Pawtucket Canal

America's first major industrial canal, dug in 1796, still carrying water through the heart of Lowell

The Pawtucket Canal is the oldest of Lowell's five canals, originally dug in 1796 to allow river traffic to bypass the Pawtucket Falls. When Lowell was founded as an industrial city in the 1820s, the canal was incorporated into a complex power system that channelled the Merrimack's water through channels and drops to turn the mill wheels. Today it is a pleasant walking path through the historic district.

The canal walkways are part of Lowell National Historical Park and are maintained in good condition. Walking the network from the Pawtucket Canal through the Merrimack Canal and past the mill complexes takes about 90 minutes at an easy pace. Canal boat tours are available from the national park visitor centre in summer — a good way to understand the hydraulic engineering that powered the whole system.

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A story
The Pawtucket Canal was dug in 1796 as a transportation canal to bypass the Pawtucket Falls of the Merrimack River. It was later repurposed as a power canal in the 1820s, when Lowell's founders realised that the fall of water could drive textile mills directly. The canal system they built — 5.6 miles of channels, locks, and gatehouse structures — was the first large-scale industrial water-power system in America, and the model for industrial cities across the country.

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