Four members of the Hub Mystery Group gathered for a fascinating tour of the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation in Waltham, MA. The Museum is in the Francis Cabot Lowell Mill (the original Building 1 was built in 1814) adjacent to the Charles River. The Francis Cabot Lowell Mill was the first industrial mill in the U.S. with revolutionary water-powered textile machines that incorporated carding, spinning, and weaving, as well as a machine shop and foundry. The Waltham mill operations became the model for nearly all later mill buildings in New England and across the U.S. The Waltham mill also had a specially crafted Paul Revere bell in the bell tower (with a history that the first two cracked, but the third one remained intact and is on display at the Museum).
The Museum was incorporated in 1980 and officially opened its doors in 1988. The Museum also houses a collection of tools and inventions that shaped U.S. technical and business innovations from the industrial revolution to the present, as well as artifacts and the history of the making of Waltham Watches.
Our tour guide, Nick, a high school intern, enthralled and fully engaged us with his in-depth knowledge of the history, workings of the mills, and stories of the "Mill Girls", the female workers who were pioneers in the role of women in industrial America.
The very informative and enjoyable morning tour was followed by a tasty lunch with lively conversation at a nearby Waltham restaurant called In A Pickle.
Nancy B
