P.O. Box 1826, Lowell, MA 01853
(978) 319-4631
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LOWELL HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
WINTER 2024, Volume 57, Number 1
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The mission of the Lowell Historical Society is to collect, preserve, and publish materials related to Lowell and to encourage and promote the study of the city’s history.
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2024 Membership Drive
Thank you to everyone who has renewed membership for 2024!
Lowell Historical Society
P.O. Box 1826
Lowell, MA 01853
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√ Becoming "Annie" by Walter V. Hickey
√ The A. L. Brooks home on Fletcher St. - A stop on the Underground Railroad
√ From the bookshelf - "Legends of Little Canada"
√ "Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life" reviewed by Joe Orfant
√ Photos from the Hildreth Family Cemetery Tour
√ The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War's honor General Butler
√ Photograph of General Butler's Funeral Procession - January 16, 1893
√ "Steamroller on rampage" - November 4, 1926
√ Mystery photo in the City Hall attic - Where was Kirk Avenue?
√ A closer look at a Greek Coffee House
√ LHS Blog Post - Lowell Squares in 1914 by Eileen Loucraft
√ Membership
√ Middlesex Village after the flood - thanks to the Chelmsford Historical Society
√ Hot off the press! - Read the December 14,1827 edition of the Lowell Journal
√ Past newsletters
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Photo credit: Lowell Historical Society |
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Becoming “Annie”
By Walter V. Hickey
Edgar Allan Poe didn’t just write mysteries, his life and death abound in them.
Walter Hickey found the answer to one of the lingering mysteries while raising others.
And as we know, there is always a Lowell connection.
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54 Fletcher Street (undated) |
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This photograph is from the private collection of Artemas L. Brooks's great great great granddaughter Kathryn "Kate" Knudsen. Thanks Kate!
A. L. Brooks (1803 - 1878) was a businessman, inventor, and abolitionist. His house was a stop on the Underground Railroad and had a "secret place" to hide enslaved persons and help them on their journey to freedom in Canada.
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FROM THE BOOKSHELF
By Pauline M. Golec
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(Loom Press, 2023)
Being from the Centralville section of Lowell, my hazy young impression of Little Canada was limited to multiple tenement dwellings along a canal. Reading Charlie Gargiulo's book, LEGENDS OF LITTLE CANADA, gave me an appreciation of the rich community life of this neighborhood until it was destroyed by Urban Renewal.
Charlie explores this community in a memoir detailing his brief, but busy, time as a boy (approximately 12-13 years old) living in this mostly French-Canadian neighborhood in the early 1960's.
Forced to leave Dracut after his father abandons the family, Charlie and his mother face challenges in their new home - mother copes with alcoholism and a late-night job in a bar while Charlie dreads leaving their small tenement for fear of being bullied and beaten.
But Charlie prevails - teaches himself boxing skills, and meets new friends and a few kind adults. The owner of Harvey's Bookland provides Charlie with comics and kindness. Charlie's Aunt Rose, who also lives in Little Canada, offers needed comfort, and an understanding nun eases his time in a new school.
Charlie's memoir reveals him to be funny, daring (sometimes too much so), honest, compassionate, and brave (tackles bullies and degrades the iconic Rochette's beans, a Little Canada favorite).
But it is in the experience of the extinction of his neighborhood, that we see through Charlie's eyes, the false hopes and heartbreak that accompanied the demolition of Little Canada (completed in 1964).
The appealing comic book style of the cover illustrated by Gary Destramp appropriately
complements Charlie's love of comics.
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Charlie Gargiulo will speak about his book and how the destruction of Little Canada led him to found Coalition for a Better Acre:
Wednesday, February 7
4:00 - 6:00 PM
UMASS Lowell’s Coburn Hall, 850 Broadway Street, Room 255
Charlie will also be presenting one of the Parker Lectures:
Sunday, April 7
2:00 PM
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Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life (Civil War America)
By Elizabeth D. Leonard (2022)
Reviewed by Joe Orfant
In addition to being a comprehensive book review, Joe has included additional information about General Butler’s years in Lowell. The more we learn about the real Benjamin Butler the more we realize what a great man he was, ahead of his time, and working to create a better country for all.
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And more from Joe Orfant -
SAVE THE DATE
Sunday, April 7
2:00 PM
Talbot Chapel, Lowell Cemetery
Presenter - Joe Orfant
The Sad, Curious Death of Mary Ann Birmingham
She was just a month shy of her twenty-seventh birthday on that beautiful, clear crisp Fall day, October 21, 1861, when the young and beautiful Mary Ann Birmingham died in a” paroxysm of spasms” at her father’s house where she lived with Alexander C. Peters, her physician husband and eighteen-month-old son, Samuel. The young family had only moved to Lowell from New York City in the past year or so . . .
Join us to learn more and visit the Birmingham family burial plot in the historic Lowell Cemetery
More information to follow
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Photo Credit: Kevin Harkins |
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Photos from the special tour of the private Hildreth Family Cemetery on
Sunday, October 15, 2023
On Sunday, October 15, 2023, the Lowell Historical Society held a special tour of the private Hildreth Family Cemetery, and attendees were treated to a unique and informative experience. Led by board member Kim Zunino, the tour highlighted the fascinating history of the cemetery's most famous resident, Civil War General Benjamin Butler, as well as other notable figures buried there, including General Adelbert Ames and Brigadier General Philip Hildreth Reade.
Located behind the public Hildreth Cemetery, the private Hildreth Family Cemetery is only opened once a year to honor its most distinguished denizen. The cemetery is the final resting place of the seven heirs of Dr. Israel Hildreth and his wife Dolly Jones Hildreth, whose descendants went on to distinguished careers in law, medicine, and education.
From Benjamin Butler's impressive 15-foot granite monument with bronze sculpture relief to the small slate gravestone for John R.C. Hildreth, the infant son of Dr. Israel and Dolly Hildreth, the monuments in the cemetery offer a glimpse into the lives of the Hildreth family and their extraordinary achievements.
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Photo Credit: Kevin Harkins |
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The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War's ceremony honoring
General Benjamin Butler
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War conducted a memorial ceremony honoring Union General Benjamin Franklin Butler at the Hildreth Family Cemetery on Sunday, November 5, 2023.
The memorial ceremony echoed the original Grand Army of the Republic ritual of rededication, and included Civil War era uniformed members conducting the commemoration, prayers and the reading of a brief biography of General Butler and General Adelbert Ames at their grave sites. A rifle squad performed a salute and a bugler played "Taps".
It is fitting and proper that Benjamin Butler's amazing life and historic deeds be honored and celebrated, and that his memory and legacy be passed on to succeeding generations.
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General Benjamin Butler's funeral procession in Lowell. January 16, 1893.
Photo credit: Ames Family Papers, Sophia Smith Collection,
Smith College Special Collections
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On November 4, 1926, a city-owned steamroller being used by a work crew on Lincoln St.went out of control and crashed into a building on Gorham St.
No one was hurt and the building still stands today.
There were no photographs of this front-page story in the newspaper. But photographs from the City Engineers Collection help tell the story.
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A photograph survived for 111 years in the City Hall attic. But what is it a photo of?
Hints:
It is still there, but it is not a public road.
It doesn't fit the description of a typical avenue - it was 14 feet wide.
It is not called Kirk Avenue anymore.
You could get free air for your tires in 1922.
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A closer look at a Greek Coffee House and a lot more
in a building on Market Street.
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Read Eileen Loucraft's blog post -
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We have added two new categories of membership - . High School Students and College students.
We invite high school and college students to join the society at reduced rates and contribute to our mission and our great historical record.
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The Great Flood in 1936
Thanks to the members of the Chelmsford Historical Society and their President, Fred Merriam, for this great aerial photo of Middlesex Village after the Great Flood of 1936. Click on the button below to compare this to the area today using Google Earth.
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Hot off the press!
Read the Friday Evening, December 14, 1827 edition of the Lowell Journal.
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Read the past newsletters -
The 2005 - 2023 newsletters of the Lowell Historical Society are available online!
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