Pushing the Envelope

Today, we would simply call it the 'corporate' model, but at the time, the entire Lowell project is a monumental risk. Everything about the project is super-sized, including the initial investment.

A small group of Boston's most successful merchants pulls it off by committing $8 million of their own money. That's equal to the total investment in the Erie Canal, which is 350 miles long, and backed by the State of New York.

After the success of initial phases, investors realize that the real resource is the canal system. They continue expanding canal capacity, while allowing outsiders to build their own mills on the site. The era of Big Business has arrived. 
Lowell Mills growth, 1820-1850 maps

  Three Construction Phases
Initial engineering calculations determine that there is enough waterpower to operate an astonishing 60 mills at Lowell. The initial building phase includes just two mills (left), demonstrating the feasibility of the concept. Later phases (center and right) expand on the concept by providing enough feed water to power many more mills, plus dormitories and machine shops.

Lowell Chief Engineer

  Dedication to the Task
The Lowell mill complex is a commercial success beyond all dreams. It's an accomplishment of stunning vision, the first large-scale business enterprise ever attempted in America. But even more important is the new emphasis on engineering. The master engineer (lower right) calculates and tests everything before moving forward. Along the way, he invents the all-metal water turbine (top right) to replace clumsy wooden waterwheels, and advances the science of hydraulic engineering by light years.


Lowell Mills canals, 1850 map

  Maxed Out
The views above properly belong in the next chapter, which deals with a later period, but are included here to show Lowell's later, fully-developed state. A new, and much bigger feeder canal is completed by 1850 (see map). It essentially diverts the entire flow of the Merrimack River into the mill complex, at the highest water level. This is a major accomplishment, requiring a quarter-mile long, 36-foot-high retaining wall (top left), to maintain flow at the same level as the top of the dam.