Mill Talk: ALMOST A RIOT—Irish Labor & Working Conditions on the Canals & Railroads presented by Kate Viens, PhD, Dir. of Education, Charles River Museum
IN-PERSON REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS FULL
This Mill Talk will also be livestreamed on our YouTube Channel
Proof of vaccination and face masks required.
It’s Francis Cabot Lowell’s birthday! Join us at the 1814 mill site where Lowell and his peers pioneered the integrated cotton manufacturing that served as the model for the Lowell, MA industry. Learn what it was like to build the canals and early railroads, and how Irish workers rose up to challenge low wages and unsafe working conditions. Their experiences gave these men and their families an enduring place in American life.
This MILL TALK is part of a regional series of events:
The Irish Canal Builders
Wednesday, March 9 – Sunday, April 24
at various museums
Our museum is pleased to participate in a weeks-long series of events to commemorate the April 6 bicentennial of the arrival of the first Irish in Lowell. Led by Hugh Cummiskey, this group of workers was responsible for digging the canals that would power the new mills, dramatically expanding of the textile industry launched here in Waltham.
Events include a talk by Brian Mitchell, author of The Paddy Camps: The Irish of Lowell, 1821-1861 (sponsored by St. Patrick’s Parish); a Middlesex Canal walk, bike tour, and discussion of the novel This Enchanted Land: Middlesex Village (at the Middlesex Canal Museum); and “Lowell Talks: The Irish Canal Builders,” a panel conversation including the museum’s Director of Education, Kate Viens (Lowell National Historical Park).
For details, visit the websites for St. Patrick’s Parish (lowellirish.weebly.com), the Middlesex Canal Museum (www.middlesexcanal.org), and Lowell National Historic Park (www.nps.gov/lowe/).
This Mill Talk will also be livestreamed on our YouTube Channel
The Mill Talks at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation are free and open to the public and are made possible by the generous support of the Lowell Institute.
