Government, Schools, Free Libraries and Municipal control is vested in a commission of five, consisting of a mayor and four aldermen, each in charge of a department, namely, finance, public safety, public property and parks, engineering and public health and charities. The annual budget of expenditures for municipal maintenance and operation ap proaches $2,000,000. There are 32 public schools, one industrial school, 11 parochial schools and one training school which is main tained by the county. There is a high school and a recently constructed central grammar school of 36 rooms with the most modern equipment, including baths of all kinds, gym nasium, lunchrooms, lecture halls, meeting rooms for parents and having trained nurse and doctor constantly in attendance. The evening schools are maintained as a part of the public school system and give courses in classical and English studies, also special in structions in penmanship, mechanical and free hand drawing, bookkeeping and typewriting and the natural sciences. A special in which Lawrence is very active is the course in Americanization and naturalization, which is being discussed and studied by educators throughout the country. A free course of lec tures especially for industrial classes, upon sci entific and miscellaneous subjects, has for many years been sustained by endowment. The free public library of over 50,000 volumes is patronized by all classes. The main library building was the gift of a generous citizen.
History.— Previous to 1845 the territory now included within city limits (about seven square miles lying in form nearly a square) was an unimportant section of two old, his toric towns — Andover and Methuen. The in habitants of the site numbered only about 350 and were nearly all the families of quiet farm ers or river men; there was not a church build ing, warehouse for trade or manufacturing establishment of any importance then standing in the entire district. In 1845-46 an associated company of manufacturers, financiers and mer chants, the leading pioneer manufacturers and progressive business men of prominence in /dassachusetts, after critical examination, asso ciated themselves together and procured an act of incorporation under the name of the Essex Company, chartered for the purpose of de veloping and controlling the water power and establishing factories and workshops at or near the site they selected. This company pur
chased lands covering nearly half the area of the contemplated town and secured land or flowage rights for several miles above the site chosen for the projected city. It was decided to locate at the lowermost of three successive Merrimac River rapids below Lowell, at the confluence of the Merrimac, Spicket and Shaw sheen rivers. Promoted as the Lawrence build ing and manufacturing enterprise was at the outset by responsible and powerful sponsors, the °New City,* as it was at first called, rap idly developed and became almost at the be ginning important as an industrial centre. In less than two years from the commencement of operations in 1845, the settlement was organ ized as a separate town, taking the name of Lawrence in honor of the eminent merchant manufacturers of that name who were so deeply interested in establishing the town and city. The city has had its calamities. Its industrial enterprises survived the financial reverses of 1857, 1858 and 1859, only because of powerful support given by loyal defenders and business leaders. This time of trial was succeeded by the gloom attendant upon the •Fall of Pember ton Mill," 10 Jan. 1860, an occurrence that en listed the interest and sympathy of the entire country. In the War of the Rebellion the city's volunteers were among the first to re spond to the call for troops and were among the first to engage in conflict. A citizen, Sum ner H. Needham, was the first martyr to fall in the ranks of the patriot soldiery in April 1861. Lawrence was incorporated as a city 10 May 1853.
Population.— The cosmopolitan character of the population is particularly noticeable. Forty-six nationalities are represented among the population. Formerly the greatest immigra tion was from France, the British Isles, Canada and Germany, but of recent years the flow has been from Italy, Greece, Poland, the Balkan States and Russia. Pop. 105,000.