National Register of Historic Places

North Canal

Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusetts
Listed
July 28, 1975
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
75000278

About this property

The North Canal Historic District of Lawrence, Massachusetts, encompasses the historic industrial heart of the city. It is centered on the North Canal and the Great Stone Dam, which provided the waterpower for its many mill complexes. The canal was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, while the district was first listed in 1984, and then expanded slightly in 2009. The city of Lawrence was founded by industrialist Abbott Lawrence and the associates of the Essex Company as a model industrial city. In 1845 they company acquired land from then towns of Methuen and Andover and began construction on the North Canal and the Great Stone Dam. The work included dredging and building out of "new land", and effectively created a small island between the Merrimack River and the canal, whose outlet is at the mouth of the Spicket River. Work on these two major features was completed in 1848, and development of the city, which formally incorporated in 1853, proceeded from there. The historic district encompasses, in addition to the canal and the dam, the mill-related buildings on the island and on the north side of the canal, as well as a few buildings that front on Methuen and Union Streets, or the connecting side streets. The 2009 expansion of the district, included a single building, the Morehouse Bakery building at 5-9 Mill Street.

Location

Lawrence, Essex County, Massachusetts
42.70593, -71.15418

Categories

INDUSTRYENGINEERINGTRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Settlement
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Nearby Historic Sites

Essex Company Offices and Yard
Industrial
0.1 mi
North Canal Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Listed
0.2 mi
North Canal Historic District
Listed
0.2 mi
Essex Company Machine Shop
Early Republic
0.2 mi
Mechanics Block Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was North Canal listed on the National Register?

North Canal was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 28, 1975.

What type of historic resource is North Canal?

North Canal is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for North Canal?

The period of significance for North Canal is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near North Canal?

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