The main story at Lowell National Historical Park is the story
of working women. As you walk along the Merrimack Canal, or take
a ranger-led canal boat tour, you can learn about Lowell's "Mill
Girls"—early 19th century young women who left their homes on
New England farms for jobs in the booming textile industry.
Passing by the now empty brick mill buildings, it is easy to
imagine the hum of machinery coming from inside, as the women
worked for 12 to 14 hours making cotton cloth, and then the
ringing of the bell that signaled the end of the day when they
would return to their boarding houses. Mill Girls were mostly
between 15 and 25 years of age and were required to sign an
agreement with the mill company that they would work for at
least a year, stay in company housing, and attend church. They
worked an average of 60 hours a week for two or three dollars.
At a time when women were expected to stay home and raise
families, the Mill Girls gave up a life on the farm for a
difficult and tiring job that allowed t