Boott Cotton Mills Museum

They do a great job here of providing context for Lowell’s mill history and making history come to life. Very nice rangers that are extremely willing to answer questions. Easy to see in a fairly short time and inexpensive too. Seeing a museum on the history of mills and making fabric may not seem exciting but it was very informative and glad we stopped.

While everyone flocks to Boston I was determined to see real ‘Murica.
So we headed to Lowell because I saw a special on the canals once on TV. It was great! this museum was a great find and very affordable. I was very tickled when a couple of days later I was listening to A People’s History of the US and Zinn started talking about the mill women of Lowell and how they went on strike!
The sound of the machines was a great way to start the tour! I was awe struck by the employee working one of the looms and couldn’t stop watching the back and forth. It was a perfect way to travel back in time and prepare for the second floor.
I would recommend this to everyone! in combination with the canal tour.

The Boott Mills Textile Museum in Lowell, MA. was an experience to remember. The Museum layout allow you to get a general feel for the life of Textile workers in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The accompanying documentaries recorded the high noise, humidity and pollution. A must see site to appreciate sacrifices made to create our modern world.

I just think for the price of admission, it’s a very rich experience to learn about what life was like in an industrial mill city. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, seeing the weaving machines in action was great, and it just leaves you with some important ideas and questions as to how support cities after industry has left.

This is a fascinating museum with working machines so you can really grasp what it would have been like to be employed at one of the mills in Lowell. You don’t have to pay admission to walk around the outside and see the impressive size of the mill and its clock tower, but I think it’s well worth the price of admission.
The signage was great here and I also enjoyed the interviews they show with people who worked in the mills. It was horrifying to hear stories of the dangers of the machines, but again great for giving a really tactile sense of history. They did a great job situating Lowell in terms of greater US history and even Lowell’s connection with slavery, labor history and the third world.
Check out the boarding houses for the original (mainly English Protestant) workers next door. More great signs and stories of women who were both stuck in a factory, but also earning some degree of independence. They have a section on the myriad of immigrant groups that have come through Lowell. It gives you a sense of how we’re all connected to this history of our laboring ancestors and neighbors.

Historic downtown Lowell is a beautiful place to visit, and Boot Cottons Mills Museum is no exception! Beautiful area to walk around and the museum is cheap (6 for adults and 3 for students w/​IDs.)
I know most local residents will be like, «Whatever I’m bored we visited this in second grade, and I really have out grown that phase where I wanted to be a Mill girl.» But like, you should think again.
Curators have done a really great job of keeping the fascinating parts of the museum – an entire room of functioning looms (scary and fascinating) – while also bringing to light some really important aspects of the textile industry in Lowell. It’s great to come and see how important this area of MA was to the economy of the country in the early 19^th century.
However, the best part of the museum for me was part of their new exhibit: a room dedicated to today’s global textile industry, a connection that many historians tend to miss or glaze over. The specific exhibit brings a very global perspective to industry and capitalism in a way that both children and adults can connect to or understand, with displays for both kids and adults. It also highlights the voices of people from around the world and presentsrelatable stories from workers in many different countries and contexts. I was very moved by the interactive displays, and the opportunities for visitors to write and share thier own immigrant and working stories from their families – as it is those narrative that are so important to the American identity.
I think the staff has done a wonderful job updating the museum and making it more relevant for the present day visitor. It’s definitely worth a visit and you’ll leave with a lot to think about.
Also be sure to check out the boarding house museum where the mill girls lived and the display on immigrant communities in Lowell.

This museum is right in the downtown area of Lowell and was a working mill until 1955.
The first floor of the museum, named the Weave Room, has industrial grade looms that are operating as you walk through. It’s very loud, but they give you ear plugs to wear as you walk through. There are videos that explain the exhibits.
Another building belonging to the museum is the Boardinghouse, where the women who first worked in the mill were housed. Today, the Boardinghouse is the location of the Mogan Cultural Center., where many music events are held on the open-​air stage. Visitors can also walk the grounds around the mills, and they can take a stroll on the walkway next to the Merrimack River.