June 9, 2025 • 42 mins
What do dish towels, dorm-style boarding houses, and secret British tech have in common? Welcome to Lowell National Historical Park — the birthplace of American industrial innovation and a catalyst for social change.
In this episode, host Missy Rentz explores the fascinating history of Lowell, Massachusetts, with Park Ranger Aubrey Brown. Discover how Lowell became the blueprint for mill towns across the U.S., why it centered young women as its primary workforce, and how the hum of textile looms sparked waves of activism, immigration, and independence.
🎧 You’ll learn about:
- The power looms that changed American manufacturing forever
- The "mill girls" who fought for better conditions—and found their voices
- How WWII shifted the mills from dishcloths to parachutes
- Why the boarding house system gave women a rare taste of freedom
- Today’s immersive visitor experience, including weaving demos, canal walks, and cultural exhibits
From innovation to labor rights, Lowell’s story is more than machinery—it’s a lens into the American spirit. Press play and get inspired by this city’s past and its ongoing legacy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
We are making our way to NewEngland to a park that was
pivotal during the IndustrialRevolution.
Not only ushering in a new wayof manufacturing, but also a
wave of independence for women.
Join us as we explore LowellNational Historical Park.
I'm your host, Missy Rentz, andthis is the Parks podcast.
Missy Rentz (00:24):
today we have Aubrey Brown, who is an
interpretive park ranger atLowell National Historical Park.
Aubrey, welcome to the Parkspodcast.
Aubrey Brown (00:33):
Thank you for having me.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Missy Rentz (00:36):
So we start every episode with some park stats.
I'm just gonna run through them.
For Lowell National HistoricalPark.
It is located in Lowell,Massachusetts.
The historical park wasdedicated on June 5th, 1978 when
Jimmy Carter was president ofthe United States.
The park is 137 acres, and in2023, there were 256,303
(00:59):
visitors through the park.
And some interesting facts, ithas a textile mill that was
built in 1821 at the beginningof the industrial era.
The mills were dependent onimmigrants and women who were
entering the workforce at thetime.
And the work in the mill wasdedicated to war supplies during
World War ii.
So everything paused and it de,it was dedicated to making
(01:22):
supplies.
The primary products comingoutta the mill were cloth
typically used for dish cloth.
And the boarding houses housed30 to 40 employees during its
heyday.
This is a fun park to go to.
It was so interesting to me whenI toured it.
I was so into it in thelifestyle of the people that
(01:43):
worked there and the era when itwas brought up.
Aubrey Brown (01:46):
It's a fascinating park.
One thing you find about urbanparks, like Lowell National
Historical Park, is the factthat we are so entwined within
the community.
So even though the park istechnically 137 acres that
encompasses the downtown area,our park is actually very small
in terms of what the parkactually owns and utilizes.
(02:08):
So when you visit LowellNational Historical Park, you do
get to experience the entirehistorical downtown.
But you also get to have somemore of those more intimate
conversations when you visit theBoot Cotton Mills Museum or the
Mogan Cultural Center where wehave two exhibits in there.
The 1840s boarding house, whichdoes explore the life inside and
(02:29):
outside of the mills.
For those early mill girls, theydid call themselves mill girls.
We also have the one city minicultures exhibit, which just is
in place to help celebrate theincredibly rich cultural
heritage of Lowell NationalHistorical Park, the city itself
from the very first immigrantsof the Irish to more recent
(02:50):
immigrants like the CambodiansColombians, and in so many other
groups.
Missy Rentz (02:56):
And you hit on this 'cause.
One of my questions was gonna bewhy was Lowell National Historic
Park so important to be part ofthe National Park system?
And you've started to mentionthat and the role it's played.
Aubrey Brown (03:07):
It's an incredible park because when we think about
the National Park Service, I'mjust gonna paraphrase the
mission of the National ParkService these units were created
to help protect and preserve thenatural and cultural wonders of
the United States.
So a lot of times when peoplehear the term national parks, we
have this vision in our mind ofwhat a park is.
(03:29):
A park is outdoors, it'srecreational but that and
cultural places.
And here in Lowell we have.
The opportunity to explore bothnature and culture and the built
environment because what weconsider Lowell today would not
even be here if it was not forthe Merrimack River and the
(03:50):
natural environment.
That was perfect for thisexperiment of building A city
entirely dedicated to industry.
Missy Rentz (04:01):
And it was, so far the parks that I have featured
on the program have beencertainly the natural, but from
an a historical and cultural,it's really been.
Like president's homes or thingsthat are way back in time.
And this is the industrialrevolution.
And so this is a, this is more,I don't wanna say current, but
there are still people that areliving, that were alive during
(04:23):
the industrial revolution.
And the mill played an importantrole during that time.
How did it transform that regionof the country?
Aubrey Brown (04:32):
So with the Industrial Revolution what
really happened is after theAmerican Revolution where we
broke away from Europe createdwhat is now the United States,
we were struggling as a youngcountry with that departure
because all of a sudden we werehaving to support ourselves as
(04:53):
an individual country where wedidn't have any.
Large scale industry, we didn'thave a way to really make cloth
beyond what can be woven in thehome.
There were some small factories,but nothing to be able to
provide cloth for a large scalesystem where you have,
thousands, millions of people,you need cloth, not only for
(05:17):
linen but for clothing, fortablecloth, for draperies, cloth
is a very important part to thehuman experience, the world over
for millions of years.
And so one of the biggest thingsthat we struggled with, England
had a huge tariff put on place.
So if we wanted to buy cloth, wehad to pay the tariff and it's
(05:39):
going to cost us.
So with that, there was thispush to find ways to minimize
the cost of buying cloth that weneeded for everyday life.
And so this idea of stealing thetechnology, it's like one of the
first industrial espionagethings to have happened.
(06:00):
Because, of course England wantsus to buy their cloth.
So they were very secretiveabout the technology that they
had over in England and otherEuropean countries in creating
textiles, specifically in cottontextiles.
And so you have so many peoplelooking to build a new industry.
(06:21):
And I'm just gonna speak toLowell for a little bit here,
but so the name Lowell comesfrom Francis Cabot.
Lowell, who was one of theleading founders of what is now
the city.
He and his friend Paul Moody,who was an incredible engineer,
they went over and they were,touring the textile mills they
(06:43):
saw these machines and they weretold that they're welcome to
visit, but they cannot writeanything down.
They cannot make sketches.
They could just walk through.
So when you pair these twotogether, you have an incredible
duo.
Paul Moody, as I mentioned.
Incredible engineer, FrancisCabot.
Lowell.
He just has a knack forunderstanding and memorizing
(07:06):
every single part of thesemachines.
And so when they come back tothe United States, they wanna
see if they can recreate theirown power looms and put it on a
larger scale than what was donein England.
So Lowell talks to his friendMoody and says, okay, here's
what I remember of thesemachines.
(07:26):
And together they piece andrecreate this power loom.
Just throw it out.
It's wasted space.
It's too much weight, and Idon't know why you need, levers
in pistons to raise and lowerthese parts.
Be much easier if you have abelt to rotate the main gear.
And so he introduced the idea ofa leather belt as the main drive
(07:48):
shaft.
So they set up the mill inWaltham, Massachusetts, along
the Charles River.
One thing that also changed wasbringing the production all
under one roof.
Previously you would have onemill dedicated to Cardine alone,
taking that raw cotton or thewall and combing it until the
(08:09):
fibers line up.
Then you would have another millthat was dedicated specifically
to the roving, the initialcombining and twisting of the
fiber.
So it's this loose rope.
And then you have another millfor the spinning where you're
taking that loose rope thatroving and dividing it into
smaller and smaller threads.
(08:31):
And that process keeps on going.
Then you would have another millthat would do the actual
production and the actualweaving.
You would've another milldedicated for the finishing,
putting it all together.
Time consuming, especially aftertravel from mill to mill.
So what.
Moody and Lowell did, they putall that process under one roof
(08:51):
floor, 1, 2, 3, 4, everythingthere.
You can vertically move piecesup and down from that building,
expedited things tremendously.
But it was still an experiment.
They didn't know if it wouldwork the way they wanted it to.
But it did work.
And so with that experiment inWall fan, they're like, okay,
this is great.
We can produce cloth on amassive scale, but it's not
(09:14):
gonna be enough to clothe theentire country.
So what can we do?
And so they started to lookaround and they wanted to set
themselves apart from England,especially in the way they
powered their mills.
So in Waltham, they were able touse the Charles River to turn
the big water wheel.
(09:36):
It was great, except the CharlesRiver is a little sluggish,
comparatively.
And so to build multiple millsalong the Charles River for this
type of production, it wasn'tgoing to be feasible.
And they wanted to use waterpower because in England they
saw smoke stacks.
Coal being used to power thesemills.
It was filthy, it was dirty.
(09:57):
They wanted something moreutopian more clean and friendly
and someplace you want to go towork.
And so they started lookingaround and they found this area
that is now Lowell, it wascalled East Chelmsford.
And so they went about testing,building a canal system where
you could have multiple millsalong one source because of that
(10:20):
drop in elevation.
It was to be another experiment.
So they built more canals.
They built more mills and then.
That's how the city of Lowellcame to be.
And the interesting thing eventhough it is called Lowell, that
is dedicated to Francis Cabot.
Lowell because he never got tosee this dream to fruition.
(10:41):
All of these plans were in placewhen he passed away.
He never even got to see thefirst canal dug to see the mill
operate.
He was one of the spearheadingmembers of this team.
And so with that, you had all ofthese men they are known
historically by historians asthe Boston Associates and so
(11:02):
they built this factory town,
Missy Rentz (11:04):
Industry.
Aubrey Brown (11:05):
whole new industry.
And so when you come to Lowell,it is a lot different than
traditional downtowns.
But we have these big, massivemanufacturing mills right in the
heart of downtown.
And for me, that speaks so muchto.
Where the city started, as wellas where we're continuing to go
(11:27):
because we are still a, anexperimental city with the
engineering through theUniversity of Massachusetts,
Lowell through the culturalinitiatives to bring everyone
together and reutilizing, theseold mill buildings,
Missy Rentz (11:41):
when you talk about mills I don't know, it just
rundown old kind of concretebuildings.
These are beautiful brick.
you feel like you're on like acollege campus or something when
you're walking in the area.
And I think it's interestingwhat you're pointing out that in
my research and learning aboutit, it was about the impact they
had on the industrialrevolution.
(12:02):
But from what you're sharing,there was a bit of a breeding of
innovation that still lives ontoday, which is very cool.
Aubrey Brown (12:09):
very much and even though Lowell is not the
birthplace of the AmericanIndustrial Revolution.
What we are here celebrating isthe first planned industrial
city in the United States thatreally launched that industrial
revolution forward.
Every single mill town that cameafter Lowell based itself on
(12:31):
what was happening here.
And so this was used as a modelfor those early industries.
Even today in terms of ourhistoric revitalization, Lowell
is still used as a blueprint.
Missy Rentz (12:45):
another part of the change that took place in Lowell
in this area was the integrationof women and immigrants and the
role they played in working inthe mills.
How did that begin to usher andchange for the country?
Aubrey Brown (13:00):
So here in Lowell, the plan from the very beginning
was to use women as the mainsource of labor.
They decided to do that for afew different reasons.
One.
They weren't sure how it wasgoing to go in the first place.
So they didn't want to payexorbitant amounts of money to
men who demanded a higher costfor their labor.
(13:21):
But also, you have to remember,this isn't too far removed from
the American Revolution.
It's only removed by maybe ageneration.
And so a lot of the maleworkforce, they were already
employed, either working asfarmers, working in light
industry or their ownbusinesses.
They weren't going to leave whatthey were doing, where they were
making good money to comepopulate these mills.
(13:45):
And so when the Bostonassociates were putting this
whole thing together, theyspecifically targeted the young
middle girl or the young workingage women of farming
communities.
And they did that for a fewreasons.
One, they realized, Hey, we areweaving.
If anyone knows how to createcloth and finish it guess what?
(14:08):
The women are typically the onesdoing that in their own homes,
in their own communities.
So we don't have to do as muchtraining, we just have to train
them on how to use a power loomversus a manual loom.
Another reason a lot of thesefarmers, if they had large
families and they had multipledaughters, their daughters
(14:28):
weren't going to be employedvery easily outside of the
domestic sphere, They ended upbeing more of an extra mouth to
feed.
Unless they were teaching ormaybe working at a smaller
manufacturing in their hometownthey were just sitting around
doing a few chores and justwasting space.
(14:48):
it, Was the reality of the time,especially coming out of the
industrial revolution where weare trying to build our own
revenue.
So we give them an opportunityto bring them out of the house.
We give them a way to stillsupport their family because a
lot of these young girls,they're probably going to send
the majority of their incomehome to their families to help
(15:09):
feed them or maybe send theirbrothers to university or
college.
And then, when they're ready toget married, they'll go home,
start their own families, andthen we'll bring in a new batch.
They were targeting young womentypically between the ages of 15
and 35.
If you want to get married, youcan go get married.
If you want to go work, you cango work without any extra
(15:31):
paperwork.
Remember these communities,these are rural communities for
the most part.
And the idea of a city versus asmaller rural community, that
could be a little scary, And soit can be a little scary because
I have eyes on you here at home,I can't watch you there.
know, women can't walk around.
Missy Rentz (15:52):
And they can't have bank accounts and they can't
live alone, but they thoughtabout that.
Aubrey Brown (15:57):
They did think about that.
And so that's the other uniquepart of this city is that.
In order to get their parents,to allow them to come to the
city to work, they set up theboarding house system.
I would compare it to a dormroom, where you have a place
where you're living, you havemeals that are provided for you.
(16:18):
Some campuses even have likehouse mothers or your ra, your
residential assistant.
They are the unofficial head ofthe household, and so they told.
The women and they told theirfamilies that, okay, when they
come to Lowell, we will makesure that they are fed.
We will make sure that they havea roof over their head.
(16:40):
we will make sure that theyremain morally responsible, that
they're not going out about thetown uns chaperoned they will be
in bed at this time.
They were going to be taken careof by a woman, the boarding
housekeeper and her family.
So it was like this unofficialfamily unit that you have in
place.
And that really provided anopportunity for large numbers of
(17:05):
women to come here and gain alittle bit of independence that
they would not have hadelsewhere.
Missy Rentz (17:12):
Okay.
And then I wanna pivot a littlebit because then the war, world
War II happens
Aubrey Brown (17:17):
Yes.
Missy Rentz (17:18):
this the mills played an important part in it.
We mentioned in the fun factsthat kind of everything ceased,
but this was an contributor tothe war
Aubrey Brown (17:27):
Very much the industry here in the city of
Lowell was set up for textilemanufacturing specifically for
cotton.
But then as time went on, therewere some deviations into other
types of fibers, including silk.
Nylon so much effort going tosupporting the war.
And again, what do your soldiersneed?
(17:47):
They need clothes They're goingto wear through their clothes
very fast.
So instead of making towels ordrapes or flannel blankets or
anything like that, it was like,okay we're gonna start making
canvas for all of their rucksacks, their durable clothing,
their hats, what have you.
We're also going to make plentyof parachute.
(18:09):
We can make miles and miles ofparachute cloth and send that on
its way.
With World War II and producingfabric of various types for the
war effort, that helped keepLowell relevant, it helped keep
people here at home all theamenities they needed to keep
(18:30):
them clothed and fed a roof overtheir head.
But it wasn't going to lastafter, World War ii, you have
globalization taking place andthat was really the end of the
end.
Missy Rentz (18:41):
And it seems like for the war, they had set
themselves up because they had aproject that was gonna be
needed.
They had a labor that wasn'tdependent on the men that were
going to war.
And so it really did setthemselves up for success during
that time.
The other piece I wanna touch onis because of the time that this
was taking place.
(19:01):
There was a lot of activismtaking place and women's rights,
and migrant rights and, therights of the slaves and all
this stuff was taking place.
And this town, Lowell, played amajor role in that.
Aubrey Brown (19:14):
It really did.
And I have a walking tour that Ido that is called Building
Independence, and it's lookingat the various institutions
that.
Grew up in Lowell to meet theneeds of these mill girls and
gave them the opportunity tobuild their own independence The
Lowell Savings Institutionallowed them to not only save
(19:36):
their money, but slowly buildinterest on that.
Then you had libraries that werepopping up.
You had places where they couldwrite creatively or political
writing even where you have theLowell offering.
It started out as just this funlittle thing for the middle
girls to do in the eveningsafter work.
(19:57):
They started to write and sharetheir own stories.
True or fictional, write poetry.
And then they came up with thisidea to collect it all and.
Distribute it first throughoutthe city, it was called the
Lowell Offering.
Eventually that spread to otherneighboring areas.
People in New York could get asubscription to the Lowell
offering.
(20:17):
These are writings by the millgirls for themselves just to
express their creativity.
With the Lowell offering, it wasstill partially sponsored by the
mill owners.
So ultimately, if the millowners didn't like what you're
writing, it's not gonna show up.
But on the opposite side ofthat, you have another journal
(20:38):
called The Voice of Industry.
And now the voice of industrywas where you could say exactly
what you wanted to say.
You could have your own opinion.
But with the voice of industry,it was established by the
working class.
For the working class, and it'svoice was heard across the
(20:59):
country.
Any topic was up for discussion,whether it was religion, war,
slavery temperance.
one of my favorite quotes I havefound in the voice of industry.
This is really snarky and I loveit, but it's if you invite me
out for ice cream, don't assumethat it is because I want your
(21:23):
company.
My wish I had the full quote,but just so even small
commentary like that gives you asense of.
How they valued themselves, notjust as workers, but as people.
And so with all of this, youhave the perfect environment for
(21:44):
things like activism to grow.
Missy Rentz (21:47):
Yes.
And I think that's evident whenyou visit the park, because
there's so many stories thathave been captured.
Not only just like writtenstories, but also some video
stories of people.
And it does such a nice job, andthat really naturally leads us
to planning a trip to the parkand to visit.
What do you recommend is thefirst step when somebody says,
I'm coming to Lowell.
Aubrey Brown (22:07):
When you come to Lowell, I always recommend you
start at the visitor center.
that's where you're going to getdirected.
To anywhere from the park oranything you want to do at the
park.
Whether you come with just a, Ihave no idea why I am here to,
I'm interested in this specifictopic.
We have answers for you.
We can tell you where to go,directions on how to walk
(22:28):
through the city to meet yourneeds.
For me, the number one thingthat I recommend for everyone to
do you have to go to the BootCotton Mills Museum.
We have a room, it's the weavingroom, and we have almost 90
looms that are set up in thereand we have them operating.
Missy Rentz (22:47):
is so
Aubrey Brown (22:48):
You get to see these machines running and it is
loud.
And usually we only run maybenine to 15 of the looms at a
time.
Not the full 90.
Not the full 200 that would'vebeen there.
And it's still very loud It's awhole sensory experience.
You can feel the vibrations, youhear the noise, you can smell
(23:08):
the cotton and the leather andthe oil.
Missy Rentz (23:11):
And they're making dishcloths that you can buy.
Aubrey Brown (23:14):
Right?
And one thing I forgot tomention about the Boston
Associates, they're all friends.
You're not gonna compete againstyour friend, right?
So at the boot Cotton Mills,they specialized in cloth made
for dish towels for draperies,more utilitarian type of cloth.
At the Suffolk Mill, theyspecialized in denim in flannel
(23:36):
at the Merrimack Mill, they'vespecialized in cord, right?
Like they didn't wanna competeagainst each other.
And also attributing to thisidea of activism is the fact
that.
Because they didn't wannacompete against each other.
Every single mill paid theirworkers the same rate, no matter
their skill.
(23:58):
And so you can't poach the goodworkers.
But so at the boot Cotton Mills,because it was a more
utilitarian type of cloth, we domake replicas of the patterns
that were used right here in theboot cotton mills.
So you get to see the looms allset up and you get to see
reproductions of what wasactually coming out of this
(24:21):
specific mill.
If you're lucky, you can stillfind boot towels out there
Missy Rentz (24:26):
That's fun.
And we, at least when I did thetour there, there was somebody
who was running the machine.
We were the only people in theroom at that moment.
he kinda stopped and talked tous and explained everything that
was going on.
And then you continue on and youget to the point where it is
more of that traditional museumwhere it's the stories and the
pictures and the examples of theclothing and all of that sort of
(24:48):
stuff.
And that was such a greatexperience.
a step back in time.
And then the next stop for us onthe trip was a boarding house.
You actually have one of theboarding houses opened a tour.
Aubrey Brown (25:01):
There are very few boarding houses that still
remain in the city, and so weare fortunate that we have one
of those boarding houses thatwe've been able to recreate.
I will say the exterior, Theframework of the building, the
foundation, the walls, it wasall there, but we had to step
back in time and recreate thefacade because over time it had
(25:23):
just been made unrecognizable byadditions But inside you, it's
very modern, I would say.
When you step in, you walk in,you go down a ramp, and it's
just like you're in some generichallway.
There's nothing that screams,ooh, a boarding house until you
(25:43):
go around the corner and youenter the boarding house and you
get to see a setup of what itwould've been like, what your
room would've been like as ayoung girl coming in here,
Probably full-size beds crammedvery close together, just enough
room to walk between them andaround them.
A writing desk, you get to seethe kitchen where the boarding
(26:06):
housekeeper would've preparedthe meals, and it really is,
it's a step back in time andunderstanding a little more
intimately what it meant toleave your family to come here
and find a new family in a lotof ways.
And you would have two girls perbed.
And not even someone, like Igrew up I would share the same
(26:27):
bed with my sisters from time totime, But to share a bed with a
perfect stranger,
Missy Rentz (26:31):
yeah.
Aubrey Brown (26:31):
I dunno, in close quarters,
Missy Rentz (26:33):
so you have the mill, the visitor center, the
boarding house.
When you look at the map it's alot of property.
There's a lot of outside,there's stuff down by the river.
What can people do?
Is it just a walking andexploring opportunity?
Aubrey Brown (26:45):
I would say Lowell definitely is more of a walking
and exploring opportunity.
So we are very fortunate to have5.6 miles of our canals.
So number wise, we have most ofour canals still in existence.
And we have walkways along thosecanals.
So you can walk along thecanals, you can see how the
(27:09):
water was directed to these oldmill buildings, and it is an
opportunity to.
Experience the city very muchlike the early inhabitants did.
Another thing that made Lowellunique is the fact that they
wanted every part of it to be anenjoyable experience for the
people who came.
(27:29):
And so part of that a lot of theBoston associates were amateur
horticulturists, and they wantedto have the opportunity for
people to walk and take theirleisure around the canal.
So you have little strips ofparks available alongside of'em.
Missy Rentz (27:44):
Great green space.
Aubrey Brown (27:45):
You get to walk the waterways, you get to be
surrounded by these large millbuildings, and the majority of
the park is free to enjoy.
Even the walking tours that Imentioned that we do, we offer
walking tours.
We offer trolley rides frompoint A to point B where you can
get on a replication of ahistoric trolley and take it
(28:07):
from the visitor center to theBoot Cotton Mills Museum
Missy Rentz (28:10):
it makes it accessible'cause it is very
spread out and I think you madethe point of it's really
immersed into the city and itreally is.
You almost, just unless you'relooking for it, you don't know
what's like the city normal andwhat's part Yeah.
Do you think there's a specifictime of year you recommend
people coming to visit?
Aubrey Brown (28:29):
So during the summer is probably the peak
season for us because we have alot more available for you to
explore because the weather'snice and it, is a very much
walking outdoor type of park Butin addition to that, not just
typically better weather, wehave our canal boat tours where
you get to get on a boat, youget to go up the original
(28:51):
Pawtucket Canal and learn with aRanger, what that was like.
Every ranger we create our ownprograms.
You're gonna get somethingdifferent from me than you get
from Ranger Claire or RangerNadia or Ranger Jacob.
It's, you could take the boatride with every single ranger
and still get a differentexperience.
So for me, I take a little morein depth look at, I.
(29:13):
The behind the scenes of thiscity, where, yeah, the mills,
they're important, the workersare important, but it's a city
and you have to have so manysupporting players in order to
maintain the city.
So that's what I do on my tours.
I'm also known as the musicalRanger, so you might get a
little sa and dance but you havethe canal boat tours, which
(29:33):
that, that does cost to go onthe canal, boat tours.
But if you wanna take a tour tothe Suffolk Mill where you can
see a turbine, and you get tobreak down the turbine and
really see how the water wastransformed into power, because
we weren't generatingelectricity with the water
power.
That's where our brains todaygoes.
Oh, water wheels and turbines,they're making electricity to
(29:55):
run these mills.
No, it was pure kinetic energy,just that force of water, that
32 foot drop that allowed thatwater to move the wheels, to
move the turbines, to move 4, 5,6 floors of machinery to make
these meals work.
There is a small fee to go intothe Boot Cotton Mills Museum as
well to help us maintain ourhistoric looms.
(30:18):
They are old, we wanna treatthem with love.
You can check our website orsocial media for updates, but we
do have a limited availabilityto take a boat ride on the
Merrimack River.
You get to go on the parks,pontoon boat and experience the
river with a Ranger.
Missy Rentz (30:33):
And Lowell is not far from Boston.
It's a great opportunity andit's in a city.
So from a lodging perspective,there's not lodging in the park.
But you're in a city and it's agreat stop if you're in Boston
and looking for something to do,just to get outside of the city
and visit Lowell.
I.
Get excited thinking about it.
I always get a Christmasornament and for Lowell I got
(30:56):
one of the bobbins, the longspindly bobbin Every Christmas I
put it on thinking about thatexperience.
It was just so much fun.
And I think people will enjoyit.
Just the cultural history, thetime in American history that it
took place.
And the impact I think is justfascinating to see how some
things, history repeats itselfand, to see what have we
(31:17):
learned, what have we notlearned about history,
Aubrey Brown (31:19):
And no matter where you stand on the history
platform, whether you enjoyhistory, you don't enjoy
history, there's plenty here.
That is not just history, it'sengineering it's culture, it's
food, it's everything There'snothing you can't find to
satisfy every single person inyour party.
Missy Rentz (31:39):
I agree with you.
Aubrey, what else do you thinkare must sees when people come
to visit the park?
Aubrey Brown (31:46):
even though we are predominantly an industrial
history park, there are so manyother things that we have to
offer that's build on top ofthat.
So the social history of thecity is very much.
Defined by all the immigrantcommunities that came to Lowell
because we have these mills andthis manufacturing opportunity
(32:10):
for them.
And after the mill girls, theystarted their own activism and
said, yeah, we're worth morethan what you're paying us.
Then all of a sudden you haveempty spots to fill.
So you bring in the Irishcommunity and then the French
Canadians come down to work inthe mills.
And then you have the Greeks whocome.
You have the Polish, you havethe Columbian, you have the
(32:33):
Cambodian, and all of a suddenyou have this entire vibrant
city with their own littlecommunities.
But they're all melding togetherand it's a beautiful thing to
see.
And that's all encapsulated inthe one city Mini cultures
exhibit, also in the MoganCultural Center with the, into
an 1840s boarding house exhibit.
And it takes you on a journeyfrom.
(32:56):
The earliest days to thepresent.
And not only that, but it showsthat even though each culture is
so different in many ways, thebasics of humanity, they're all
the same.
You get to explore the clothing,the food ways traditions that
may be different, but all harkenback to the same basic human
(33:20):
desires.
So that's one thing I reallyenjoy.
Missy Rentz (33:24):
So we finish every episode with a speed round of
questions, and the idea is justto answer the first thing that
comes to What is your earliestpark memory?
Aubrey Brown (33:33):
My earliest park memory is a trip that my family
took to Mammoth Cave NationalPark.
Grew up in Ohio and mammoth Cavewas right there.
We were not a National Parkfamily, like we just didn't go
to national parks, but MammothCave, it's cool.
I very distinctly rememberdescending down into this cave.
I thought we did the entirecave.
No, we did maybe a mile of the400 plus miles of mammoth cave,
(33:58):
but for me, we did the wholecave.
Missy Rentz (33:59):
What made you love the parks?
Aubrey Brown (34:02):
Honestly, it's the Rangers because the parks do
speak for themselves, whetherit's a natural park or
historical park, but having theopportunity to talk to a ranger
who knows some of those hiddenstories, who knows how to help
you connect to those places.
And it's not just theinterpretive rangers that give
you the tours and give you theprograms.
(34:23):
Even the maintenance workers,they have their own stories and
they can share their ownexperiences with you.
And just being able to makethose connections because these
natural and cultural nationalpark units, it doesn't matter
unless you have that humanconnection.
And so the park rangers, theygive you that human connection.
Missy Rentz (34:44):
What is your favorite thing about Lowell
National Historical Park?
Aubrey Brown (34:49):
Honestly, my favorite thing about Lowell
National Historical Park is thefact that there is so much here.
I'm never bored.
I'm constantly finding newthings to research, new things
to take deep dives into.
if I had to give a favoritething that a visitor can
experience, I'm gonna say for meit's the Suffolk Mill tour,
because seeing the power loomsoperating and everything, that's
(35:13):
great.
you get to dig down deep intothe guts of these mills to see
exactly how ingenuity they werein manufacturing.
So I'm not an engineer, but Ilike to know things.
that gives me the opportunity toreally wrap my head around this
whole city.
Missy Rentz (35:32):
What park have you yet to visit, but it's on your
bucket list and why?
Aubrey Brown (35:37):
So I am a social historian.
I started out in archeologybefore switching over to
history, and I am very muchinterested in social
institutions that were createdin the 19th century.
Things like poor houses.
I'm a specialist in poor houses,Orphanages, hospitals just these
(35:57):
topics that are set asidebecause they're a little
unsavory for a lot of people.
So the park that I just wannavisit is Klau Papa in Hawaii on
the island of Molokai.
And that is it's a active.
Community, which is one of thefew national parks that has an
active community there.
(36:18):
But this is where from in the19th century, even up until the
1950s people were sent to thisremote location for leprosy and
not really to cure leprosy, justto shove them away because there
was no cure at the time.
They didn't know that.
Yeah, it is a preventable thing.
(36:39):
And so I would love to go toKalua Papa to see how they first
set up the community but also tolearn the people who were sent
there, how they survived, howthey passed their days.
And even today you have peoplewho are either were sent there
for leprosy or are descendantsof families that were sent
(37:01):
there.
And that's just a part ofhistory that I think we need to
appreciate a little more.
And
Missy Rentz (37:08):
What, three must haves do you pack for a park
visit?
Aubrey Brown (37:12):
Water snacks, and very good walking shoes.
Whether you're hiking a mountainor walking downtown, you gotta
have good footwear.
Missy Rentz (37:23):
What is your favorite campfire activity?
Aubrey Brown (37:26):
Here at Lowell we don't really have a campfire
activity like you might get atother parks.
But for me at other parks I'vebeen to that have evening
programs or campfire talks, Ilike to learn more about the
nightlife, whether it'sastronomy or animals that are
native to the area and how theyexist at night.
Just having the opportunity tobe immersed in.
(37:48):
A time where normally we'reshuttered in our homes and being
able to be outside andexperiencing whatever nature,
natural or manmade is available.
Missy Rentz (37:58):
Are you a tent, camper, or cabin person
Aubrey Brown (38:01):
I love to be in a tent.
I just feel like I am in acocoon.
It's like this, I'm in nature,but I still have that nice
little protective barrier.
But there's nothing like hearingthe zipper in the morning when
you unzip it, the z andinstantly you're there.
Missy Rentz (38:19):
And are you hiking with or without trekking poles?
Aubrey Brown (38:23):
It depends on the terrain.
If I'm just walking on fairlylevel surfaces, usually no
trekking poles.
But I do find that they are verybeneficial, especially if
you're, walking on variedterrain, especially steep
inclines up or down.
They just provide a little extrastability.
And I am one of those people Icannot walk without looking
(38:45):
around and I get distracted.
And so the trekking poles dohelp me when I need to be paying
a little more attention to myfooting instead of what's around
me.
Missy Rentz (38:55):
What is your favorite trail snack?
Aubrey Brown (38:57):
So my favorite trail snack, I have to go with
roasted chickpeas and driedfruit.
It's a good salty, sweetcombination.
Missy Rentz (39:07):
What is your favorite animal sighting?
Aubrey Brown (39:10):
My favorite animal siding.
This is tough so I guess yourstandard animal sighting would
be, I saw a mountain lion when Iworked at Carlsbad Catherine's
National Park, I was drivingoutta the park and this mountain
lion just casually crossed theroad as I was driving outta the
park after a night sky program.
So that was pretty wild.
I had to really second guesswhat I saw, but I could not
(39:34):
debunk it.
I'm like, yeah.
And I asked some of the rangerswho had been there longer said,
oh yeah.
Was it at mile three?
Oh yeah.
It was a mountain lion.
Multiple people had seen themountain lion at mile three.
But I guess my favorite wildlife encounter experience, I
have to go back to CarlsbadCaverns and watching the bat
flight.
You have thousands of bats justbillowing out of the cave.
(39:58):
And to be able to be there andjust hear it, smell it, it's an
incredible experience.
Missy Rentz (40:05):
What is your favorite sound in the park
Aubrey Brown (40:09):
Okay, this is gonna be weird but we have an
electrical panel that you haveto click on to open up the
boarding house and it goes ping,ping.
So I like the pings but I guessmy favorite sound that's not
weird and random that anyone canexperience.
I love when those looms turn on.
I just love the rhythm.
(40:29):
I dance to it every time.
So we'll go with the looms
Missy Rentz (40:33):
what's the greatest gifts that parks give to us?
Aubrey Brown (40:36):
wonder.
No matter where you are, they'regoing to give you wonder and
curiosity and just makes youstep outside of your own little
bubble to realize that there ismuch more out there and that
there is, there are things thatare worth protecting.
(40:59):
Because they are not limitless.
There is, they're finiteresources that could easily
disappear, whether it is thenatural land or whether it is
the mills.
At any point in time this couldall go away.
And so that wonder that you'releft with it's what makes it all
(41:20):
worthwhile.
Missy Rentz (41:22):
Aubrey, thank you so much for sharing your time
and your passion and theexperience of Lowell.
It's a pleasure to talk.
To you today.
Aubrey Brown (41:32):
It was such a pleasure to talk with you today
as well, and I thank you fordoing what you do because our
national parks, they are foreveryone.
But now that I am a part ofthat, I can see just how much I
missed.
By not having that experience.
And so I wish that for everyone.
These parks are for everybody.
Missy Rentz (41:50):
Thank you and thanks everybody for listening.
Until next time, we'll see youin the parks.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please be sure to like and share
on your favorite podcastplatform.
Music for the parks podcast isperformed and produced by Porter
Hardy.
For more information, pleasefollow us on Instagram at the
(42:11):
parks podcast.
Or visit ourwebsite@theparkspodcast.com.
We are making our way to NewEngland to a park that was
pivotal during the IndustrialRevolution.
Not only ushering in a new wayof manufacturing, but also a
wave of independence for women.
Join us as we explore LowellNational Historical Park.
I'm your host, Missy Rentz, andthis is the Parks podcast.
Missy Rentz (00:24):
today we have Aubrey Brown, who is an
interpretive park ranger atLowell National Historical Park.
Aubrey, welcome to the Parkspodcast.
Aubrey Brown (00:33):
Thank you for having me.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Missy Rentz (00:36):
So we start every episode with some park stats.
I'm just gonna run through them.
For Lowell National HistoricalPark.
It is located in Lowell,Massachusetts.
The historical park wasdedicated on June 5th, 1978 when
Jimmy Carter was president ofthe United States.
The park is 137 acres, and in2023, there were 256,303
(00:59):
visitors through the park.
And some interesting facts, ithas a textile mill that was
built in 1821 at the beginningof the industrial era.
The mills were dependent onimmigrants and women who were
entering the workforce at thetime.
And the work in the mill wasdedicated to war supplies during
World War ii.
So everything paused and it de,it was dedicated to making
(01:22):
supplies.
The primary products comingoutta the mill were cloth
typically used for dish cloth.
And the boarding houses housed30 to 40 employees during its
heyday.
This is a fun park to go to.
It was so interesting to me whenI toured it.
I was so into it in thelifestyle of the people that
(01:43):
worked there and the era when itwas brought up.
Aubrey Brown (01:46):
It's a fascinating park.
One thing you find about urbanparks, like Lowell National
Historical Park, is the factthat we are so entwined within
the community.
So even though the park istechnically 137 acres that
encompasses the downtown area,our park is actually very small
in terms of what the parkactually owns and utilizes.
(02:08):
So when you visit LowellNational Historical Park, you do
get to experience the entirehistorical downtown.
But you also get to have somemore of those more intimate
conversations when you visit theBoot Cotton Mills Museum or the
Mogan Cultural Center where wehave two exhibits in there.
The 1840s boarding house, whichdoes explore the life inside and
(02:29):
outside of the mills.
For those early mill girls, theydid call themselves mill girls.
We also have the one city minicultures exhibit, which just is
in place to help celebrate theincredibly rich cultural
heritage of Lowell NationalHistorical Park, the city itself
from the very first immigrantsof the Irish to more recent
(02:50):
immigrants like the CambodiansColombians, and in so many other
groups.
Missy Rentz (02:56):
And you hit on this 'cause.
One of my questions was gonna bewhy was Lowell National Historic
Park so important to be part ofthe National Park system?
And you've started to mentionthat and the role it's played.
Aubrey Brown (03:07):
It's an incredible park because when we think about
the National Park Service, I'mjust gonna paraphrase the
mission of the National ParkService these units were created
to help protect and preserve thenatural and cultural wonders of
the United States.
So a lot of times when peoplehear the term national parks, we
have this vision in our mind ofwhat a park is.
(03:29):
A park is outdoors, it'srecreational but that and
cultural places.
And here in Lowell we have.
The opportunity to explore bothnature and culture and the built
environment because what weconsider Lowell today would not
even be here if it was not forthe Merrimack River and the
(03:50):
natural environment.
That was perfect for thisexperiment of building A city
entirely dedicated to industry.
Missy Rentz (04:01):
And it was, so far the parks that I have featured
on the program have beencertainly the natural, but from
an a historical and cultural,it's really been.
Like president's homes or thingsthat are way back in time.
And this is the industrialrevolution.
And so this is a, this is more,I don't wanna say current, but
there are still people that areliving, that were alive during
(04:23):
the industrial revolution.
And the mill played an importantrole during that time.
How did it transform that regionof the country?
Aubrey Brown (04:32):
So with the Industrial Revolution what
really happened is after theAmerican Revolution where we
broke away from Europe createdwhat is now the United States,
we were struggling as a youngcountry with that departure
because all of a sudden we werehaving to support ourselves as
(04:53):
an individual country where wedidn't have any.
Large scale industry, we didn'thave a way to really make cloth
beyond what can be woven in thehome.
There were some small factories,but nothing to be able to
provide cloth for a large scalesystem where you have,
thousands, millions of people,you need cloth, not only for
(05:17):
linen but for clothing, fortablecloth, for draperies, cloth
is a very important part to thehuman experience, the world over
for millions of years.
And so one of the biggest thingsthat we struggled with, England
had a huge tariff put on place.
So if we wanted to buy cloth, wehad to pay the tariff and it's
(05:39):
going to cost us.
So with that, there was thispush to find ways to minimize
the cost of buying cloth that weneeded for everyday life.
And so this idea of stealing thetechnology, it's like one of the
first industrial espionagethings to have happened.
(06:00):
Because, of course England wantsus to buy their cloth.
So they were very secretiveabout the technology that they
had over in England and otherEuropean countries in creating
textiles, specifically in cottontextiles.
And so you have so many peoplelooking to build a new industry.
(06:21):
And I'm just gonna speak toLowell for a little bit here,
but so the name Lowell comesfrom Francis Cabot.
Lowell, who was one of theleading founders of what is now
the city.
He and his friend Paul Moody,who was an incredible engineer,
they went over and they were,touring the textile mills they
(06:43):
saw these machines and they weretold that they're welcome to
visit, but they cannot writeanything down.
They cannot make sketches.
They could just walk through.
So when you pair these twotogether, you have an incredible
duo.
Paul Moody, as I mentioned.
Incredible engineer, FrancisCabot.
Lowell.
He just has a knack forunderstanding and memorizing
(07:06):
every single part of thesemachines.
And so when they come back tothe United States, they wanna
see if they can recreate theirown power looms and put it on a
larger scale than what was donein England.
So Lowell talks to his friendMoody and says, okay, here's
what I remember of thesemachines.
(07:26):
And together they piece andrecreate this power loom.
Just throw it out.
It's wasted space.
It's too much weight, and Idon't know why you need, levers
in pistons to raise and lowerthese parts.
Be much easier if you have abelt to rotate the main gear.
And so he introduced the idea ofa leather belt as the main drive
(07:48):
shaft.
So they set up the mill inWaltham, Massachusetts, along
the Charles River.
One thing that also changed wasbringing the production all
under one roof.
Previously you would have onemill dedicated to Cardine alone,
taking that raw cotton or thewall and combing it until the
(08:09):
fibers line up.
Then you would have another millthat was dedicated specifically
to the roving, the initialcombining and twisting of the
fiber.
So it's this loose rope.
And then you have another millfor the spinning where you're
taking that loose rope thatroving and dividing it into
smaller and smaller threads.
(08:31):
And that process keeps on going.
Then you would have another millthat would do the actual
production and the actualweaving.
You would've another milldedicated for the finishing,
putting it all together.
Time consuming, especially aftertravel from mill to mill.
So what.
Moody and Lowell did, they putall that process under one roof
(08:51):
floor, 1, 2, 3, 4, everythingthere.
You can vertically move piecesup and down from that building,
expedited things tremendously.
But it was still an experiment.
They didn't know if it wouldwork the way they wanted it to.
But it did work.
And so with that experiment inWall fan, they're like, okay,
this is great.
We can produce cloth on amassive scale, but it's not
(09:14):
gonna be enough to clothe theentire country.
So what can we do?
And so they started to lookaround and they wanted to set
themselves apart from England,especially in the way they
powered their mills.
So in Waltham, they were able touse the Charles River to turn
the big water wheel.
(09:36):
It was great, except the CharlesRiver is a little sluggish,
comparatively.
And so to build multiple millsalong the Charles River for this
type of production, it wasn'tgoing to be feasible.
And they wanted to use waterpower because in England they
saw smoke stacks.
Coal being used to power thesemills.
It was filthy, it was dirty.
(09:57):
They wanted something moreutopian more clean and friendly
and someplace you want to go towork.
And so they started lookingaround and they found this area
that is now Lowell, it wascalled East Chelmsford.
And so they went about testing,building a canal system where
you could have multiple millsalong one source because of that
(10:20):
drop in elevation.
It was to be another experiment.
So they built more canals.
They built more mills and then.
That's how the city of Lowellcame to be.
And the interesting thing eventhough it is called Lowell, that
is dedicated to Francis Cabot.
Lowell because he never got tosee this dream to fruition.
(10:41):
All of these plans were in placewhen he passed away.
He never even got to see thefirst canal dug to see the mill
operate.
He was one of the spearheadingmembers of this team.
And so with that, you had all ofthese men they are known
historically by historians asthe Boston Associates and so
(11:02):
they built this factory town,
Missy Rentz (11:04):
Industry.
Aubrey Brown (11:05):
whole new industry.
And so when you come to Lowell,it is a lot different than
traditional downtowns.
But we have these big, massivemanufacturing mills right in the
heart of downtown.
And for me, that speaks so muchto.
Where the city started, as wellas where we're continuing to go
(11:27):
because we are still a, anexperimental city with the
engineering through theUniversity of Massachusetts,
Lowell through the culturalinitiatives to bring everyone
together and reutilizing, theseold mill buildings,
Missy Rentz (11:41):
when you talk about mills I don't know, it just
rundown old kind of concretebuildings.
These are beautiful brick.
you feel like you're on like acollege campus or something when
you're walking in the area.
And I think it's interestingwhat you're pointing out that in
my research and learning aboutit, it was about the impact they
had on the industrialrevolution.
(12:02):
But from what you're sharing,there was a bit of a breeding of
innovation that still lives ontoday, which is very cool.
Aubrey Brown (12:09):
very much and even though Lowell is not the
birthplace of the AmericanIndustrial Revolution.
What we are here celebrating isthe first planned industrial
city in the United States thatreally launched that industrial
revolution forward.
Every single mill town that cameafter Lowell based itself on
(12:31):
what was happening here.
And so this was used as a modelfor those early industries.
Even today in terms of ourhistoric revitalization, Lowell
is still used as a blueprint.
Missy Rentz (12:45):
another part of the change that took place in Lowell
in this area was the integrationof women and immigrants and the
role they played in working inthe mills.
How did that begin to usher andchange for the country?
Aubrey Brown (13:00):
So here in Lowell, the plan from the very beginning
was to use women as the mainsource of labor.
They decided to do that for afew different reasons.
One.
They weren't sure how it wasgoing to go in the first place.
So they didn't want to payexorbitant amounts of money to
men who demanded a higher costfor their labor.
(13:21):
But also, you have to remember,this isn't too far removed from
the American Revolution.
It's only removed by maybe ageneration.
And so a lot of the maleworkforce, they were already
employed, either working asfarmers, working in light
industry or their ownbusinesses.
They weren't going to leave whatthey were doing, where they were
making good money to comepopulate these mills.
(13:45):
And so when the Bostonassociates were putting this
whole thing together, theyspecifically targeted the young
middle girl or the young workingage women of farming
communities.
And they did that for a fewreasons.
One, they realized, Hey, we areweaving.
If anyone knows how to createcloth and finish it guess what?
(14:08):
The women are typically the onesdoing that in their own homes,
in their own communities.
So we don't have to do as muchtraining, we just have to train
them on how to use a power loomversus a manual loom.
Another reason a lot of thesefarmers, if they had large
families and they had multipledaughters, their daughters
(14:28):
weren't going to be employedvery easily outside of the
domestic sphere, They ended upbeing more of an extra mouth to
feed.
Unless they were teaching ormaybe working at a smaller
manufacturing in their hometownthey were just sitting around
doing a few chores and justwasting space.
(14:48):
it, Was the reality of the time,especially coming out of the
industrial revolution where weare trying to build our own
revenue.
So we give them an opportunityto bring them out of the house.
We give them a way to stillsupport their family because a
lot of these young girls,they're probably going to send
the majority of their incomehome to their families to help
(15:09):
feed them or maybe send theirbrothers to university or
college.
And then, when they're ready toget married, they'll go home,
start their own families, andthen we'll bring in a new batch.
They were targeting young womentypically between the ages of 15
and 35.
If you want to get married, youcan go get married.
If you want to go work, you cango work without any extra
(15:31):
paperwork.
Remember these communities,these are rural communities for
the most part.
And the idea of a city versus asmaller rural community, that
could be a little scary, And soit can be a little scary because
I have eyes on you here at home,I can't watch you there.
know, women can't walk around.
Missy Rentz (15:52):
And they can't have bank accounts and they can't
live alone, but they thoughtabout that.
Aubrey Brown (15:57):
They did think about that.
And so that's the other uniquepart of this city is that.
In order to get their parents,to allow them to come to the
city to work, they set up theboarding house system.
I would compare it to a dormroom, where you have a place
where you're living, you havemeals that are provided for you.
(16:18):
Some campuses even have likehouse mothers or your ra, your
residential assistant.
They are the unofficial head ofthe household, and so they told.
The women and they told theirfamilies that, okay, when they
come to Lowell, we will makesure that they are fed.
We will make sure that they havea roof over their head.
(16:40):
we will make sure that theyremain morally responsible, that
they're not going out about thetown uns chaperoned they will be
in bed at this time.
They were going to be taken careof by a woman, the boarding
housekeeper and her family.
So it was like this unofficialfamily unit that you have in
place.
And that really provided anopportunity for large numbers of
(17:05):
women to come here and gain alittle bit of independence that
they would not have hadelsewhere.
Missy Rentz (17:12):
Okay.
And then I wanna pivot a littlebit because then the war, world
War II happens
Aubrey Brown (17:17):
Yes.
Missy Rentz (17:18):
this the mills played an important part in it.
We mentioned in the fun factsthat kind of everything ceased,
but this was an contributor tothe war
Aubrey Brown (17:27):
Very much the industry here in the city of
Lowell was set up for textilemanufacturing specifically for
cotton.
But then as time went on, therewere some deviations into other
types of fibers, including silk.
Nylon so much effort going tosupporting the war.
And again, what do your soldiersneed?
(17:47):
They need clothes They're goingto wear through their clothes
very fast.
So instead of making towels ordrapes or flannel blankets or
anything like that, it was like,okay we're gonna start making
canvas for all of their rucksacks, their durable clothing,
their hats, what have you.
We're also going to make plentyof parachute.
(18:09):
We can make miles and miles ofparachute cloth and send that on
its way.
With World War II and producingfabric of various types for the
war effort, that helped keepLowell relevant, it helped keep
people here at home all theamenities they needed to keep
(18:30):
them clothed and fed a roof overtheir head.
But it wasn't going to lastafter, World War ii, you have
globalization taking place andthat was really the end of the
end.
Missy Rentz (18:41):
And it seems like for the war, they had set
themselves up because they had aproject that was gonna be
needed.
They had a labor that wasn'tdependent on the men that were
going to war.
And so it really did setthemselves up for success during
that time.
The other piece I wanna touch onis because of the time that this
was taking place.
(19:01):
There was a lot of activismtaking place and women's rights,
and migrant rights and, therights of the slaves and all
this stuff was taking place.
And this town, Lowell, played amajor role in that.
Aubrey Brown (19:14):
It really did.
And I have a walking tour that Ido that is called Building
Independence, and it's lookingat the various institutions
that.
Grew up in Lowell to meet theneeds of these mill girls and
gave them the opportunity tobuild their own independence The
Lowell Savings Institutionallowed them to not only save
(19:36):
their money, but slowly buildinterest on that.
Then you had libraries that werepopping up.
You had places where they couldwrite creatively or political
writing even where you have theLowell offering.
It started out as just this funlittle thing for the middle
girls to do in the eveningsafter work.
(19:57):
They started to write and sharetheir own stories.
True or fictional, write poetry.
And then they came up with thisidea to collect it all and.
Distribute it first throughoutthe city, it was called the
Lowell Offering.
Eventually that spread to otherneighboring areas.
People in New York could get asubscription to the Lowell
offering.
(20:17):
These are writings by the millgirls for themselves just to
express their creativity.
With the Lowell offering, it wasstill partially sponsored by the
mill owners.
So ultimately, if the millowners didn't like what you're
writing, it's not gonna show up.
But on the opposite side ofthat, you have another journal
(20:38):
called The Voice of Industry.
And now the voice of industrywas where you could say exactly
what you wanted to say.
You could have your own opinion.
But with the voice of industry,it was established by the
working class.
For the working class, and it'svoice was heard across the
(20:59):
country.
Any topic was up for discussion,whether it was religion, war,
slavery temperance.
one of my favorite quotes I havefound in the voice of industry.
This is really snarky and I loveit, but it's if you invite me
out for ice cream, don't assumethat it is because I want your
(21:23):
company.
My wish I had the full quote,but just so even small
commentary like that gives you asense of.
How they valued themselves, notjust as workers, but as people.
And so with all of this, youhave the perfect environment for
(21:44):
things like activism to grow.
Missy Rentz (21:47):
Yes.
And I think that's evident whenyou visit the park, because
there's so many stories thathave been captured.
Not only just like writtenstories, but also some video
stories of people.
And it does such a nice job, andthat really naturally leads us
to planning a trip to the parkand to visit.
What do you recommend is thefirst step when somebody says,
I'm coming to Lowell.
Aubrey Brown (22:07):
When you come to Lowell, I always recommend you
start at the visitor center.
that's where you're going to getdirected.
To anywhere from the park oranything you want to do at the
park.
Whether you come with just a, Ihave no idea why I am here to,
I'm interested in this specifictopic.
We have answers for you.
We can tell you where to go,directions on how to walk
(22:28):
through the city to meet yourneeds.
For me, the number one thingthat I recommend for everyone to
do you have to go to the BootCotton Mills Museum.
We have a room, it's the weavingroom, and we have almost 90
looms that are set up in thereand we have them operating.
Missy Rentz (22:47):
is so
Aubrey Brown (22:48):
You get to see these machines running and it is
loud.
And usually we only run maybenine to 15 of the looms at a
time.
Not the full 90.
Not the full 200 that would'vebeen there.
And it's still very loud It's awhole sensory experience.
You can feel the vibrations, youhear the noise, you can smell
(23:08):
the cotton and the leather andthe oil.
Missy Rentz (23:11):
And they're making dishcloths that you can buy.
Aubrey Brown (23:14):
Right?
And one thing I forgot tomention about the Boston
Associates, they're all friends.
You're not gonna compete againstyour friend, right?
So at the boot Cotton Mills,they specialized in cloth made
for dish towels for draperies,more utilitarian type of cloth.
At the Suffolk Mill, theyspecialized in denim in flannel
(23:36):
at the Merrimack Mill, they'vespecialized in cord, right?
Like they didn't wanna competeagainst each other.
And also attributing to thisidea of activism is the fact
that.
Because they didn't wannacompete against each other.
Every single mill paid theirworkers the same rate, no matter
their skill.
(23:58):
And so you can't poach the goodworkers.
But so at the boot Cotton Mills,because it was a more
utilitarian type of cloth, we domake replicas of the patterns
that were used right here in theboot cotton mills.
So you get to see the looms allset up and you get to see
reproductions of what wasactually coming out of this
(24:21):
specific mill.
If you're lucky, you can stillfind boot towels out there
Missy Rentz (24:26):
That's fun.
And we, at least when I did thetour there, there was somebody
who was running the machine.
We were the only people in theroom at that moment.
he kinda stopped and talked tous and explained everything that
was going on.
And then you continue on and youget to the point where it is
more of that traditional museumwhere it's the stories and the
pictures and the examples of theclothing and all of that sort of
(24:48):
stuff.
And that was such a greatexperience.
a step back in time.
And then the next stop for us onthe trip was a boarding house.
You actually have one of theboarding houses opened a tour.
Aubrey Brown (25:01):
There are very few boarding houses that still
remain in the city, and so weare fortunate that we have one
of those boarding houses thatwe've been able to recreate.
I will say the exterior, Theframework of the building, the
foundation, the walls, it wasall there, but we had to step
back in time and recreate thefacade because over time it had
(25:23):
just been made unrecognizable byadditions But inside you, it's
very modern, I would say.
When you step in, you walk in,you go down a ramp, and it's
just like you're in some generichallway.
There's nothing that screams,ooh, a boarding house until you
(25:43):
go around the corner and youenter the boarding house and you
get to see a setup of what itwould've been like, what your
room would've been like as ayoung girl coming in here,
Probably full-size beds crammedvery close together, just enough
room to walk between them andaround them.
A writing desk, you get to seethe kitchen where the boarding
(26:06):
housekeeper would've preparedthe meals, and it really is,
it's a step back in time andunderstanding a little more
intimately what it meant toleave your family to come here
and find a new family in a lotof ways.
And you would have two girls perbed.
And not even someone, like Igrew up I would share the same
(26:27):
bed with my sisters from time totime, But to share a bed with a
perfect stranger,
Missy Rentz (26:31):
yeah.
Aubrey Brown (26:31):
I dunno, in close quarters,
Missy Rentz (26:33):
so you have the mill, the visitor center, the
boarding house.
When you look at the map it's alot of property.
There's a lot of outside,there's stuff down by the river.
What can people do?
Is it just a walking andexploring opportunity?
Aubrey Brown (26:45):
I would say Lowell definitely is more of a walking
and exploring opportunity.
So we are very fortunate to have5.6 miles of our canals.
So number wise, we have most ofour canals still in existence.
And we have walkways along thosecanals.
So you can walk along thecanals, you can see how the
(27:09):
water was directed to these oldmill buildings, and it is an
opportunity to.
Experience the city very muchlike the early inhabitants did.
Another thing that made Lowellunique is the fact that they
wanted every part of it to be anenjoyable experience for the
people who came.
(27:29):
And so part of that a lot of theBoston associates were amateur
horticulturists, and they wantedto have the opportunity for
people to walk and take theirleisure around the canal.
So you have little strips ofparks available alongside of'em.
Missy Rentz (27:44):
Great green space.
Aubrey Brown (27:45):
You get to walk the waterways, you get to be
surrounded by these large millbuildings, and the majority of
the park is free to enjoy.
Even the walking tours that Imentioned that we do, we offer
walking tours.
We offer trolley rides frompoint A to point B where you can
get on a replication of ahistoric trolley and take it
(28:07):
from the visitor center to theBoot Cotton Mills Museum
Missy Rentz (28:10):
it makes it accessible'cause it is very
spread out and I think you madethe point of it's really
immersed into the city and itreally is.
You almost, just unless you'relooking for it, you don't know
what's like the city normal andwhat's part Yeah.
Do you think there's a specifictime of year you recommend
people coming to visit?
Aubrey Brown (28:29):
So during the summer is probably the peak
season for us because we have alot more available for you to
explore because the weather'snice and it, is a very much
walking outdoor type of park Butin addition to that, not just
typically better weather, wehave our canal boat tours where
you get to get on a boat, youget to go up the original
(28:51):
Pawtucket Canal and learn with aRanger, what that was like.
Every ranger we create our ownprograms.
You're gonna get somethingdifferent from me than you get
from Ranger Claire or RangerNadia or Ranger Jacob.
It's, you could take the boatride with every single ranger
and still get a differentexperience.
So for me, I take a little morein depth look at, I.
(29:13):
The behind the scenes of thiscity, where, yeah, the mills,
they're important, the workersare important, but it's a city
and you have to have so manysupporting players in order to
maintain the city.
So that's what I do on my tours.
I'm also known as the musicalRanger, so you might get a
little sa and dance but you havethe canal boat tours, which
(29:33):
that, that does cost to go onthe canal, boat tours.
But if you wanna take a tour tothe Suffolk Mill where you can
see a turbine, and you get tobreak down the turbine and
really see how the water wastransformed into power, because
we weren't generatingelectricity with the water
power.
That's where our brains todaygoes.
Oh, water wheels and turbines,they're making electricity to
(29:55):
run these mills.
No, it was pure kinetic energy,just that force of water, that
32 foot drop that allowed thatwater to move the wheels, to
move the turbines, to move 4, 5,6 floors of machinery to make
these meals work.
There is a small fee to go intothe Boot Cotton Mills Museum as
well to help us maintain ourhistoric looms.
(30:18):
They are old, we wanna treatthem with love.
You can check our website orsocial media for updates, but we
do have a limited availabilityto take a boat ride on the
Merrimack River.
You get to go on the parks,pontoon boat and experience the
river with a Ranger.
Missy Rentz (30:33):
And Lowell is not far from Boston.
It's a great opportunity andit's in a city.
So from a lodging perspective,there's not lodging in the park.
But you're in a city and it's agreat stop if you're in Boston
and looking for something to do,just to get outside of the city
and visit Lowell.
I.
Get excited thinking about it.
I always get a Christmasornament and for Lowell I got
(30:56):
one of the bobbins, the longspindly bobbin Every Christmas I
put it on thinking about thatexperience.
It was just so much fun.
And I think people will enjoyit.
Just the cultural history, thetime in American history that it
took place.
And the impact I think is justfascinating to see how some
things, history repeats itselfand, to see what have we
(31:17):
learned, what have we notlearned about history,
Aubrey Brown (31:19):
And no matter where you stand on the history
platform, whether you enjoyhistory, you don't enjoy
history, there's plenty here.
That is not just history, it'sengineering it's culture, it's
food, it's everything There'snothing you can't find to
satisfy every single person inyour party.
Missy Rentz (31:39):
I agree with you.
Aubrey, what else do you thinkare must sees when people come
to visit the park?
Aubrey Brown (31:46):
even though we are predominantly an industrial
history park, there are so manyother things that we have to
offer that's build on top ofthat.
So the social history of thecity is very much.
Defined by all the immigrantcommunities that came to Lowell
because we have these mills andthis manufacturing opportunity
(32:10):
for them.
And after the mill girls, theystarted their own activism and
said, yeah, we're worth morethan what you're paying us.
Then all of a sudden you haveempty spots to fill.
So you bring in the Irishcommunity and then the French
Canadians come down to work inthe mills.
And then you have the Greeks whocome.
You have the Polish, you havethe Columbian, you have the
(32:33):
Cambodian, and all of a suddenyou have this entire vibrant
city with their own littlecommunities.
But they're all melding togetherand it's a beautiful thing to
see.
And that's all encapsulated inthe one city Mini cultures
exhibit, also in the MoganCultural Center with the, into
an 1840s boarding house exhibit.
And it takes you on a journeyfrom.
(32:56):
The earliest days to thepresent.
And not only that, but it showsthat even though each culture is
so different in many ways, thebasics of humanity, they're all
the same.
You get to explore the clothing,the food ways traditions that
may be different, but all harkenback to the same basic human
(33:20):
desires.
So that's one thing I reallyenjoy.
Missy Rentz (33:24):
So we finish every episode with a speed round of
questions, and the idea is justto answer the first thing that
comes to What is your earliestpark memory?
Aubrey Brown (33:33):
My earliest park memory is a trip that my family
took to Mammoth Cave NationalPark.
Grew up in Ohio and mammoth Cavewas right there.
We were not a National Parkfamily, like we just didn't go
to national parks, but MammothCave, it's cool.
I very distinctly rememberdescending down into this cave.
I thought we did the entirecave.
No, we did maybe a mile of the400 plus miles of mammoth cave,
(33:58):
but for me, we did the wholecave.
Missy Rentz (33:59):
What made you love the parks?
Aubrey Brown (34:02):
Honestly, it's the Rangers because the parks do
speak for themselves, whetherit's a natural park or
historical park, but having theopportunity to talk to a ranger
who knows some of those hiddenstories, who knows how to help
you connect to those places.
And it's not just theinterpretive rangers that give
you the tours and give you theprograms.
(34:23):
Even the maintenance workers,they have their own stories and
they can share their ownexperiences with you.
And just being able to makethose connections because these
natural and cultural nationalpark units, it doesn't matter
unless you have that humanconnection.
And so the park rangers, theygive you that human connection.
Missy Rentz (34:44):
What is your favorite thing about Lowell
National Historical Park?
Aubrey Brown (34:49):
Honestly, my favorite thing about Lowell
National Historical Park is thefact that there is so much here.
I'm never bored.
I'm constantly finding newthings to research, new things
to take deep dives into.
if I had to give a favoritething that a visitor can
experience, I'm gonna say for meit's the Suffolk Mill tour,
because seeing the power loomsoperating and everything, that's
(35:13):
great.
you get to dig down deep intothe guts of these mills to see
exactly how ingenuity they werein manufacturing.
So I'm not an engineer, but Ilike to know things.
that gives me the opportunity toreally wrap my head around this
whole city.
Missy Rentz (35:32):
What park have you yet to visit, but it's on your
bucket list and why?
Aubrey Brown (35:37):
So I am a social historian.
I started out in archeologybefore switching over to
history, and I am very muchinterested in social
institutions that were createdin the 19th century.
Things like poor houses.
I'm a specialist in poor houses,Orphanages, hospitals just these
(35:57):
topics that are set asidebecause they're a little
unsavory for a lot of people.
So the park that I just wannavisit is Klau Papa in Hawaii on
the island of Molokai.
And that is it's a active.
Community, which is one of thefew national parks that has an
active community there.
(36:18):
But this is where from in the19th century, even up until the
1950s people were sent to thisremote location for leprosy and
not really to cure leprosy, justto shove them away because there
was no cure at the time.
They didn't know that.
Yeah, it is a preventable thing.
(36:39):
And so I would love to go toKalua Papa to see how they first
set up the community but also tolearn the people who were sent
there, how they survived, howthey passed their days.
And even today you have peoplewho are either were sent there
for leprosy or are descendantsof families that were sent
(37:01):
there.
And that's just a part ofhistory that I think we need to
appreciate a little more.
And
Missy Rentz (37:08):
What, three must haves do you pack for a park
visit?
Aubrey Brown (37:12):
Water snacks, and very good walking shoes.
Whether you're hiking a mountainor walking downtown, you gotta
have good footwear.
Missy Rentz (37:23):
What is your favorite campfire activity?
Aubrey Brown (37:26):
Here at Lowell we don't really have a campfire
activity like you might get atother parks.
But for me at other parks I'vebeen to that have evening
programs or campfire talks, Ilike to learn more about the
nightlife, whether it'sastronomy or animals that are
native to the area and how theyexist at night.
Just having the opportunity tobe immersed in.
(37:48):
A time where normally we'reshuttered in our homes and being
able to be outside andexperiencing whatever nature,
natural or manmade is available.
Missy Rentz (37:58):
Are you a tent, camper, or cabin person
Aubrey Brown (38:01):
I love to be in a tent.
I just feel like I am in acocoon.
It's like this, I'm in nature,but I still have that nice
little protective barrier.
But there's nothing like hearingthe zipper in the morning when
you unzip it, the z andinstantly you're there.
Missy Rentz (38:19):
And are you hiking with or without trekking poles?
Aubrey Brown (38:23):
It depends on the terrain.
If I'm just walking on fairlylevel surfaces, usually no
trekking poles.
But I do find that they are verybeneficial, especially if
you're, walking on variedterrain, especially steep
inclines up or down.
They just provide a little extrastability.
And I am one of those people Icannot walk without looking
(38:45):
around and I get distracted.
And so the trekking poles dohelp me when I need to be paying
a little more attention to myfooting instead of what's around
me.
Missy Rentz (38:55):
What is your favorite trail snack?
Aubrey Brown (38:57):
So my favorite trail snack, I have to go with
roasted chickpeas and driedfruit.
It's a good salty, sweetcombination.
Missy Rentz (39:07):
What is your favorite animal sighting?
Aubrey Brown (39:10):
My favorite animal siding.
This is tough so I guess yourstandard animal sighting would
be, I saw a mountain lion when Iworked at Carlsbad Catherine's
National Park, I was drivingoutta the park and this mountain
lion just casually crossed theroad as I was driving outta the
park after a night sky program.
So that was pretty wild.
I had to really second guesswhat I saw, but I could not
(39:34):
debunk it.
I'm like, yeah.
And I asked some of the rangerswho had been there longer said,
oh yeah.
Was it at mile three?
Oh yeah.
It was a mountain lion.
Multiple people had seen themountain lion at mile three.
But I guess my favorite wildlife encounter experience, I
have to go back to CarlsbadCaverns and watching the bat
flight.
You have thousands of bats justbillowing out of the cave.
(39:58):
And to be able to be there andjust hear it, smell it, it's an
incredible experience.
Missy Rentz (40:05):
What is your favorite sound in the park
Aubrey Brown (40:09):
Okay, this is gonna be weird but we have an
electrical panel that you haveto click on to open up the
boarding house and it goes ping,ping.
So I like the pings but I guessmy favorite sound that's not
weird and random that anyone canexperience.
I love when those looms turn on.
I just love the rhythm.
(40:29):
I dance to it every time.
So we'll go with the looms
Missy Rentz (40:33):
what's the greatest gifts that parks give to us?
Aubrey Brown (40:36):
wonder.
No matter where you are, they'regoing to give you wonder and
curiosity and just makes youstep outside of your own little
bubble to realize that there ismuch more out there and that
there is, there are things thatare worth protecting.
(40:59):
Because they are not limitless.
There is, they're finiteresources that could easily
disappear, whether it is thenatural land or whether it is
the mills.
At any point in time this couldall go away.
And so that wonder that you'releft with it's what makes it all
(41:20):
worthwhile.
Missy Rentz (41:22):
Aubrey, thank you so much for sharing your time
and your passion and theexperience of Lowell.
It's a pleasure to talk.
To you today.
Aubrey Brown (41:32):
It was such a pleasure to talk with you today
as well, and I thank you fordoing what you do because our
national parks, they are foreveryone.
But now that I am a part ofthat, I can see just how much I
missed.
By not having that experience.
And so I wish that for everyone.
These parks are for everybody.
Missy Rentz (41:50):
Thank you and thanks everybody for listening.
Until next time, we'll see youin the parks.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed today's episode,please be sure to like and share
on your favorite podcastplatform.
Music for the parks podcast isperformed and produced by Porter
Hardy.
For more information, pleasefollow us on Instagram at the
(42:11):
parks podcast.
Or visit ourwebsite@theparkspodcast.com.
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