The Lowell Mills were 19th-century textile mills that operated in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, which was named after Francis Cabot Lowell; he introduced a new manufacturing system called the "Lowell system", also known as the "Waltham-Lowell system".

By 1840, the factories in Lowell employed at some estimates more than 8,000 textile workers, commonly known as mill girls or factory girls. These "operatives"—so-called because they operated the looms and other machinery—were primarily …

The "City of Spindles", as Lowell came to be known, quickly became the center of the Industrial Revolution in America. New, large scale machinery, which had come to dominate the production of cloth by 1840, was being rapidly developed in lockstep with the equally new ways of organizing workers for mass production.

Apr 8, 2024 · Beginning in 1823, with the opening of Lowell’s first factory, large numbers of young women moved to the growing city. In the mills, female workers faced long hours of toil and often grueling working conditions. Yet many female textile workers saved money and gained a measure of economic independence.

Jan 25, 2017 · The Lowell System was different from other textile manufacturing systems in the country at the time, such as the Rhode Island System which instead spun the cotton in the factory and then farmed the spun cotton out to local women …

5 days ago · By 1840, the city was among the largest manufacturing centers in the United States, its various mills employing thousands of workers.

Mar 30, 2023 · Viewed in its broadest perspective, the Lowell factory system reached far beyond the city limits. Vital raw material was shipped from the American South, and finished textile products could be found in all sections of the United States, Europe, Central America, Canada, and even China.

One of the first indications of change occurred in the 1830s and 1840s with the emergence of the factory system and a new and vocal sector of working-class women in and around Lowell, Massachusetts. Women had actively participated in the U.S. workforce before industrialization.

Jun 15, 2018 · Once in the mills, though, workers felt threatened bythe introduction of new machinery, and periodically resisted such moves by destroying power looms and setting fire to new factories. Nevertheless, the textile industry expanded rapidly, increasing production fifty-fold between 1780 and 1840.

Dec 10, 2024 · History Resources A Spotlight on a Primary Source by Orestes Brownson and "A Factory Girl" Lowell, Massachusetts, named in honor of Francis Cabot Lowell, was founded in the early 1820s as a planned town for the manufacture of textiles.