Pawtucket Falls, Waterfall on Merrimack River, Lowell, Massachusetts.
Pawtucket Falls is a waterfall on the Merrimack River in Lowell that drops about 32 feet and extends across roughly a mile. The water flows through multiple channels of the river, creating a striking system of rapids and water courses.
The waterfall was crucial in the early 1800s to the founding of Lowell as America's first planned factory town. The water power from the falls drove the mills and made the location a center of the textile industry.
The name comes from an Algonkin language and refers to a tidal stream location where the Pennacook people once fished. This site held deep importance as a food source for the communities living here.
The waterfall can be viewed year-round from an adjacent bridge, which provides a good vantage point. Water flow is strongest during spring snowmelt and after heavy summer storms.
The waterfall played an unexpected role in determining the border between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, resolved through a territorial dispute in 1740. This geographic location became an anchor point in a significant colonial-era conflict.
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