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The Town of Dracut Massachusetts
is a suburban industrial center on the periphery of Lowell and southern
New Hampshire. Originally, in 1653, the community was part of the Wamiset
Praying Town, one of the preserves set aside by the colonists for Christianized
Indians. The town has several large ponds, bogs and swamps and numerous
brooks.
Its early economy relied on fishing,
lumbering and the milling of lumber, which led in turn to the 19th century
industries of paper making and cotton textile manufacturing. These mills
attracted Irish and French Canadian immigrants. There has been intense
modern development in Dracut, with suburban residential pressures from
Lowell. Some rural landscapes survive intact along the state boundary as
do some handsome historic houses.
One of the better known is the 290
year old Coburn/Cutter House, with its massive beams, huge center chimney
and fireplaces. The building, dating from about 1700, has served as the
site of annual crafts fairs in Dracut.
Dracut Massachusetts is located in
Northeastern Massachusetts, bordered by Methuen and Andover on the east;
Tewksbury and Lowell on the south; Tyngsborough on the west; and Pelham,
New Hampshire, on the north. Dracut is 8 miles west of Lawrence, 27 miles
north of Boston. |