Check It Out @ Your Library
Art Cloth by Call Number: 929.2 Bumgardner NCCISBN: 9781596681958Publication Date: 2010-07-27North Carolina Collection; non-circulating.- Edgewood Cemetery, Lowell, North Carolina, Gaston County byCall Number: 929.5 EDG NCCPublication Date: 1998North Carolina Collection; non-circulating.
- Peeks at the past [DVD] byCall Number: HISTORY PEE DVDPublication Date: c20143 Copies at Tech@Lowell Branch.
- The Lion : class of 1947 Lowell High SchoolCall Number: 929.2 LIO NCCPublication Date: 1997Includes a reprint of the High School yearbook, 50th Reunion Committee added materials: photographs, current directory of surviving students, biographical sketches, In Memoriam, etc.
North Carolina Collection; non-circulating. - Telling our stories in Gaston, an oral history project: Lowell Branch Library [videorecording]Call Number: HISTORY TEL DVDPublication Date: c1996Remembrances of community life in Lowell, Ranlo, Cramerton and McAdenville are presented in speech as well as music.
Lowell
See TopoQuest map.
See current census information.
Official city City of Lowell on Facebook.
The first named point where Lowell now stands was Wright's Station on the Atlanta & Air Line, built in 1872, and named after a nearby farmer, William Wright. It served several mills as well as area farmers. Lowell was incorporated on February 10, 1879 and named after the northern textile town of Lowell, Massachusetts. Caleb J. Lineberger was made the first temporary mayor to serve until May 1 when his successor was to be elected. It was incorporated a second time on March 9, 1889 and, as done before, a temporary mayor, J. D. Ragan, was to hold office until May 1, election day. The General Assembly passed a bill with detailed amendments to the charter on February 13, 1909.
With the construction of four mills, the Lowell Cotton Mills in 1901, the Peerless Manufacturing Company in 1906, Lowell Cotton Mill No. 2 in 1907, and, eventually, the Art Cloth Mills in 1922, Lowell, suiting its name, became another textile town.
Lowell population figures are given as 35 in 1880 and "over 200" in 1890.
- 1890- -- no count; 1900 -- 290; 1910 -- 876;
- 1920 -- 1,151; 1930 -- 1,664; 1940 -- 1,880;
- 1950 -- 2,313; 1960 -- 2,776+8; 1970 -- 3,049+258;
- 2010- -- 3,526.
Lowell Historical Resources:
- Lowell North Carolina celebrates its 100th Birthday 1879-1979, [a flyer], (pub. 1979), call #: 975.677 Low NCC
- Proposal of the 1924 Lowell Teacherage, October, 2005, call #: 371 Pro NCC
- History of Gastonia and Gaston County, by Robert Allison Ragan (pub. 2010), call #: 975.677 Rag NCC, especially p. 569-572.]
- Gaston County Heritage, Volume 1 – 2002, p. 286-287, call #: 975.677 Gas NCC v. 1.
- For city directory listings that include Lowell, see our guide City Directories.
See also:
Historic Photos: Lowell Branch Library 1960 New!
Lowell History Items
Available at the Lowell Community Center
505 W 1st St.
704-824-3518
- 1879 Charter establishing the town
- Lowell Mayors and Council 1879-2017
- Timeline of Lowell Events, as well as NC, US, and worldwide 1879-2017
- Lowell in 1879 / Peek at the Past
- Census for Lowell from 1880 (52); 1900 (289); 1920 (1066); 1940 (1811) and index of names.
- Also some genealogical information
- Master list of indexed names from all sources (6370)
- Occupations listed for Lowell in censuses.
- Histories of some of Lowell's churches
- Histories of Lowell schools
- Copies of 8 patent applications from Lowell residents
- 2014 list of military veterans from Lowell including theatre of war;
- some buried in Edgewood Cemetery.
- Database of Lowell businesses -- 118 firms
- 170 books, documents, newspaper articles, letters, etc.
- Holbrook High Yearbooks for 1942; 1947; 1948; 1965; 1966; 1967; 1968; 1982
- 191 photographs with 70% subjects/individuals identified
- 78 miscellaneous artifacts including family histories, scrapbooks, maps and plats