Lowell, Massachusetts was one of America’s first planned industrial cities, built in the early years of the 19th century, and using the fast-flowing waters of the Merrimack River to power the textile mills that made it famous.
To move the water past the mills, nearly six miles of canals were built, using huge blocks of granite to line their walls—all by manual labor, mostly recent Irish immigrants.
Their life and struggle, and the work they did, is commemorated in this 1985 statue by Ivan and Elliot Schwartz, installed as part of Lowell Heritage State Park, and near the Lowell National Historical Park.
