Lower Locks is a great example of an historic gatehouse and lock chamber here in Lowell.
Located near where the Concord and Merrimack rivers merge the area was a tradional fishing
locaon.
In 1790s the Pawtucket Canal was built to bypass the falls on Merrimack River and Lower
Locks was built as the final of four lock chambers to allow boats to reach the River.
With the rise of the mills in Lowell the canals were refashioned for waterpower and Lower
Locks became a gatehouse to control the volume of water on the Pawtucket canal and branch
off to the Eastern Canal.
Historically, it was flanked by the Middlesex Mills (now the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference
Center) and the Presco mills (now home to Middlesex Community College).
In the 20th Century, as the mills declined, Lower Locks gradually fell into disuse.
But with the creaon of Lowell Naonal historical Park in the 1970s the site was restored and
today is a sll helps control water on the canal system.