The Uncommon Mill Girls of Lowell
In the early nineteenth century the ‘ladies of Lowell’, Mass., were enlightened mill girls who spent their leisure in cultural pursuits.
‘Acres of girlhood’, Whittier called them, ‘beauty reckoned by the square rod’. These were the famous ladies of Lowell, the literary mill girls who spent their leisure in the pursuit of culture and enlightenment. They were famed for their education and talents, and also for their attractive bearing and deportment, as evinced in the descriptions of their pageant in honour of the visit of President Andrew Jackson to Lowell in June, 1833.
Although Jackson’s politics were not those of the owners of Lowell's corporations, nothing was spared to make this day a festive occasion. Two hickory trees were transplanted to a more prominent position to honour ‘Old Hickory’, victor of the Battle of New Orleans. A parade was planned which included the mounted volunteer infantries of surrounding towns, some 500 schoolchildren with flowers, and the girls. Citizens flocked to the streets of Lowell, as much to view the famous operatives as to see the President.
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