LOWELL – As Christ Church United of Lowell concludes its ministry after generations of serving the Lowell community, its history will continue to live on through the UMass Lowell Library’s Archives and Special Collections at the Center for Lowell History.
The congregation has donated its historical records to the UMass Lowell Library, ensuring that decades of documents, photographs and other archival materials chronicling the church’s role in Lowell’s civic and religious life will be preserved and made accessible to future generations of researchers, students, genealogists and community members.
To support the donation, the church also established an endowment that will allow UMass Lowell to immediately process and preserve the church’s collection.
“While our congregation is closing its doors as a traditional parish, we are determined to ensure that our remaining financial assets continue to fund vital work that honors and strengthens the fabric of Lowell,” said Christ Church United of Lowell Rev. Ross Allen. “In recognition of its exceptional educational impact and role as keepers of our city and church’s history, our board has named the Center for Lowell History as a beneficiary of our legacy distribution.”
To the library, he added: “Thank you for your enduring leadership and for ensuring that Lowell’s past continues to inform and inspire its future. It is our honor to support your vision as a lasting part of our church’s legacy.”
The collection will be curated by the UMass Lowell Library’s Head Archivist Tony Sampas, whose past work preserving the stories of Lowell’s people, organizations and neighborhoods inspired the congregation’s decision to entrust UMass Lowell with its legacy.
The donation came together in a collaboration between Sampas and Christ Church United of Lowell leadership. Beginning with a meeting last December, Sampas, Rev. Allen and members of the congregation discussed the long-term stewardship of the church’s records as the congregation prepared to dissolve.
“Since I joined UMass Lowell Library in August 2025, I continue to be impressed and inspired by the deep knowledge, expertise and care that our Archives and Special Collections staff – primarily located at The Center for Lowell History – apply to the vocation of preserving and keeping alive the history of Lowell and the stories of its communities and people,” said Galadriel Chilton, dean of UMas Lowell’s Library. “The church’s donation of their archives, along with their generous financial gift, not only enable ongoing care and preservation of these materials but will also fund internships for UMass Lowell students. Such internships, in turn, open new and deeper understandings about Lowell for students as the stories of past generations and communities come alive again.
“Material and financial donations like the church’s enhance the wonder of UMass Lowell’s Archives and Special Collections and ensure appropriate stewardship and care,” she added.
UMass Lowell Library’s archivists preserve and provide access to archival materials documenting Lowell’s industrial, cultural, political, religious and community history. The Christ Church United of Lowell collection expands the archive’s holdings and preserves an important chapter in the city’s religious and civic heritage.
Founded in 1971 as a partnership between UMass Lowell and the Lowell Historical Society, the Center for Lowell History location of the Library’s Archives and Special Collections serves as the city’s primary archival repository. Its collections document the people, institutions, businesses and neighborhoods that have shaped Lowell’s past while supporting research, teaching and public engagement throughout the region and beyond.
