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Lawrence History Center

Founded in 1978 as the Immigrant City Archives by German immigrant Eartha Dengler, the Lawrence History Center collects, preserves, shares, and interprets the history and heritage of Lawrence and its people.

Hours:
Tuesday through Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Saturday, by appointment only
Directions From Route 495, take Exit 45 (Marston Street)

Follow Marston Street to the traffic light at Canal Street. Go straight (formerly a left turn before intersection redesign) at the light onto Canal Street (following brown signs for the Heritage State Park. As you come down Canal Street, you will see the Stone and Everett Mills ahead of you on the right. Continue down the hill a bit to the traffic light. Take a right onto Union Street. Take your second left onto Essex Street at the first traffic light. LHC is on the corner of Union and Essex Streets on the left.

Officers and staff
Susan Grabski, Executive Director
Amita Kiley, Collections Manager & Research Coordinator
Kathy Flynn, Head Researcher/Volunteer
Dorothy Truman, Archivist/Volunteer
Nancy Leonardi, Bookkeeper

Board of Directors
Mike Hearn, President
Kathleen Curry, Vice President
Mark Svendsen, Treasurer
Sara Morin, Secretary
Pamela Yameen, Immediate Past President
Whimpper Barahona
Randald Bartlett
Mark Cutler
Professor Robert Forrant
Mary O’Brien Guerrero
Karen Van Welden-Herman
Ellen Minzner
Yadira Betances Muldoon
Richard Padova
Chet Sidell, Board Member Emeritus
James Sutton
Claudia Dengler, Honorary Member
Mission: The mission of the Lawrence History Center is to collect, preserve, share, and animate the history and heritage of Lawrence and its people.
Founded: 1978
History of the Lawrence History Center: eartha1The Lawrence History Center began its own history in 1978 when German immigrant Eartha Dengler came to Lawrence, Massachusetts. At the time, Lawrence’s large textile mills––the heart of the city’s economy––were shutting down and urban redevelopment was displacing ethnic neighborhoods. The people of Lawrence were much more concerned with the city’s future than its past.

Into this environment came LHC founder, Eartha Dengler, who had emigrated with her husband Claus and daughter Ann from a war-ravaged Germany in 1951. Inspired by the nation’s diversity, she sought to create a place that would listen to immigrant stories and preserve their memories.

While working at the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum (later the Museum of American Textile History), Dengler recognized that there were pieces of Lawrences' history that were not being told. She sought to organize a new history archives focusing on the special contribution of Lawrence to a broad array of American concerns, including immigration, ethnic interaction, labor and technology.
Explore:
Digital Collections (digital content online)
Collection overview: Our largest single collection is the Essex Company business and planning records that meticulously document the building of the City of Lawrence starting in 1845. Other collections include over 20,000 photographs and glass plate negatives, 800 digitally mastered oral histories, mayoral papers, non-current municipal records, church records, organizational records from local businesses and agencies, and an array of family and individual records that document the ethnically diverse and intellectually challenging nature of Lawrence.
Policies:

The Lawrence History Center welcomes research questions from all over the world.

Simply send an email to research@lawrencehistory.org or call us at 978-686-9230 and we'll get to work together. We're always happy to help!

We ask that people take out a membership when conducting their own research at LHC using our archival resources.

Copies and other services:

The Lawrence History Center can complete research for patrons who are unable to perform the research themselves and provide photocopies, digital scans, prints, and permissions.

Lawrence History Center Service Fee Schedule
Permissions:

Permissions for use of photographs and other documents is handled on a case by case basis. Please contact us at research@lawrencehistory.org.

Become a member: Join a community of thousands of like-minded individuals who are committed to preserving the history of the City of Lawrence. To become a member you may call us at 978 686 9230; email us at membership@lawrencehistory.org; mail to us at LHC, 6 Essex Street, Lawrence, MA 01840.
Donate online: The Lawrence History Center is a private, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Every gift to the Lawrence History Center, regardless of its size, will help support operations and special projects such as exhibits, building restoration, educational programs and community outreach initiatives.
Events: The Lawrence History Center hosts an array of events and programs including talks, academic symposiums, and an annual 5k road race.
Lawrence History Center
6 Essex Street
Lawrence, Mass. 01840
Website: www.lawrencehistory.org
Contact us via the web
Phone: 978-686-9230
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