Industry and Innovation Tour: Manufacturing the Modern World A Gallery Tour

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about include the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

Mill Talk: Levi’s®: The Youngest Oldest Brand in the World

presented by Tracey Panek, Historian & Director of Archives, Levi Strauss & Co.

FREE to the public, REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Join the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation for a captivating Mill Talk on the history of Levi Strauss & Co., the invention of the modern blue jean, or riveted denim pant, and how a historic American brand continues to stay relevant today. Tracey Panek, Historian and Director of Archives at Levi Strauss & Co., will explore how this American brand, founded by an immigrant during the California Gold Rush, revolutionized fashion and became a global icon.

This talk is especially fitting at the Charles River Museum, the site of Francis Cabot Lowell’s first cotton textile mill, where America’s industrial revolution transformed fabric production and laid the foundation for the mass manufacturing of textiles—including the denim used to create the first Levi’s® blue jeans. Discover how industrial ingenuity, and a patented innovation, shaped what we wear today and helped define American culture.

Speaker Bio: Tracey Panek is the Historian for Levi Strauss & Co. and Director of Archives at the company’s world headquarters in San Francisco. She manages the day-to-day workings of the Levi Strauss & Co. Archives as a key corporate asset, answering historical questions, assisting designers, brand managers, executives and other employees whose work requires historical materials in the Archives. She regularly hunts for unique vintage Levi’s® garments and unusual Levi’s® items to add to the Archives.

Tracey is a contributor to Unzipped, the company’s blog, writing about company history, vintage Levi’s® garments, and behind-the-scenes work in the Archives. She narrates the video series From the Levi’s® Archives on YouTube and From the Levi’s® Archives on TikTok. Tracey is the media spokesperson for Levi Strauss & Co. heritage.

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.

Industry and Innovation Tour:
From Bale to Bolt

Come see an evolution of a historic textile mill

Curious about the old mill complex by the river? Discover the history and architecture of the world’s first modern factory, the 1813 Boston Manufacturing Company, which lies right in your own backyard!

Take a walk by the river in the fresh air. Then have a delicious lunch at one of Waltham’s local eateries.  

It all starts at the Charles River Museum.

Where:
Tours begin overlooking the river beneath the Charles River Museum smokestack. Follow signs from Landry Park off of Moody Street or the footbridge behind Embassy parking. We meet outside our Visitor Entrance.

Directions and Parking Info HERE 

We look forward to seeing you there!

The optimal size for this tour is up to 20 persons.
Groups are welcome to contact the museum to arrange a private tour.         

Mill Talk: The Greater Boston School of Harpsichord Building

Mill Talk: “The Greater Boston School of Harpsichord Building”

Opening: “Rediscovering Waltham’s Harpsichord History” Special Exhibition

(6:00 PM Exhibit Opening, 7:00 PM Discussion)

presented by Mark Kroll, Professor Emeritus, Boston University

FREE to the Public, Registration Required

Join us for the kickoff of our very special exhibition, Rediscovering Waltham’s Harpsichord History, which will examine the story of Frank and Diane Hubbard, founders and operators of Hubbard Harpsichords manufacturers of instruments and kits for almost 50 years. Through their work, Greater Boston became a center of the revivial of the harpsichord as an instrument and Early Music as a genre. Mark Kroll has written the definitive book on chronicling this important period of music history and collected dozens of firsthand accounts of the principal players, workers, and artisans associated with the ‘Big Three’ harpsichord shops in Greater Boston – Hubbard in Waltham, William Dowd and Eric Herz, both in Cambridge.

Kroll will give a talk that sets the context in which the Hubbards’ shop at the Lyman Estate carriage house expanded to the old Cotton Picker Building of the Boston Manufacturing Factory site on Moody Street. Hubbard Harpsichords pioneered the use of DIY kits that became popular in the 1960s and 70s, many of which were built in this mill complex.

This Mill Talk marks the grand opening of Rediscovering Waltham’s Harpsichord History, a special exhibition on the artisanship, industry, and art of designing and building harpsichords, exemplified by those of the Hubbard shop. This three-month exhibition will include a full harpsichord, wood-bending frames, tools and materials of the trade, and imagery from the Hubbard shop that centers the workers who created instruments and kits for decades on site. Over the course of its installation, the program will include music, informational talks, panel discussions, and other special events to bring this almost-forgotten part of Waltham’s and Greater Boston’s music history back to the forefront.

March 22, 2025: Mark Kroll performs chamber music concert at the Charles River Museum (free, registration required) (supported in part by the Waltham Cultural Council)

Speaker Bio: Professor emeritus Mark Kroll, Boston University:
Mark Kroll’s distinguished career as a performer, scholar and educator spans a period of more than fifty years. He has appeared in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia as a recitalist and chamber musician, winning critical praise for his expressive playing and virtuosity. He has also performed as concerto soloist with the world’s major orchestras and served as harpsichordist for the Boston Symphony from 1979-2008. Kroll’s extensive list of recordings includes the music of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Biber, Duphly, Balbastre, Royer, Schubert, and Hummel; a 10-disc set of the complete pièces de clavecin of François Couperin; critically acclaimed CDs of contemporary harpsichord music; and Dutilleux’s Les Citations with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players.

Equally active as a scholar, Kroll has published eight books— Bach, Handel and Scarlatti: Reception in Britain 1750-1850; The Cambridge Companion to the Harpsichord; Ignaz Moscheles and the Changing World of Musical Europe; Playing the Harpsichord Expressively; The Beethoven Violin Sonatas; Johann Nepomuk Hummel: A Musician and His World (a second edition and a Slovakian translation were published this year in Bratislava); The Boston School of Harpsichord Building; and an annotated facsimile of part III of J. N. Hummel’s piano treatise—plus numerous chapters and articles, and scholarly editions for Bärenreiter, Ut Orpheus and A-R Editions. His book, Contemporary Harpsichord Music Since 1900, is in preparation.

A dedicated educator, Kroll is Professor emeritus at Boston University, where he served for twenty-five years as Professor of Harpsichord and Chair of the Department of Historical Performance. He teaches and lectures worldwide and has been visiting professor and guest lecturer at Northeastern University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale and Princeton Universities, and others throughout the United States.

Links:
Mark Kroll: Personal Website
The Boston School of Harpsichord Building (2019) Edwin Mellen Press

March 22, 2025: Mark Kroll performs chamber music concert at the Charles River Museum (free, registration required) (supported in part by the Waltham Cultural Council)

Industry and Innovation Tour: Manufacturing the Modern World A Gallery Tour

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about include the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

Mill Talk: “Waltham on the Charles: Canoeing Capital of the World in the Early 1900s”

presented by Benson Gray

FREE to the public, Registration required

With a presentation display of three canoes in our collection – two HB Arnolds and one Robertson Racing Canoe

At the turn of the last century, Waltham was a hub of canoeing and canoe manufacturing at the intersection of athletics, recreation, and craftmanship. A new industrial working class developed in Waltham and surrounding areas as companies like Boston Manufacturing and Waltham Watch employed thousands of line workers. Along with industrialization, leisure activities gained popularity as these same workers looked to the river to relax, socialize, and have fun on the weekends. The weekend itself is a consequence of industrialization and the factory work week.

In Waltham, builders like HB Arnold, Waltham Canoe, and others were at work crafting, renting, and selling their canoes. Large boathouses, dancehalls, and canoe launches popped up all along the stretch of the Charles from Moody Street back up to Newton Upper Falls. Come, hear about the innovative canoe builders on the Charles and the new leisure working class they served.

On view as part of Benson’s talk will be three wonderful examples of period canoes – two that were crafted by the HB Arnold Company of Waltham, and a Robertson racing canoe built in Auburndale. Two of our canoes were recently and expertly restored by members of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association, Norumbega Branch.

Speaker Bio: Benson Gray grew up in Old Town, Maine, and has always loved canoes, so it was exciting to discover that many others shared an appreciation for these wonderful boats. His work with computers, combined with an interest in the history of canoes, has led to some fascinating collaborations. In the 1990s, he initiated a project to scan the Old Town Canoe Company catalogs, which later evolved into a much larger effort encompassing a variety of canoe manufacturers, with significant help from Dan Miller and others. His largest wooden canoe history project involved scanning most of the Old Town, Carleton, and Kennebec build records. These projects have made the history of canoes more accessible to everyone, but the true essence of an organization like the Charles River Museum lies in connecting people who share an interest in wooden canoes. 

Links:  Wooden Canoe Heritage Association

Maine Boats: "An Heirloom Canoe An Old Town family boat finds its way home" 

Industry and Innovation Tour: Making the Modern World A Gallery Tour

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about include the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

Mill Talk: “Kittie Knox, Cyclist”

and unveiling: “Kittie Knox in the Charles River Museum”

6:00 PM Unveiling, 7:00 PM Mill Talk

presented by Lorenz Finison

FREE TO THE PUBLIC Registration Required

Kittie Knox was a young biracial cyclist in the 1890s who fought against race-based limitations in America’s post-Reconstruction reaction against Black advancement. During her cycling career (1893 – 1899), she became a well-known century (100-mile) rider, protested the League of American Wheelmen’s color bar in 1895, and refused to conform to conventions about fast riding and wearing a long skirt while cycling. For decades after her untimely death, Knox’s groundbreaking story was virtually unknown outside of the world of cycling. Scholar and writer Larry Finison has worked to bring her remarkable life back to a wider audience and will speak about Kittie Knox in the context of the late 19th century cycling craze.

The Charles River Museum has long had a display of turn of the century bicycles to represent the Waltham Manufacturing Company of Charles Metz. Metz innovated and built bicycles, motorcycles, and cars, all under the Orient brand name. Alongside Major Taylor, Kittie Knox will have a prominent representation in our gallery as a pioneering figure in the early days of cycling history and having appeared here in Waltham at the Waltham Cycling Track in its heyday.

Speaker Bio: Lorenz “Larry” Finison

Larry Finison is a social psychologist by training and public health practitioner by profession and then turned to the social history of bicycling. He is the author of Boston's Cycling Craze, 1880-1900, Boston's 20th Century Bicycling Renaissance, and Bicycling Inclusion and Equity (2023). His most recent work is Kittie Knox: Exclusion and Inclusion in Boston’s Black Athletes: Identity, Performance, and Activism. He is also a friend to the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Bicycling History Collections Archives and a member of the New England Cycling Coalition for Diversity. Larry has done significant research in bringing the story of Kittie Knox’s life to a modern audience.

Industry and Innovation Tour: Making the Modern World A Gallery Tour

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about include the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age

Mill Talk: “Denim Culture: Past Present & Future”
and Screening: “Riveted: The History of Jeans” from PBS’s American Experience

(6:00 PM Screening, 7:00 PM Discussion)

presented by: Professor Emma McClendon, St. John’s University

Join us for a fascinating discussion on the past, present, and future of a ubiquitous fabric – denim. The Charles River Museum is at the site of Francis Cabot Lowell’s first cotton textile mill, and it was cotton manufacturing that powered the Industrial Revolution. Now, jeans are the iconic American fashion staple that almost all of us own. Fashion history professor, curator, and author Emma McClendon will join us as we screen the acclaimed PBS documentary, “Riveted: The History of Jeans.” The production features McClendon and other experts tracing the history and culture of jeans, and their place in American’s self-image.

Then, Emma McClendon will engage in an interactive discussion about where she sees the future of jeans as a fashion item, utilitarian garment, and manufactured product. She has a special interest in the sustainability of denim production, and the ways in which jeans have become not just clothing, but a way of expressing individuality and identity. This is sure to be a thought-provoking conversation around an article of clothing that, at any given moment, literally half of the planet’s population is wearing.

Speaker Bio: Emma McClendon, St. John’s University

Emma McClendon is Assistant Professor of Fashion Studies at St. John’s University in New York and author of Denim: Fashion’s Frontier (2016). While Associate Curator at The Museum at FIT from 2011-2020, she curated numerous critically acclaimed fashion history exhibitions including “Power Mode: The Force of Fashion” (2019), “The Body: Fashion and Physique” (2017) and “Denim: Fashion’s Frontier” (2015). She holds an MA Hons. in Art History from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and an MA in the History of Dress from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

She is currently completing her PhD at the Bard Graduate Center for decorative arts, design history, and material culture in New York City. Her research focuses on the power dynamics inherent in clothing with a particular interest in body politics, labor, technology, and standardized sizing. Recent publications include Power Mode: The Force of Fashion (Skira, 2019) and the forthcoming (Re)Dressing American Fashion: Wear as Witness (Yale, March 2025).

Links:

Denim: Fashion's Frontier (2016) Yale University Press
(Re)Dressing American Fashion: Wear as Witness | Yale University Press
Online Exhibition: Denim: Fashion's Frontier
Emma McClendon, St. John’s University – Jeans: Universal and Unsustainable
The Washington Post: Denim is getting weird again

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.

Tips and donations are encouraged, but not required.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! We are looking for more people to volunteer to help repair goods, help with administration, or help direct people where to go. I will send an initial email to volunteers later this week.

FAQ: https://www.walthamrc.org/faq
Volunteer sign up: https://www.walthamrc.org/volunteer
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/walthamrc

Mill Talk: Tariffs and Trade, Then and Now

THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT
FREE to the public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Presented by:
Professor Bryan Snyder,
Bentley University
Professor Lawrence Peskin,
Morgan State University

In 1816, Francis Cabot Lowell was in Washington DC lobbying Congress to pass the first protectionist tariff in American history. In the aftermath of the War of 1812, the burgeoning cotton textile industry he had fought so hard to build was imperiled by the cheap dumping of British imports. By building a coalition between Northern industrialists and Southern plantation owners, Lowell was successful in arguing that tariffs would ensure that American domestic manufacturing should be protected, and that the federal government’s trade policy had a duty to so.

Now, tariffs are back in the political conversation, and the efforts around the Tariff of 1816 and its consequences are as relevant as ever. Join us as we engage in a dynamic conversation connecting the past, present, and future of tariffs and trade policy and their effects. Economist Bryan Snyder and historian Larry Peskin will draw lessons from American history to inform our understanding of economic policy today.

Speaker Bio: Lawrence Peskin, Morgan State University

Lawrence Peskin is a professor of History at Morgan State University in Baltimore. He specializes in antebellum political economy and has written extensively on pro-manufacturing protectionism, most recently on American business and diplomacy in the Mediterranean. His books include Manufacturing Revolution: The Intellectual Origins of American Industry (Johns Hopkins University Press; Matthew Carey, The New Olive Branch (Anthem Press, editor); Three Consuls: Capitalism, Empire and the Rise and Fall of America's Mediterranean Community, 1776-1840."

Links:

Three Consuls:Capitalism, Empire, and the Rise and Fall of America's Mediterranean Community, 1776–1840 | Cambridge University Press

Manufacturing Revolution: The Intellectual Origins of Early American Industry | Johns Hopkins University Press

Dr. Lawrence Peskin | Morgan State Univeristy Faculty

Speaker Bio: Bryan Snyder, Bentley University

Professor Snyder is a Distinguished Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Bentley University. His teaching interests cover a wide scope of economics, economic history and political economy. His current writing and research activities focus on the editing and production of the classroom readers Real World Micro (31st edition), Real World Macro (41st edition) and Economic of the Environment (4th edition) for Dollars & Sense magazine. He has also taught Business Ethics at University of Massachusetts-Lowell and has adapted the curriculum to high school, undergraduate and graduate curriculums. Professor Snyder delights in incorporating “normative” issues into his curriculum and challenges his students to address moral and ethical issues in the study of economics.

Links:

Bryan Snyder | Bentley University Faculty

Industry and Innovation Tour:
the historic Francis Cabot Lowell Mill 

Our popular outdoor walking tour returns!
Come see an evolution of a historic textile mill

Curious about the old mill complex by the river? Discover the history and architecture of the world’s first modern factory, the 1813 Boston Manufacturing Company, which lies right in your own backyard!

Take a walk by the river in the fresh air. Then have a delicious lunch at one of Waltham’s local eateries.  

It all starts at the Charles River Museum.

Where:
Tours begin overlooking the river beneath the Charles River Museum smokestack. Follow signs from Landry Park off of Moody Street or the footbridge behind Embassy parking. We meet outside our Visitor Entrance.

Directions and Parking Info HERE 

We look forward to seeing you there!

The optimal size for this tour is up to 20 persons.
Groups are welcome to contact the museum to arrange a private tour.         

Industry and Innovation Tour: Making the Modern World A Gallery Tour

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about include the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

Industry and Innovation Tour: Making the Modern World A Gallery Tour

Explore the history of American ingenuity with this new tour, a guided experience that provides an overview of the museum’s collection, highlighting transformative advancements in manufacturing, precision engineering, and industrial technology. 

Visitors will learn about include the revolutionary textile machines of the early factory system, the world-class craftsmanship of Waltham watchmaking, and tools and inventions that shaped the modern age.

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Mill Talk: “'We black folks had to wear lowells': Negro Cloth, Enslaved People, and the Legacy of Lowell Manufacturing"

Join Dr. Jonathan Michael Square on February 6 at Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation for an in-depth exploration of the history of negro cloth and its pivotal role in the American fashion industry, with a focus on its production in Lowell, Massachusetts. The talk will also examine how enslaved individuals utilized textiles as a form of self-fashioning in the face of the deprivation of their self-hood.

Dr. Jonathan Michael Square is the Assistant Professor of Black Visual Culture at Parsons School of Design. He earned a PhD from New York University, an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.A. from Cornell University. Previously, he taught in the Committee on Degree in History and Literature at Harvard University and was a fellow in the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Most recently, he curated the exhibition Past Is Present: Black Artists Respond to the Complicated Histories of Slavery at the Herron School of Art and Design, which closed in January 2023. He is currently preparing for his upcoming show titled Almost Unknown: Afric-American Picture Gallery at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. A proponent of the use of social media as a form of radical pedagogy, Dr. Square also leads the digital humanities project Fashioning the Self in Slavery and Freedom.

Link: https://www.instagram.com/fashioningtheself/

Tatter: ‘We Black Folks Had To Wear Lowells’: an interview with Dr. Jonathan Michael Square (May 11, 2024)

Industry and Innovation Tour:
the historic Francis Cabot Lowell Mill 

Our popular outdoor walking tour returns!
Come see an evolution of a historic textile mill

Curious about the old mill complex by the river? Discover the history and architecture of the world’s first modern factory, the 1813 Boston Manufacturing Company, which lies right in your own backyard!

Take a walk by the river in the fresh air. Then have a delicious lunch at one of Waltham’s local eateries.  

It all starts at the Charles River Museum.

Where:
Tours begin overlooking the river beneath the Charles River Museum smokestack. Follow signs from Landry Park off of Moody Street or the footbridge behind Embassy parking. We meet outside our Visitor Entrance.

Directions and Parking Info HERE 

We look forward to seeing you there!

The optimal size for this tour is up to 20 persons.
Groups are welcome to contact the museum to arrange a private tour.         

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Mill Talk: In Pursuit of a Safer Industrial Workplace – Pemberton to the Present

In conversation:
Professor Robert Forrant, UMASS Lowell
Gabriel Porter, Safety and Health Specialist/Process Safety Management Coordinator OSHA Boston Regional Office

What can a 19th-century mill disaster teach us about workplace safety today?

Join Professor Robert Forrant (UMass Lowell) and Gabriel Porter (Safety and Health Specialist/Process Safety Management Coordinator OSHA Boston Regional Office) for a compelling discussion moderated by Charles River Museum’s Director of Education, Stephen Guerriero. Forrant will delve into the catastrophic Pemberton Mill collapse of 1860—an industrial tragedy that claimed 98 lives, revealed systemic failures, and left questions of accountability unresolved. Porter will explore how OSHA builds on lessons from such events to safeguard workers in today’s industries. Together, they’ll connect history to modern-day practices, offering insights into the ongoing fight for safer workplaces.

Robert Forrant is Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. His most recent book, Where Are the Workers: Interpreting Labor and Working-Class History at Museums and Historic Sites, was published in 2022. In early 2024 he published “‘No Avenging Gibet’: The 1860 Pemberton Mill Collapse” in The New England Quarterly. The article forms the basis for his talk.

Links:

Robert Forrant: UMASS Lowell
Where Are the Workers? Labor’s Stories at Museums and Historic Sites (University of Illinois Press)
"'No Avenging Gibbet': The 1860 Pemberton Mill Collapse" The New England Quarterly

Gabriel Porter is a New Hampshire based Safety and Health Specialist/Process Safety Management Coordinator with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Boston Regional Office. A graduate of Northeastern University, he has close to 20 years' experience working in the field of workplace safety and compliance. Porter helps to communicate the role and history of OSHA as a regulatory agency tasked by Congress to ensure worker health and safety are maintained across a broad spectrum of industries and sites.

Links:

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSHA at 50: 50 Years of Workplace Safety and Healt

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.

Mill Talk: Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919

presented by author Stephen Puleo

FREE and open to the public
REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Shortly after noon on January 15, 1919, a 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses collapsed on Boston’s waterfront, disgorging its contents in a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that traveled at 35 miles per hour. The Great Boston Molasses Flood claimed the lives of 21 people and caused widespread destruction.

Puleo’s bestselling book, Dark Tide (2003) tells the gripping story of the molasses flood in its full historical context, from the tank’s construction in 1915 through the multiyear lawsuit that followed the disaster. Puleo uses the gripping drama of the flood to examine the sweeping changes brought about by World War I, Prohibition, the anarchist movement, immigration, and the expanding role of big business in society. To understand the flood is to understand America of the early twentieth century – the flood was a microcosm of America, a dramatic event that encapsulated something much bigger, a lens through which to view the major events that shaped a nation.

It’s also a chronicle of the courage of ordinary people, from the firemen caught in an unimaginable catastrophe to the soldier-lawyer who presided over the lawsuit with heroic impartiality. Even now, the tragic event behind Dark Tide continues to capture the imagination of readers across the country and is the only adult nonfiction book on America’s most unusual tragedy.

Author Bio

A former award-winning newspaper reporter and contributor of articles and book reviews to publications and organizations that include American History magazine, Politico, The Boston Globe, and the Bill of Rights Institute, Steve has also taught history at Suffolk University in Boston and at UMass-Boston. He also has developed and taught numerous writing workshops for high school and college students, as well as for adults who aspire to be writers.

Steve holds a master’s degree in history from UMass-Boston. His master’s thesis, “From Italy to Boston’s North End: Italian Immigration and Settlement, 1890-1910,” has been downloaded more than 25,000 times by scholars and readers around the world. Steve is also a Massachusetts Historical Society Fellow and is a past recipient of the prestigious i migliori award, presented by the Pirandello Lyceum to Italian-Americans who have excelled in their fields of endeavor. Steve and his wife Kate, who live south of Boston, donate a portion of his book proceeds to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). His latest work is The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union (2024), a biography of U. S. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.

Links:

Author Page: Stephen Puleo

Bookshop.org: Dark Tide

Bookshop.org: The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union

City of Boston: The Great Molasses Flood, 100 Years Later

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.

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Bricks and Stories Tours
of the historic Francis Cabot Lowell Mill 

Our popular outdoor walking tour returns!
Come see an evolution of a historic textile mill

Curious about the old mill complex by the river? Discover the history and architecture of the world’s first modern factory, the 1813 Boston Manufacturing Company, which lies right in your own backyard!

Take a walk by the river in the fresh air. Then have a delicious lunch at one of Waltham’s local eateries.  

It all starts at the Charles River Museum.

Where:
Tours begin overlooking the river beneath the Charles River Museum smokestack. Follow signs from Landry Park off of Moody Street or the footbridge behind Embassy parking. We meet outside our Visitor Entrance.

Directions and Parking Info HERE 

We look forward to seeing you there!

The optimal size for this tour is up to 20 persons.
Groups are welcome to contact the museum to arrange a private tour.         

The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.

Tour length: 45 minute

It is a FREE TOUR which will explore a limited section of our exhibits.

Should you wish to stay and tour the remainder of the Museum, we ask that you please pay our regular admission

Mill Talk: Walking Through Walls: Virtual Design and Business Innovation

presented by Oren Sherman

REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT

Since Francis Cabot Lowell and Paul Moody set the first power looms in motion in 1814, textiles have been at the crossroads of American industry, artisan craft, and functionality. The great textile mills of New England drove the American Industrial Revolution, starting with the Boston Manufacturing Company on this very site in Waltham.

Now two centuries later, designers are forging innovative ways to ‘weave’ textiles using 3D technology and design in virtual space, grounded by the principles of the loom. Award-winning designer, artist, and professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, Oren Sherman, will bring us along on his own journey, discovering the cultural meaning and evolving technology embedded in textile design. Pattern traveled on textiles and the availability of locally made affordable woven cloth gave birth to an industry supercharged by the Waltham-Lowell System, including fabric dyeing and pattern design. That scale led to rapid innovation in manufacturing and design.

In exploring the construction of commercial textile patterning, Sherman found himself leaving the world of the ‘repeat’ and exploring in virtual space. He’ll explain how a desire to ‘walk through walls’ lead him to 3D weaving as an inspiration that, ironically, led him back to the first principles of the elegantly complex power loom. Oren’s talk will feature vivid color and vibrant patterns, while simultaneously connecting innovation with cutting-edge technology.

Author Bio: Oren Sherman

An alumnus and professor specializing in design, marketing and branding at the renowned Rhode Island School Of Design, Oren has partnered with corporations across the country developing original artwork and licensed collections that capture a brand’s identity. His work is sophisticated, contemporary and utterly unique, standing at the cutting edge where art meets commerce. Oren’s versatility and visual intelligence inform his distinctive approach. His art powers brand, creating a multi-level subliminal experience that resonates as an unspoken message everywhere the environment touches the customer.

Oren's work lives at the intersection between visual storytelling, art and architecture, focusing on applying two-dimensional work in a three-dimensional way to create engaging and experiential spaces. Oren worked at Elkus Manfredi Architects in Boston, crafting strategic narratives and original artworks for interior spaces, creating a multilevel, subliminal experience that resonates as a lyrical and unspoken message, recently making the leap to consulting and exploring both fine art and designing collections in 3-D space.

In 2022 he was awarded The Lifetime Achievement Award from Boston Design Week and in June 2022 gave his first TEDx presentation “Finding Creativity: A Solo Journey to a Connected Place.”

Links: Designer Page: Oren Sherman

Bricks and Stories Tours
of the historic Francis Cabot Lowell Mill 

Our popular outdoor walking tour returns!
Come see an evolution of a historic textile mill

Curious about the old mill complex by the river? Discover the history and architecture of the world’s first modern factory, the 1813 Boston Manufacturing Company, which lies right in your own backyard!

Take a walk by the river in the fresh air. Then have a delicious lunch at one of Waltham’s local eateries.  

It all starts at the Charles River Museum.

Where:
Tours begin overlooking the river beneath the Charles River Museum smokestack. Follow signs from Landry Park off of Moody Street or the footbridge behind Embassy parking. We meet outside our Visitor Entrance.

Directions and Parking Info HERE 

We look forward to seeing you there!

The optimal size for this tour is up to 20 persons.
Groups are welcome to contact the museum to arrange a private tour.         

MILL TALK: POSTPONED The Lowell Code: Cracking Innovation from the Industrial Revolution to AI

presented by Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad

POSTPONED

Join the Charles River Museum for an illuminating exploration of timeless innovation principles through the lens of Francis Cabot Lowell's revolutionary ideas. Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad will uncover how these same concepts drive today's tech giants and shape our digital future. From Lowell's daring industrial espionage in British textile mills to his groundbreaking implementation of the power loom, his journey parallels the disruptive innovations we see in Silicon Valley today. Dr. Lang-Raad will demonstrate how Lowell's approach aligns with nine essential habits of innovative thinking, drawing insights from his book "Renaissance Thinking in the Classroom."

This talk will draw fascinating parallels between Lowell's innovations and modern challenges, offering valuable insights for anyone interested in the evolution of American industry and technology. Dr. Lang-Raad will explore how these habits of thinking - including cultivating diverse curiosity, taking risks, and embracing lifelong learning - can be applied to foster innovation in our rapidly changing digital world. Attendees will discover how historical lessons from the Industrial Revolution apply to current technological advancements, with a focus on interdisciplinary learning and addressing real-world problems.---

Author Bio:

Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad is an educator, speaker, and author with a passion for innovative teaching methods and the integration of technology in classrooms. He has served in various roles throughout his career, including as a teacher, school administrator, and education supervisor at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Dr. Lang-Raad is the author of several books on instructional coaching and innovative teaching methods.

Renaissance Thinking in the Classroom: Interdisciplinary Learning, Real-World Problems, Intellectually Curious Students by Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad provides educators with a comprehensive guide to fostering innovative thinking in K-12 education. This book details nine specific habits of thinking and a challenge-based framework that educators can integrate to promote students' academic knowledge and lifelong learning skills.

Links:

Website: Dr. Nathan Lang-Raad

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.

Bricks and Stories Tours
of the historic Francis Cabot Lowell Mill 

Our popular outdoor walking tour returns!
Come see an evolution of a historic textile mill

Curious about the old mill complex by the river? Discover the history and architecture of the world’s first modern factory, the 1813 Boston Manufacturing Company, which lies right in your own backyard!

Take a walk by the river in the fresh air. Then have a delicious lunch at one of Waltham’s local eateries.  

It all starts at the Charles River Museum.

Where:
Tours begin overlooking the river beneath the Charles River Museum smokestack. Follow signs from Landry Park off of Moody Street or the footbridge behind Embassy parking. We meet outside our Visitor Entrance.

Directions and Parking Info HERE 

We look forward to seeing you there!

The optimal size for this tour is up to 20 persons.
Groups are welcome to contact the museum to arrange a private tour.