The Wannalancit Street Historic District is one of Lowell’s most architecturally significant streets. One block in length, the District includes homes built in the
Greek Revival,
Gothic Revival,
Italianate,
Second Empire,
Queen Anne, and
Colonial Revival styles. Development of Wannalancit Street began in the 1850s during a period of rapid development in Lowell of new residential areas for the city’s growing middle class. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 and includes 25 structures. In 2005, the
Wannalancit Street Neighborhood District was created, utilizing the same National Register boundaries, requiring review by the Lowell Historic Board of demolition, partial demolition, and new construction projects.
Prior to the late 1600s, land in the area was part of a Native American fishing ground at Pawtucket Falls and was sold to English settlers in 1686 by Wannalancit, last sachem of the Pennacook Confederacy. The area was originally part of Chelmsford and was scattered with farms. By 1820, the area close to the Pawtucket Falls included a small cluster of houses, commercial buildings, and small industries including a sawmill.