Greater Lowell
Encyclopedia
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
and its suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s, mostly in Northern Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Middlesex County, Massachusetts
-National protected areas:* Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge* Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge* Longfellow National Historic Site* Lowell National Historical Park* Minute Man National Historical Park* Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge...
and the Merrimack Valley
Merrimack Valley
The Merrimack Valley is a bi-state region along the Merrimack River in the states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, United States. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways in the New England region and has helped define the livelihood and culture of those living along it since native...
.
The neighboring towns of Dracut
Dracut, Massachusetts
Dracut is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 29,457. Dracut is primarily a suburban community, belonging to Greater Lowell and bordering southern New Hampshire...
, Tewksbury
Tewksbury, Massachusetts
Tewksbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 28,961 at the 2010 census.- History :Tewksbury was first settled in 1637 and was officially incorporated in 1734 from Billerica. Like Tewksbury Township, New Jersey, it is named after the town of Tewkesbury,...
, Billerica
Billerica, Massachusetts
Billerica is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,243 at the 2010 census. It is the only town named Billerica in the United States and borrows its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.- History :...
, Chelmsford
Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Chelmsford is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 33,802. The Census Bureau's 2008 population estimate for the town was 34,409, ranking it 14th in population among the 54 municipalities in...
, and Tyngsborough
Tyngsborough, Massachusetts
Tyngsborough is a town located in the northwest section of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Composed of of land and surface water, Tyngsborough borders the towns of Dunstable, Groton, Westford, Chelmsford, Dracut, and the City of Lowell, as well as the New Hampshire communities of Hudson,...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
are invariably included in the definition of Greater Lowell. For example, the Lowell Regional Transit Authority
Lowell Regional Transit Authority
The Lowell Regional Transit Authority is a public, non-profit organization in Massachusetts, charged with providing public transportation to the Greater Lowell area. This primarily includes the city of Lowell and the towns of Billerica, Burlington, Dracut, Chelmsford, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough and...
provides public bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
service throughout this area.
For other purposes the towns of Dunstable
Dunstable, Massachusetts
Dunstable is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,179 at the 2010 census.-Etymology:Dunstable was named after its sister town Dunstable, UK....
, Westford
Westford, Massachusetts
Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,951 at the 2010 census.-History:Originally a part of neighboring Chelmsford, West Chelmsford soon grew large enough to sustain its own governance, and was officially incorporated as Westford on September 23,...
, Groton
Groton, Massachusetts
Groton is a town located in northwestern Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The population was 10,646 at the 2010 census. It is home to two noted prep schools: Groton School, founded in 1884, and Lawrence Academy at Groton, founded in 1793. The historic town hosts the National Shepley Hill Horse...
, Pepperell
Pepperell, Massachusetts
Pepperell is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,497 at the 2010 census. It includes the village of East Pepperell.-History:...
, Carlisle
Carlisle, Massachusetts
Carlisle is an affluent, rural town northwest of Boston located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the town is 4,852.-History:...
, and Wilmington
Wilmington, Massachusetts
Wilmington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 22,325 at the 2010 census.-History:Wilmington was first settled in 1665 and was officially incorporated in 1730, from parts of Woburn, Reading and Billerica. Minutemen from Wilmington responded to the alarm...
in Massachusetts, together with Pelham
Pelham, New Hampshire
The earliest census data shows the town of Pelham having a population of 543 residents in 1767.As of the census of 2000, there were 10,914 people, 3,606 households, and 2,982 families residing in the town. The population density was 412.9 people per square mile . There were 3,740 housing units at...
, and Southern Hudson
Hudson, New Hampshire
Hudson is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 24,467 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 7,336 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Hudson census-designated place and is located at the junctions of New Hampshire...
in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, may also be included in Greater Lowell.
The New England city and town area
New England City and Town Area
A New England City and Town Area or NECTA is a geographic and statistical entity defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, for use in describing aspects of the New England region of the United States...
Division Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford consists of Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Westford, and Pelham. Using this definition, in 2011, Lowell was ranked the sixth "Greekiest" city in America, according to Forbes magazine.
The region has a population of 250,000 to 520,000 residents based on 2006 and 2007 census estimates, depending on the inclusion or exclusion of towns. In the core towns colored dark blue and red the population is 250,643. If the light blue towns are included as well, the total becomes 361,577. If you were to also include towns in the Lowell Sun circulation area not included already ( Acton, Andover, Ayer, Bedford, Burlington, Concord, Harvard, Littleton, Shirley, Townsend, and Windham, NH) the total population of the area becomes 518,470. Of these residents, slightly over 100,000 live in the city of Lowell itself.
Suburban sprawl and serious economic hardships have reduced the role Lowell plays in its suburbs over the decades. The entire region is often considered a component of the much larger Greater Boston
Greater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
area, as Lowell is only 25 miles from downtown Boston. Suburban office parks, shopping malls, and the severe decline of heavy industry in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
have pulled the economic focus away from the once great industrial and commercial base in Lowell itself. Additionally, the population of Lowell is what it was in 1900, although the suburban population is now much higher.
While Lowell may not be the economic center it once was, Lowell is still a cultural and institutional center for the region. It is home to, for example, the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell and the Lowell National Historical Park
Lowell National Historical Park
Lowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises a group of different sites in and around the city of...
, which preserves the region's legacy as an early textile manufacturing center. The University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell is a public university in Lowell, Massachusetts, and part of the University of Massachusetts system...
and a campus of Middlesex Community College are located in the city as well, as are Lowell General Hospital
Lowell General Hospital
Lowell General Hospital is an independent, not-for-profit hospital serving the Greater Lowell area in Massachusetts. Lowell General was organized and incorporated in 1891. The main campus is located at 295 Varnum Ave in the Pawtucketville section of Lowell. It has 217 Beds, 28 bassinets...
and Saints Medical Center
Saints Medical Center
Saints Medical Center is a hospital, located at One Hospital Drive in Lowell, Massachusetts.The hospital was created out of a 1992 merger of two of the three hospitals in the city, St. Joseph's Hospital founded in 1839 and St. John's Hospital founded in 1867. The name changed to "Saints Medical...
, the regional hospitals. Lowell is home to both the Superior and a District Court for Northern Middlesex County and is technically a county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
, although Massachusetts counties are largely historical in function. Culturally, many residents of Greater Lowell have deep roots in the city itself, tend to be more blue collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
, and speak with an urban Boston accent
Boston accent
The Boston dialect is the dialect characteristic of English spoken in the city of Boston and much of eastern Massachusetts. The accent and closely related accents can be heard commonly in an area stretching into much of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and areas of south-western Nova Scotia...
. Politically, Greater Lowell is notably one of the more conservative regions of the Commonwealth, credited to the region's strong resistance to taxes.
Major Employers
The economy of Greater Lowell is closely tied to that of Greater Boston. Outside of the services, health, and retail sectors, major employers are in high technology and defense, with a still-shrinking manufacturing sector.(Lowell Sun March 25, 2007)
- RaytheonRaytheonRaytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
- DeMoulas' Market BasketDeMoulas' Market BasketDeMoulas Market Basket, more commonly known as Market Basket, is a chain of 66 operating supermarkets in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It has stores from central New Hampshire to Bristol County, Massachusetts with headquarters in Tewksbury, Massachusetts...
- BAE SystemsBAE SystemsBAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
- Lahey ClinicLahey ClinicThe Lahey Clinic is a physician-led nonprofit teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine based in Burlington, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1923 by surgeon Frank H...
- UPSUnited Parcel ServiceUnited Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
- TeradyneTeradyneTeradyne , a US company, is a supplier of automatic test equipment . The company's divisions Semiconductor Test and Systems Test Group, are organized by the products they develop and deliver.-History:...
- MITREMITREThe Mitre Corporation is a not-for-profit organization based in Bedford, Massachusetts and McLean, Virginia...
- Emerson HospitalEmerson HospitalEmerson Hospital is a hospital located in Concord, Massachusetts at 133 Old Road to Nine Acre Corner, founded in 1911 on donated by Charles Emerson...
- Lowell General HospitalLowell General HospitalLowell General Hospital is an independent, not-for-profit hospital serving the Greater Lowell area in Massachusetts. Lowell General was organized and incorporated in 1891. The main campus is located at 295 Varnum Ave in the Pawtucketville section of Lowell. It has 217 Beds, 28 bassinets...
- M/A COMTyco InternationalTyco International Ltd. is a highly diversified global manufacturing company incorporated in Switzerland, with United States operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey...
- Analog DevicesAnalog DevicesAnalog Devices, Inc. , known as ADI, is an American multinational semiconductor company specializing in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts...
- Verizon
- Sun MicrosystemsSun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
- Cisco SystemsCisco SystemsCisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
- KronosKronos IncorporatedKronos Incorporated, is a U.S.-based multi-national human capital management software and services company headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, USA and employing 3,000 people.- History :...
- HannafordHannaford Bros. Co.Hannaford is an American supermarket chain based in Scarborough, Maine. Founded in 1883, Hannaford now operates stores in New England and upstate New York. Formerly known as Shop 'N' Save, Hannaford is owned by the American subsidiary of the Belgian Delhaize Group, Delhaize America, which owns over...
- Saints Medical CenterSaints Medical CenterSaints Medical Center is a hospital, located at One Hospital Drive in Lowell, Massachusetts.The hospital was created out of a 1992 merger of two of the three hospitals in the city, St. Joseph's Hospital founded in 1839 and St. John's Hospital founded in 1867. The name changed to "Saints Medical...
- Wal-MartWal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
- Home Depot