Merrimack River and Pawtucket Dam

Title

Merrimack River and Pawtucket Dam

Description

In the 19th century, the Merrimack River provided the energy that stimulated the rapid growth of the textile industry in Lowell and the surrounding Merrimack Valley. This collection contains modern photographs of the river and the Pawtucket Dam, which diverts water from the river into the city’s canal system. There are also a few early 20th-century photographs that depict workers repairing the original flashboard-and-pin dam.

Collection Items

Pawtucket Dam, MARCH 16, 1914, Repairing Pins and Flashboards_low-7677.jpg
B/W photoprint, PLC # 1480A. "MARCH 16, 1914/ READINGS AT 4-00 P.M. / (CITIZEN NEG.)" Written on photo (1) in red ink "Paw. Dam (River gauge 88.85/ Lock gauge 83.50)" and a left to right arrow "Head of Paw. Canal 84.10." They are two views of the…

Pawtucket Dam, Men Putting on Flashboards, March 28, 1923_low-8317.jpg
B/W photoprint, PLC # 1942. "L. & C. MEN PUTING ON FLASHBOARDS / MAR. 28, 1923." Bound in P.L.& C. volume # 9.

Pawtucket Dam - Putting on Flashboards / January 24, 1924_low-8370.jpg
B/W photoprint, PLC # 2045. "PAWTUCKET DAM - PUTTING ON FLASHBOARDS / JANUARY 24, 1924." Bound in P.L.& C. volume # 10.
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