover. It was incorporated as a town in 1847 and as a city in 1853. Between 1845 and 1855 the formerly rural community was transformed into a vast textile manufacturing center driven by the waterpower of the Merrimack River. After the Civil War, Lawrence's economy diversified to include paper manufacturing, machinery and other industries. The earliest mills do not survive but much of Lawrence's infrastructure was laid out during this period. Lawrence remained a major textile center until the depression of the 1930s, when the city's economy went into decline.
Lawrence is still an industrial center with mill buildings concentrated along the Merrimack River. Over the past 50 years the economy has gradually shifted to a more diversified commercial and industrial base that also includes high technology firms. Lawrence became a city of immigrants in the 19th century and continues as such today. The diverse population of approximately 72,000 includes immigrants from around the world, with a particularly large Hispanic population. The multi-cultural nature of the community contributes to the strong sense of neighborhood identity in Lawrence, with many neighborhoods associated with a distinct ethnic group or nationality.
The Merrimack, Spicket and Shawsheen Rivers are the most highly valued natural resources in the community. There are also a number of hills that contribute to community character. There is little undeveloped land in the city other than Den Rock Park and sections of the riverbanks. Massachusetts Heritage Landscape Inventory Program - Lawrence Reconnaissance Report