Merrimack Valley — Lowell, Lawrence & Andover

I-495 / I-93 / US-3 / MBTA Lowell & Haverhill Lines

The Merrimack Valley is the industrial river corridor along the Merrimack River in northern Middlesex County and Essex County. Anchored by Lowell (America's first planned industrial city — founded in 1820s as a textile mill town powered by the Merrimack, now home to the Lowell National Historical Park, UMass Lowell, and the Tsongas Center), Lawrence (a major immigrant-heritage city and home of the historic 1912 Bread and Roses textile strike), Haverhill, Methuen, Andover (home of Phillips Academy Andover — one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the US, where George W. Bush attended), North Andover, Dracut, Tewksbury, Chelmsford, Billerica, Westford, Acton, Boxborough, and Littleton. Served by the MBTA Lowell and Haverhill Commuter Rail Lines.