Lowell

History

The first European settlers to the land that would become Lowell arrived in the late 18th century after the 1787 Northwest Ordinance opened the territory for settlement. Soon after the Ordinance took effect, the Ohio Company of Associates purchased of land along the Muskingum River and proceeded to survey the area. The first settlement in what would become the state of Ohio was Marietta, founded in 1788 near the mouth of the Muskingum about downstream from the site that would become Lowell. By 1789, settlement had spread north to the area where the Cats Creek enters the Muskingum River. By the 1830s the Muskingum Valley had long been settled, and local leaders created a plan to improve the Muskingum River for use as a source of power. In 1836 the State Legislature approved a bill that appropriated $400,000 to create a series of locks and dams along the river as far north as Dresden. Between 1837 and 1841, eleven dams and twelve locks were built at a cost that had ballooned to over $1.6 million. The third lock was built within a one-mile (1.6 km) long canal constructed near the mouth of the Cats Creek to bypass a series of rapids in the Muskingum. Two competing companies bought land near the canal with the intentions of building a town. The first settlement was laid out on November 8, 1837, and was named Lowell with the idea that it would grow into a large manufacturing city similar to Lowell, Massachusetts. It was located along the upper end of the canal on the west side of the Cats Creek. The second settlement, called Buell's Lowell, was laid out on March 22, 1838. The second settlement quickly grew to dominate to the point that the first settlement became known as Upper Lowell. In 1850, Buell's Lowell was incorporated as a village and in 1889 officially…

Geography

Lowell is located along the Muskingum River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water. State Routes 60 and 530 connect in Lowell.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,074
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  3,733
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,627
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,584
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,511
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  3,468
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,186
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  3,185

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2025-05-09
  3 km S of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2025-04-29
  1 km SE of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 3.1 — 2025-04-24
  3 km S of Pleasant City, Ohio
• M 3.1 — 2025-04-22
  3 km ESE of Buffalo, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2025-02-03
  0 km NE of Reno, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2023-02-17
  6 km ESE of Cheshire, Ohio