OPENING ADDRESS. 9 



about two thousfind people when it was made a separate 

 township. It was called Lowell, in memory of Francis 

 Cabot Lowell of Boston, from whose genius and plans the 

 place had been developed. 



Mr. Lowell had been previously engaged in cotton manu- 

 facture in "Waltham and was chiefly instrumental in introduc- 

 ing the power loom there in 1814. 



The AValtham system Avas introduced here by Mr. Lowell, 

 Patrick T. Jackson, Paul Moody and others with whom he 

 was associated. 



Mr. Lowell was a son of Hon. John Lovrell, a leading 

 member of the Provincial Conirrcss of 1776, an influential 

 member of the Continental Conirress, Judsje of the Court of 

 Appeals in Admiralty appointed by Congress, and the First 

 Judge of the District Court of Massachusetts, appointed by 

 President Washington. 



Francis Cabot Lowell also left a son (John Lowell) who 

 upon his decease left the generous bequest of $240,000, to 

 found the Lowell Institute, at Boston. 



In 1836, with a population of over 17,000 inhabitants, the 

 town was incorporated as a city, and continued to increase 

 in wealth and population until 1857, which is remembered 

 as a period of great financial depression. No great improve- 

 ment was made for about ten years after this tims. 



The city originally comprised 2,885 acres, an area of about 

 four square miles. In 1834 the village of Belvidere, then a 

 part of Tcwksbury, was annexed, which contained 370 acres. 

 In 1851 Centralville, a part of Dracut, was annexed, con- 

 taining 583 acres. In 1874, 3,507 acres were taken from 

 Chelmsford, Dracut and Tewksbury. In 1879 about 300 

 acres more were added from Dracut, making the area of the 

 city 7,615 acres, nearly 12 square miles. 



Lowell at the present time has about 100 miles of public 

 streets, seven of which are paved with granite blocks. It 

 requires an annual expenditure of more than $100,000 to 

 improve and keep them in repair. 



The appropriation for schools in 1883 was $146,558.41 ; 

 and we have 9,294 pupils. 



The water works of the city were opened in 1873, at a 

 cost of $2,223,049. 



