Author Archive

Revolutionary War era deed

Lowell received its charter as a town in 1826 and for the next few decades, the explosive growth of the textile mills, the canals, and the population made that era the focal point of most of our current historical musings. But English settlers had arrived in this region nearly two…

Read More »

The death of Qaddafi

The death of Muammar el-Qaddafi yesterday was a triumph for all civilization. He was a terrorist who was responsible for many deaths, including the passengers and crew of Pan Am flight 103 who died when a bomb planted by Libyan intelligence agents exploded when the plane reached a certain altitude…

Read More »

The Middlesex Canal

The following is the second in my series of posts about the canals of Lowell. The first described the Pawtucket Canal. The Proprietors of Middlesex Canal received its charter as a Massachusetts corporation on June 22, 1793, just a year after the incorporation of the group that would build the…

Read More »

Occupy Boston

While in Boston one day last week on other business, I walked through Dewey Square to get a glimpse of Occupy Boston. It was early on a misty morning, so many of the inhabitants were still in their tightly packed tents. A couple of school groups were organizing themselves around…

Read More »