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'Lawrence' is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts on the Merrimack River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 72,043. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are the county seats of Essex County. Lawrence is also part of the Merrimack Valley.
Manufacturing products of the city include electronic equipment, textiles, footwear, paper products, computers, and foodstuffs. Lawrence was, for a while, the residence of Robert Frost, where he published his first poem.

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local

State and Federal

Education

Public schools

Private schools

Higher education

Media

Newspapers

Radio

Infrastructure

Healthcare

Transportation

Telecommunications

Points of interest

Notable residents

References

External links

History

Europeans first settled the area in 1640. The site of the city -- formerly parts of Andover and Methuen -- was purchased in 1845 by a group of Boston industrialists headed by the wealthy merchant and congressman Abbott Lawrence, the community's namesake. The city was incorporated in 1853.
The industrialists, most prominently Lawrence, established textile mills near sources of abundant waterpower. Working conditions in these mills were unsafe and in 1860 a factory collapsed, killing 88 workers. In 1912 the so-called Bread and Roses strike or the Lawrence textile strike, one of greatest labor actions in American history, began when mill owners increased the speed of factory looms, and subsequently lowered wages for thousands of women and child workers. The Massachusetts National Guard, private and city police countered 23,000 strikers for two months, resulting in numerous deaths and mass arrests. When police and militia assaulted a group of women and children, public outcry forced mill owners to capitulate. The striking workers won wage increases for themselves and thousands of workers in New England mills. One of the major companies involved was American Woolen Company
Lawrence was a great wool-processing center until that industry declined in the 1950s. The decline of industry in Lawrence and throughout the Northeast left Lawrence a struggling city. However, a sharp reduction in violent crime starting in 2004 and massive private investment in former mill buildings along the Merrimack River -- to be converted into commercial, residential and education uses -- have lent encouragement to boosters of the city. One of the final remaining mills in the city is Malden Mills.

Geography

Lawrence is located at (42.703741, -71.162979).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.2 km² (7.4 mi²). 18.0 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (6.07%) is water.
Aside from the Merrimack River, other water features include the Spicket River, which flows into the Merrimack from Methuen, and the Shawsheen River, which forms the southeastern border of the city. Additionally, Lawrence has two power canals that were formerly used to provide hydropower to the mills - one on the north bank of the river, the other on the south. Channeling water into these canals is the Great Stone Dam, which lies across the entire Merrimack.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 72,043 people, 24,463 households, and 16,903 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,996.5/km² (10,351.4/mi²). There were 25,601 housing units at an average density of 1,420.2/km² (3,678.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 48.64% White, 4.88% African American, 0.81% Native American, 2.65% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 36.67% from other races, and 6.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race mainly Dominican or Puerto Rican were 59.71% of the population.
There were 24,463 households out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 25.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.46.
In the city the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,983, and the median income for a family was $29,809. Males had a median income of $27,772 versus $23,137 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,360. About 21.2% of families and 34.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.7% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local

Lawrence has an established City Charter and its form of government is a Mayor-council government. There are nine city councilors and six school committee members; most are elected by district; three city council members are elected at large. There are six districts in Lawrence and all elections are non-partisan. The Mayor serves as the seventh member and chair of the school committee. The city council chooses one of its number as president who serves as chair of the council.
The Mayor is Michael J. Sullivan; the City Council President is Patrick J. Blanchette.

City Council
★ Patrick Blanchette (District A) (President) ★ Grisel Silva (District B) ★ Jorge Gonzalez (District C) ★ Nicholas Kolofoles (District D) ★ Gilbert K. Frechette (District E) ★ Marie G. Gosselin (District F) ★ Nilka Alvarez-Rodriquez (At-Large) ★ Nunzio DiMarca (At-Large) ★ Joseph K. Parolisi (At-Large)

State and Federal

Education

Public schools

The City of Lawrence has a public school system managed by Lawrence Public Schools.
'Elementary schools'

★ Lawrence Family Development Charter School

★ Community Day Charter Public School
'High schools'

★ Lawrence High School

★ The Greater Lawrence Technical School

Private schools

'Elementary schools'

★ Our Lady of Good Counsel School

★ St Patrick's School
'High schools'

★ Central Catholic High School

★ Notre Dame High School

Higher education

'Public'

★ Northern Essex Community College

★ University of Massachusetts Lowell
'Private'

★ Cambridge College

★ Massachusetts School of Law

★ Merrimack College

Media

Newspapers

★ The Eagle-Tribune

★ Rumbo News

★ The Valley Patriot

★ Siglo21

Radio

★ WCCM 1490 AM

★ Power 800 AM

Infrastructure

Healthcare

★ Lawrence General Hospital

★ Greater Lawrence Family Health Center

Transportation

'Airport'

The City of Lawrence owns the Lawrence Municipal Airport located in North Andover, MA.
'Boating'

Local boating at the Greater Lawrence Community Boating Program
'Bus service'

Local busing options include the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority.
'Rail service'

Commuter rail to Boston is provided by the MBTA Haverhill/Reading Line.
'Roadways'

Lawrence is circled with expressways. Interstate 495 runs from the south-eastern portion of the city through the eastern edge of the city, Interstate 93 is to the west, running through Andover, Massachusetts. The final part of the circle is "The Loop Connector" (named after the The Loop shopping center) which runs through Methuen, Massachusetts, parallel to Route 113. Major street-level routes include Routes 28 (north/south) and 110 (east/west).

Telecommunications

Lawrence is served only by the 978 area code. Area code 978 was created as a split from area code 508 on September 1, 1997.

Points of interest

★ Lawrence Public Library

★ Essex Art Center

★ Saint Alfio Society Inc. the organization that puts on the Feast of the Three Saints

★ Lawrence Community Works

★
★ Movement City

★ Lawrence History Center

★ Lawrence Heritage State Park

★ Lawrence Experiment Station

★ YMCA

★ YWCA

Notable residents

★ Patrick Baril, DJ and producer

★ Leonard Bernstein, composer and conductor

★ Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003 and MTV VJ

★ Ferdinand W. Demara, The Great Imposter

★ William E. Donovan, major league baseball player and manager

★ Sully Erna, Godsmack, lead singer

★ Robert Frost, poet

★ Robert Goulet, singer

★ Steve Holman, voice of the Atlanta Hawks

★ William S. Knox, US Congressman from March 4 1895 to March 3 1903

★ Thomas J. Lane, US Congressman from March 4 1941 to March 3 1963

★ Abbott Lawrence, Founder of Lawrence, MA

★ Anna LoPizzo, a striker killed during the Lawrence textile strike

★ Robert S. Maloney, US Congressman from March 4 1921 to March 3 1923

★ Robbie Merill, Godsmack, bassist

★ Joe Perry, guitarist of Aerosmith

★ Gil Reyes, former WBA, Fedecentro Welterweight Champion

★ William A. Russell, US Congressman from March 4 1879 to March 3 1885

★ Termanology, rapper

★ Thelma Todd, actress

★ William M. Wood, Co-founder of the American Woolen Company

References

External links

★ City of Lawrence

★ Industrial Workers of the World - Organizers of the Bread & Roses Strike