Ryan W. Owen, Writer and Photographer
It’s no secret that Lowell of long ago was more rural, especially in its outskirts – which included the land where Cross Point, Showcase Cinema and Route 3 now sit today. As you drive along Lowell’s Route 110 East today (also known as Chelmsford Street), you’ll cross into Lowell just before you pass under Route […]
Read MoreIt turns out that wild turkeys are incredibly difficult to move across long distances. In the days before refrigerated travel, a national roadway system, and even railroads, driving turkeys across long stretches of land was the province of men called turkey drovers. From 1790 to about 1830, turkey drovers walked turkeys to market, literally, at a […]
Read MoreTown farms were Victorian society’s equivalent to today’s homeless shelters, nursing homes, and mental hospitals. Often relegated to a far corner of town, unseen, forgotten, and hopefully self-sufficient, the town farm was created to instill a sense of industriousness and self-sufficiency in paupers who would, in turn, provide what labor they could to help run […]
Read MoreThe history of New England heavily centers on urban life, and more specifically, Boston. But, what about the history of its suburbs, which today form its bedroom communities? Most of those town histories are firmly grounded in, or at least laced with, farming. Any good story or study that depicts or explores the region’s past […]
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Forgotten New England 