Kirk Boott facts for kids

Kirk Boott, an important person in Lowell's history.

The Boott Mill complex in Lowell, now a museum.

Kirk Boott (born October 20, 1790 – died April 11, 1837) was an American businessman who played a huge part in starting the city of Lowell, Massachusetts. He helped build many of the first factories there.

Kirk Boott's Life Story

Early Life and Education

Kirk Boott was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1790. His father had moved to the United States from England a few years earlier and worked as a merchant in Boston. Kirk went to school in Boston, then studied in England at Rugby School. He also attended Harvard College for a short time.

Before finishing college, Boott left Harvard to go back to England. He wanted to study civil engineering and join the British army.

Military Service

When he was 21, Kirk Boott became a lieutenant in the British army. He joined the 85th light infantry regiment. With his group, he fought in the Peninsular War against Napoleon's army in Spain in 1813.

After Napoleon's defeat, Boott's regiment was sent to fight against the United States. They took part in attacks on Washington, D.C. and New Orleans. However, Kirk Boott was allowed to avoid fighting against the country where he was born.

Becoming an Engineer and Businessman

After a quick visit to the United States, Boott returned to England. He continued to study engineering at Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Later, he left the British army and moved back to Boston. He tried to start a business with his brothers, but it didn't work out well.

Boott then became involved with the Boston Manufacturing Company in Waltham, Massachusetts. While he was in England, he had visited many spinning mills. He was very good at understanding how machines worked. He supposedly wrote down his observations and drew pictures of the new ideas he saw. These notes helped improve the machines used in the mills in Lowell and other parts of New England. These improvements made the American mills more successful than many in England.

Building Lowell's Mills

In 1822, the Boston Manufacturing Company started a new company called the Merrimack Manufacturing Company. Kirk Boott was chosen to be its first leader and money manager in Lowell. He was sent there because the current leader, Patrick Tracy Jackson, had to stay in Waltham.

Under Boott's leadership, the Merrimack Company made a lot of money. He also became the leader of the Proprietors of Locks and Canals. This group managed the canals and land that provided water power to the factories. In this role, Boott sold extra water power to other companies. This allowed many new factories to open in Lowell, and the city grew very quickly around them. Boott also supervised the print works, where cloth was dyed and printed.

Shaping the City of Lowell

Kirk Boott was very involved in the daily life of Lowell and the people who worked in the mills. He helped choose the type of church for the first church in town, which was Episcopal. He even helped design the school districts. He led the very first town meeting and was often sent to represent Lowell in the state government.

Kirk Boott died in his carriage in downtown Lowell on April 11, 1837. Some stories say his carriage tipped over. Others say he died from a back problem he got during his time in the military.

Boott Family

Kirk Boott's father was also named Kirk Boott (1750-1817). He was born in Derby, England.

There's a family story about the carriage Kirk Boott died in. His daughter, Mary Love Boott, kept using it after she got married in 1844. Years later, her husband, Charles A. Welch, used the carriage for a very unusual task. He had helped defend a doctor named John White Webster in a famous case. After Dr. Webster was executed, Welch used Boott's carriage to pick up his body. Mary never rode in the carriage again after that.

Some family members believe the family name was originally "Boot" without the extra "T." They think the extra "T" was added later to make the name sound more important.

Kirk Boott's Legacy

Kirk Boott's name is still remembered in Lowell today. The famous Boott Mills are named after him. There is also Kirk Street, which is near the old building of Lowell High School.

The Boott Mills are now part of the Lowell National Historical Park. The National Park Service has restored one of the weaving rooms to look like it did in the 1920s. This allows visitors to see firsthand how the Industrial Revolution began in the United States.

|