By the early 19th century, the growth of technology spread rapidly in the Northern regions of America. In Massachusetts, a group of ambitious financiers, known as the Boston Associates, decided to build America’s first architecturally planned industrial community. The newly built town was called Lowell. Lowell was a mill town with incredible power-driven machinery, and it became a major part of the American textile industry. What was more impressive were the girls hired by the Boston Associates to work in their mill factories. Lowell was called a “female paradise.” The town of Lowell was named after Francis Cabot Lowell after he returned from Europe with new ideas of a power loom, cotton spinning frame, and other machines that he had seen in Europe. He hired Paul Moody, a mechanical genius, to help him create even better versions of these machines. The advanced machinery only required minimal labor experiences, but men didn’t like working these kinds of jobs so Lowell hired women instead. Boarding houses were provided for the young women to live in, and they were paid higher wages than what women eared anywhere else. Lowell then created the Boston Manufacturing Company, which prospered from all of its …show more content…
Kirk Boott became the new leader of Lowell and he ordered mass construction to transform the town. Dams were put across rivers, old canals were widened, and new locks were added. Clearings were filled with trees, shrubs, and flower gardens. Shops, hotels, banks, and even a library was built to line the streets in perfect rows. Lowell drew attention worldwide and was even visited by Andrew Jackson, whom the Associates hated, and Henry Clay, a guy who failed to be President three times. By 1836, the Associates had eight major firms with twenty mills that were five stories tall and a total of over 6,000 employees. With a population of 18,000, Lowell grew into a bustling