Lawrence, Massachusetts

Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence, Massachusetts
	Official seal of Lawrence, Massachusetts Seal
	Location in Massachusetts
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Essex County
Settled	1655
Incorporated	1847
Government
• Type	Mayor-council city
• Mayor	Michael J. Sullivan
Elevation	50 ft (20 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	72,043
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	01840
Area code	351 / 978
Website	http://www.ci.lawrence.ma.us/

Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts on the Merrimack River. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 72,043. It and Salem are the county seats of Essex County.Template:GR

Manufacturing products of the city include electronic equipment, textiles, footwear, paper products, computers, and foodstuffs. Lawrence was, for a while, the residence of Robert Frost, where he published his first poem.

History

Europeans first settled the area in 1640. The site of the city -- formerly parts of Andover and Methuen -- was purchased in 1845 by a group of Boston industrialists headed by the wealthy merchant and congressman Abbott Lawrence, the community's namesake. The city was incorporated in 1853.

The industrialists, most prominently Lawrence, established textile mills near sources of abundant waterpower. Working conditions in these mills were unsafe and in 1860 a factory collapsed, killing 88 workers. In 1912 the so-called Bread and Roses strike or the Lawrence textile strike, one of greatest labor actions in American history, began when mill owners increased the speed of factory looms, and subsequently lowered wages for thousands of women and child workers. The Massachusetts National Guard, private and city police countered 23,000 strikers for two months, resulting in numerous deaths and mass arrests. When police and militia assaulted a group of women and children, public outcry forced mill owners to capitulate. The striking workers won wage increases for themselves and thousands of workers in New England mills.

Lawrence was a great wool-processing center until that industry declined in the 1950s. The decline of industry in Lawrence and throughout the Northeast left Lawrence a struggling city. However, a sharp reduction in violent crime starting in 2004 and massive private investment in former mill buildings along the Merrimack River -- to be converted into commercial, residential and education uses -- have lent encouragement to boosters of the city. One of the final remaining mills in the city is Malden Mills.

Geography

Lawrence is located at 42°42′13″N 71°9′47″W / 42.70361°N 71.16306°W / 42.70361; -71.16306Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (42.703741, -71.162979).Template:GR

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.2 km² (7.4 mi²). 18.0 km² (7.0 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (6.07%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 72,043 people, 24,463 households, and 16,903 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,996.5/km² (10,351.4/mi²). There were 25,601 housing units at an average density of 1,420.2/km² (3,678.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 48.64% White, 4.88% African American, 0.81% Native American, 2.65% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 36.67% from other races, and 6.25% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race mainly Dominican or Puerto Rican were 59.71% of the population.

There were 24,463 households out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 25.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90 and the average family size was 3.46.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,983, and the median income for a family was $29,809. Males had a median income of $27,772 versus $23,137 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,360. About 21.2% of families and 34.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.7% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Lawrence has a Mayor-council government. There are nine city councilors and six school committee members, all elected by district and three city council members are elected at large. All elections are non-partisan elections. The Mayor serves as the seventh member of the school committee as well as chair of the school committee. The city council chooses one of its number as president who serves as chair of the council. As of January 2007, the Mayor is Michael J. Sullivan and Patrick J. Blanchette is the City Council President.

As of January 2007, Lawrence is part of one Massachusetts Senate district (2nd Essex and Middlesex, represented by Susan Tucker (D)) and three Massachusetts Representative Districts (Fourteenth Essex, represented by David M. Torrisi (D), Sixteenth Essex, represented by William Lantigua (D), and Seventeenth Essex, represented by Barry R. Finegold (D)). It is part of the Fifth Massachusetts Congressional District, represented by Martin T. Meehan (D).

Media

Education

Colleges

High schools

Elementary schools

Notable residents

Tommy Abate, actor
Leonard Bernstein, composer and conductor
Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003 and MTV VJ
Ferdinand Waldo Demara, The Great Imposter
William Edward Donovan, major league baseball player and manager
Sully Erna, Godsmack lead singer
Robert Frost, poet
Robert Goulet, singer
Robbie Merill, Godsmack bassist
Joe Perry, guitarist of Aerosmith
Termanology, rapper
Thelma Todd, actress
Gil Reyes, former WBA Fedecentro Welterweight Champion