|
|
Lawrence Mass. Lawrence's
residents see the community as an older, urban, industrialized city whose
history parallels that of the country as a whole. Originally a rural farming
town, the city was transformed into a major industrial center when Boston
entrepeneurs developed huge textile mills on the Merrimack River to use
the power of its water falls.
The mill owners built canals, a dam
and a reservoir, boarding houses and a machine shop for locomotives, creating
one of the first industrial complexes in the country. Employees came first
from other parts of New England to work in the mills, but the city has
traditionally served as an entry point to immigrants and by the turn of
the century, Irish, Polish, Italian, Syrian and French-Canadians were following
the jobs to Lawrence and setting a standard of proud diversification for
the city which is maintained to this day with newcomers from the Dominican
Republic, Puerto Rico, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Despite the huge technological changes
over the years, the manufacture of textiles and of men's and women's clothing
is still central to Lawrence's economy and some of the finest names in
apparel are made in the city. City planners are working to broaden the
city's industrial and business base and diversify.
Lawrence Mass is located in Northeastern
Massachusetts, bordered by Methuen on the north, Andover on the west and
southwest, and North Andover on the east and southeast. Lawrence is 26
miles north of Boston; 92 miles south of Portland, Maine; and 240 miles
from New York City. |