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Rh the city limits, and the Lowell Reform School was established.

In 1852, George Wellman completed his first working model of his self top card stripper—one of the most valuable inventions of the present century; Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian patriot, visited Lowell; and the Legislature of Massachusetts enacted the first prohibitory liquor law.

The City Hall was reconstructed in 1853. The Lowell Jail was built in 1856. Thomas H. Benton visited Lowell in 1857. Washington Square was laid out in 1858.

During the dark days of the Rebellion, Lowell responded loyally to the appeal for soldiers and money, and of her young men many of the best were sacrificed to preserve the Union.

The fall of Fort Sumter produced a profound sensation in Lowell. Four companies from the city hastened to join their regiment: the Mechanic Phalanx, under command of Captain Albert S. Follansbee; the City Guards,

Captain James W. Hart; the Watson Light Guard, Captain John F. Noyes, and the Lawrence Cadets (National Grays), Captain Josiah A. Sawtelle. They assembled at Huntington Hall, the day after President Lincoln's call for troops, and were mustered into the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment under command of Colonel Edward F. Jones. They at once proceeded to Boston and