The descent of the river at Pawtucket Falls was so precipitous, the current so violent, and the channel so rocky that passing rafts down the rapids was extremely difficult. Completed in 1796, the Pawtucket Canal made the Merrimack River passable from New Hampshire to the ocean. The canal was later altered and used both for transportation and to supply water to power the mills of Lowell.

Photo: Marc Posner

Lowell, Massachusetts · USA