Caroline Stevens Rogers, a member of a venerable textile industry family and a handweaver and dyer in her own right, founded the Merrimack Valley Textile Museum in North Andover, Massachusetts in 1960. Since its founding, the American Textile History Museum (ATHM) has expanded its mission, changed its name, and relocated to its present home in historic Lowell., Massachusetts. It has been accredited by the American Association of Museums since 1973.
During its first thirty years, the Museum documented the woolen, cotton, flax and silk industries in New England and beyond through its collections of pre-industrial tools, powered industrial era machinery, flat textiles and the rich collections of its Osborne Library.
The Museum supported research and publication, hosted conferences, presented exhibitions and public programming. It also developed a model program with the public schools of neighboring Lawrence, Massachusetts. In 1977, the Textile Conservation Center was established as a department of the Museum.
By the mid 1980s, under the directorship of Tom Leavitt, the Museum set out to expand its public dimension via exhibitions and expanded museum educational programming for schools and the general public. It also sought to bring its extensive collections into a single, unified curatorial and storage facility.
In 1992, the Museum purchased the Kitson Building in Lowell and began a fundraising campaign, to support the renovations to this historic building. Led by Director Paul Rivard, the building was renovated , the core exhibition Textiles in America was designed and installed and the Museum opened to the public in April, 1997. Under Rivard’s guidance the Museum expanded its educational services to include the Lowell Public Schools, and initiated the special changing exhibitions program.
Under the leadership of Michael J. Smith, who was the Museum’s President/CEO from 2000 through 2005, the Museum formulated its current mission statement; greatly expanded its educational programs, began programs for scouts, opened the Textile Learning Center for families, and spearheaded innovative special exhibitions. Also during Mr. Smith’s tenure, the Chace Foundation awarded the Museum with a substantial grant to access portions of the Museum’s collections on the internet, and the American Textile Hall of Fame, a program honoring individuals, corporations and organization from the world of textiles, was initiated.
An organizational restructuring of the Museum got underway in 2006. James S. Coleman was named interim Executive Director in January to help meet the challenge of funding the Museum’s operations and to formulate a plan to take the Museum forward. The Textile Conservation Center closed as a department of the Museum later that month and in April the Museum successfully negotiated an agreement to sell part of its Dutton Street building for conversion into mixed-use space including residential lofts, and the home of The Sun, the region’s daily newspaper. The Museum launched a $1 million challenge to grow its endowment and ensure the preservation of its collections, which will be matched dollar for dollar by an anonymous donor at the Maine Community Foundation. The Chace Catalogue came on-line in June 2006, enabling visitors to the Museum’s website to gain access to key portions of its curatorial and storage facilities through the technology of a virtual museum. Coleman succeeded in crafting a strategic plan and a preliminary budget to renovate and strengthen the Museum in order to achieve growth and financial stability, and the Board of Trustees agreed to move forward with the plan to build its future in Lowell. In July Coleman accepted the permanent position of President CEO offered to him by the Museum’s Board of Trustees, with a firm commitment to finding the right formula for the Museum’s success in the Lowell community. In September he presented the Museum's vision of the future to Museum members and friends with a sneak preview of the exciting plans for renovating the Textiles in America core exhibition to bring it into the 21st century.
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