Lawrence is truly a city of immigrants and industry. The City of Lawrence was built in the 1840s as the nation's first planned industrial city. The massive mill buildings lining the Merrimack River, the striking clock and bell towers, and the breath-taking Great Stone Dam are all a tribute to the city's industrial heritage. The harnessed strength of the Merrimack River and its system of canals fueled the Lawrence mills that produced textiles for the American and European markets. By the early twentieth century, with a population of nearly 95,000, the city was a world leader in the production of cotton and woolen textiles in massive mills.

Known as the "Immigrant City", Lawrence has always been a multi-ethnic and multicultural gateway city with a high percentage of foreign-born residents. The successive waves of immigrants coming to the city to work in the mills began with the Irish, followed by French Canadians, Englishmen, and Germans in the late 1800s. Around the turn of the century and early 1900s, Italians, Poles, Lithuanians, and Syrians began arriving. The wave of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans started in the mid to late 1900s, and the newest arrivals have originated from Vietnam and Cambodia. The current population of roughly 70,000 is largely Hispanic and has given a Latino slant to the local economy and culture.

Today, the City of Lawrence remains an urban center, with over 30% of its economy manufacturing-based. Despite global trends that have seen manufacturing industries move south and overseas, the city is still home to a number of textile, apparel, and shoe companies such as Malden Mills, KGR Inc., Grieco Brothers, New Balance, and Cardinal Shoe. With affordable space and close proximity to routes 93 and 495, newer companies in technology, health care, and manufacturing such as New England Affiliated Technology, the Robert Able Company, and the Gem Group, have chosen to locate in Lawrence (write-up courtesy of the City of Lawrence.)

Helpful Links

City of Lawrence Website
State Information Page for Lawrence

State Legislators

Land Area	square miles	7.0
Population Estimate	2006	70,662
Labor Market	May 2007
Labor Force		28,715
Employed		25,956
Unemployed		2,759
Rate		9.6%
Tax Rate	FY 2007
Residential		9.23
Commercial/Industrial		19.94
Median Single Family Housing Price	2007 thru May	$209,000
Affordable Housing Inventory	July 2007	14.5%
Detailed 2000 Census Data		Lawrence.xls

Lawrence Trail Maps

Costello Park