| Merrimack Valley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Long-axis direction | Northwest–southeast |
| Geology | |
| Type | River |
| Geography | |
| Location |  Massachusetts New Hampshire |
| Population centers |
|
| Borders on | White Mountains Plum Island, Massachusetts Atlantic Ocean |
| Traversed by | Interstate 93,Interstate 495,Haverhill Line (MBTA) |
| Rivers | Merrimack River |
TheMerrimack Valley is a bi-state region along theMerrimack River in theU.S. states ofNew Hampshire andMassachusetts. The Merrimack is one of the larger waterways inNew England and has helped to define the livelihood and culture of those living along it for millennia.
Major cities in the Merrimack Valley includeConcord,Manchester, andNashua in New Hampshire, andLowell,Lawrence, andHaverhill in Massachusetts. The Valley was a major center of thetextile industry in the 19th century.
The Merrimack Valley area in Massachusetts is a community of towns and cities flanking the Merrimack River along theNew Hampshire border, a portion of which is defined by a line approximately 3 miles (5 km) north and west of the Merrimack. The cities (marked withitalics) and towns in this area are:[1][2]
The population of the region in 2010 was 631,477, slightly more than that ofBoston, and about one tenth of the state's.
The Merrimack Valley contains a mixture of 19th-century industrial cities and mill complexes built to take advantage of the river's waterpower, modern suburbs (many built over towns dating from the 17th century), and some relatively rural areas. The western part, includingGreater Lowell and Haverhill–Lawrence–Methuen, is generally more urban than the eastern part. The entire Merrimack Valley region in Massachusetts is part ofGreater Boston. Broader definitions for the region include other areas ofMiddlesex County, including the Route 2 corridor fromDevens east toLexington.
Automobile travel through the Massachusetts section of the Merrimack Valley is served primarily byInterstate 495. From Lowell and Lawrence,U.S. Route 3 andInterstate 93, respectively, head north along the valley, joining in Manchester, New Hampshire.
In New Hampshire, the Merrimack Valley Region is an area of the south-central part of the state, about 35 miles (56 km) wide, centered on the Merrimack River, and running fromCanterbury[3] south to theMassachusetts border.Henniker marks the western extent, andNottingham the eastern. It includes parts ofHillsborough,Rockingham andMerrimack counties, namely the following towns and cities (initalics):
The state capital,Concord, and the state's two largest cities,Manchester andNashua, are in the valley. Manchester has alarge regional airport, with scheduled commercial services.
To the east is theSeacoast Region, to the west is theMonadnock Region, and to the north is theLakes Region.
Interstate 93 bisects the region, which is also served byInterstate 293,U.S. Route 3, and many New Hampshire state highways.
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The original settlers of the Merrimack Valley were various tribes of thePennacook Indians. The river provided an easy means of transportation, an exceptional source of salmon as well as other fish, and the land along the river banks was suitable for hunting and sometimes farming.[4]
The earliest European records of the river date to a French expedition under Pierre du Guast, Sieur de Monts, in 1605. By 1629, the British were moving into the area, and a land grant delineated by the river was made to a Jonathan Wheelwright in 1629.[5]
The city ofNewburyport, first settled in 1635, at the river's mouth, became an important shipbuilding center during the colonial era, using lumber floated downriver from theWhite Mountains. Its prominence was diminished when theMiddlesex Canal was completed in the first quarter of the 19th century, allowing lumber to be shipped directly downriver from the White Mountains toCharlestown, Massachusetts, and improving connections between Boston and the Merrimack Valley.[6] Prior to this time, other small canals had been built around falls and rapids to make the Merrimack navigable, such as thePawtucket Canal at East Chelmsford, which became Lowell.[7]
While the Merrimack had been used for small manufacturing concerns for decades, in the early 1820s, a group of investors from Boston founded the city of Lowell, to take advantage of the 32-foot (9.8 m) drop of the Merrimack over thePawtucket Falls. Lowell, the first large-scale planned textile center in America, remained the nation's largest into the 1850s. Textile production spread up and down the Merrimack Valley in both states for the next century, but eventually was eclipsed after theSecond World War.
Manchester'sAmoskeag Mills was once the largest cotton textile plant in the world. Other major textile companies based in the Merrimack Valley included theMerrimack Manufacturing Company in Lowell, theAmerican Woolen Company in Lawrence (headquarters moved to Andover in 1919),Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, and theNashua Manufacturing Company in its namesake city. Lawrence was the site of theBread and Roses strike, a landmark event in the history oflabor relations in the United States.
After World War II, the textile industry collapsed rapidly. After a few decades of stagnation, the "Massachusetts Miracle" came to the valley, bringing the headquarters ofWang Laboratories to Tewksbury, then Lowell.Apollo Computer located in Chelmsford andNashua Corporation in Nashua moved beyond printing to computer products. The defense industry, for example,Raytheon in various sites andSanders Associates in Nashua, became a major local employer. Increased development pressure from Greater Boston and the proliferation of the automobile pushed development outside ofMassachusetts Route 128 toInterstate 495 and up Routes3 and93 into southern New Hampshire, greatly increasing the populations of these communities over the postwar years.
On September 13, 2018, several gas lines suffered leakage due to high pressure in the tubes ofColumbia Gas of Massachusetts, causingseveral fires and explosions, and homes were evacuated.[8][9]
The Merrimack River Valley is considered the "Valley of the Poets"[10] by some local artists and poets.
Anne Bradstreet was a founding mother of three towns in theMassachusetts Bay Colony:Boston,Cambridge (then Newtowne), and the original Andover Parish, known now asNorth Andover, where she lived and wrote for the last half of her life. The first published poet of theNew World, she died in North Andover in 1672.[11]
InHaverhill andAmesbury, the family ofJohn Greenleaf Whittier settled. Mr. Whittier was so well thought of during his lifetime, his birthday was celebrated as a national holiday.[citation needed]
Lawrence is the birthplace of actressThelma Todd, composer/conductorLeonard Bernstein and actor/singerRobert Goulet.Robert Frost spent his teenage years there, as did his future wife, Elinor Miriam White. They were co-valedictorians (1892) at Lawrence High School.[12] ActressBette Davis and the writerJack Kerouac were born in Lowell.
West Newbury is the birthplace ofJohn Cena, a WWE professional wrestler, actor, former rapper, and television personality.
The Merrimack Valley is one of the few places in the United States where the card gameForty-fives is popular.
The Merrimack Valley was once home to numerous apple and fruit orchards, of which several still remain. Some of the larger remaining orchards include Apple Hill, Cider Hill, Long Hill Orchard, Mann Orchards, and Smolak Farms. Apple picking is a popular pastime in the Merrimack Valley during the late summer and fall months.
The Merrimack Valley's leading boarding schools, such asBrooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts;Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts;St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire; andThe Governor's Academy in Newbury, Massachusetts, provide cultural institutions to the public, including theAddison Gallery of American Art and theRobert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology in Andover.
The Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts is divided into threeNew England city and town areas (NECTAs) by theU.S. Office of Management and Budget: Lowell–Billerica–Chelmsford, MA–NH; Lawrence–Methuen Town–North Andover, MA–NH; and Haverhill–Newburyport–Amesbury Town, MA–NH.[13] TheM3 Coalition serves several towns that expand the definition. Most large employers are in the sectors ofhealth care andhigher education.[14][15] Institutes of higher learning includeHockey East rivalsUMass Lowell andMerrimack College. The region was once atechnology hub, reaching its peak during the 1970s and 1980s with corporations such asWang Laboratories in Lowell among the largest technology employers, though it has since gone defunct. Software companyUKG is one of the largest private employers in the region, as isPhilips, whose medical division is based in Andover. Thedefense industry also has had a major presence in the Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts-basedRaytheon has several large plants and offices in the Merrimack Valley, andBAE Systems Inc. also employs many people. Due to its proximity to Boston, the region also serves as abedroom community for employers in Boston. Many major highways (includingI-93,I-95, andUS 3) and several heavily used lines of theMBTA Commuter Rail system provide easy access to the city from the Merrimack Valley.
Attractions include:
Institutions of higher education include:
While the textile industry that served as the underpinning of the Merrimack Valley has disappeared, the region has since transferred to other economic activities.Sanders Associates, a major defense contractor based in Nashua has, through several mergers and acquisitions, become a division ofBAE Systems Inc. and is one of the regions largest employers. Technology companies also have a large presence in the region, including mobile phone companyVerizon, which is the largest private employer in Manchester. The financial industry is also a major employer, withLincoln Financial in Concord andFidelity Investments in Merrimack among the largest private employers.
The area between Manchester, Nashua, and Salem was once described as the "Golden Triangle" of New Hampshire. The name was due to job growth that fueled a housing boom and led to the creation of several major new retail centers, including theMall of New Hampshire in Manchester, theMall at Rockingham Park in Salem, and thePheasant Lane Mall in Nashua.[16] This area contains roughly 30% of the population of New Hampshire.[17]
Attractions include:
Institutions of higher education include:
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