Lowell, Ohio History

There had been hope for electricity as far back as 1900 when the largest store build
ing was wired in construction. It was still expected when the new school building and 
the new St. John’s Evangelical and Reformed church were wired in 1915. The current 
came through about ten years later. At first relations between the electrical company 
and the village council were not too satisfactory. Wishes of the council “as to where 
poles should be set and what the charge should be were not too well respected at the 
time.”

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The current was provided by the same company that operated the interurban line from 
Marietta to Lowell and on to Beverly. It was still being furnished through a subsidiary of 
this same firm known as the Marietta Electric Company, through the 1950s.

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Natural gas was supplied to Lowell from the Bear Creek field in 1900. On July 23, 
1900, the council granted to Archer and Barry the right to maintain and operate pipes 
for the distribution of natural gas in the village for 30 years. The rate for the first heat
ing or cooking stove was $2.22 per a month in the winter. The second, third, and fourth 
stoves cost $1.67, $1.11, and 83c, respectively. Gas lights for dwellings or business 
places cost 27c per a month. Similar privileges to lay pipelines were granted to Andrew 
J. Brown on February 5, 1901. The Buckeye Pipe Line Company received permission 
on March 13, 1901, to operate a pipeline for transportation of oil through the village. 
The second company to have been granted a franchise introduced the use of controls
and meters. Although the metered gas cost a little more, many people preferred it since 
controls or cutoffs meant less danger. For a while, then, in 1903 and 1904, “there was 
a gas war that made the town ridiculous.” All public buildings had free gas and home 
users were charged only 10 cents per 1000 cubic feet per a month. This went on until 
one company became financially embarrassed and was bought out by the Ohio Fuel 
Gas Company.

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Gas was used for lights in public buildings and on the streets until after the 1913 flood. 
At that time a lamp left burning in the telephone office started a fire that resulted in the 
loss of the tops of several stores and homes.

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The first telephones in the community are claimed to have come on the Wooster line 
from Warner in 1904 or 1905. There is record of the village council passing an ordi
nance on June 4, 1896, granting permission to the Ohio Telephone and Telegraph 
Company to operate and maintain its line upon the streets of the village. On July 30, 
1901, the Caldwell Telephone Company was granted permission to put its poles in 
Lowell. On March 31, 1902, the Watertown and Stockport Telephone Company re
ceived its nod. Those who came in 1904 or 1905 are held to have been the ones that 
the permission of 1896 made possible.

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At about the same time, several farmer's lines were organized and they soon got to
gether on a separate switchboard. These included the Dixon Ridge Line and the L. H. 
W. to Whipple, Lower Salem, and Warner. For a time many homes and business plac
es had two phones and it was the “usual thing to be relaying messages or even full 
conversations from one to the other."

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The Fisher line from Marietta to Beverly, also came from across the river in those early 
days. Its switchboard was in a store across the canal until the line was hooked in with 
the Wooster line.

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The Wooster line, built and owned by Ralph Wooster, was taken over by the Farm
ers' Company sometime after 1913. There were two switchboards, not more than a 
block from each other until the early 1920s, when they were combined into one with 
70 drops. This number could be increased to 125. After the Farmers' Company stock 
changed hands once or twice it was purchased by the Ohio Associated Telephone 
Company. Switchboards were located on Third Street (in what used to be Dr. Oakley’s 
office) and on Main Street (on the second floor, of what used to be Billy Ray’s barber
shop). There was switchboard service practically "around the clock" with no charge 
calls to Beverly and Waterford.

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The 1913 flood ruined two of the telephone companies.

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The Lowell Farmers Telephone Co. officers in 1927 were President, Charles Schimmel; 
Vice-President, John Huck; Secretary and Treasurer, A. L. Wendell; General Manager, 
C. J. Huck; Assistant Secretary and Assistant Manager, C. F. Shinn.

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In 1959, there were 356 telephones in Lowell and the surrounding area. This led to a 
switchover from one Kellogg switchboard to two Western Electric switchboards. The 
phone operators at that time were Mrs. Walter Hupp, Mary Orndoff, Margaret Moore, 
Marlene Hart, Martha Worthington, and Rebecca Evans.

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On February 6, 1963, spokesmen for the General Telephone Co. of Ohio announced at 
Beverly that five towns - Beverly, Barlow, Lowell, Watertown, and Lower Salem - would 
be converted to dial telephone service by the end of the year at a cost of $800,000.

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New 7-digit all-number calling phone numbers were assigned to customers. The prefix 
of 896 was selected to identify Lowell phone users. A new facility provided Lowell with 
260 lines and 600 terminals.

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Lowell's waterworks project started on December 31, 1938, with brief ceremonies at 
the site where the first well would be located on the L. S. Stacy farm near the corpo
ration line. The R. E. Getz company of Baltic was awarded the contract on a bid of 
$40,011.73. 

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The storage tank was to be located on land purchased from Russell Wagner. Lowell 
High School was to receive water at the rate of $250 per year. Luthern McCathern was 
waterworks superintendent.

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Pictures of the ceremonies were taken by H. P. Fischer, Marietta Photographer. May
or D. B. Stanley; Clerk Katherine Rothley; Attorney Charles D. Fogle; Contractor R. E. 
Getz; Engineer Robert R. Cutler; Members of the Council, W. V. Bowen, Earl Fouss, A. 
H. Henniger, Jack Jordan, Chester Schmidt, and Charles Schwartz; Board of Trustees 
of Public Affairs, A. F. Wendell, F. F. Young, and Walter Henniger; and Mr. Beaghley, of 
Marietta, who represented the PWA, were present.

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The waterworks and sewer systems were completed in 1939. The waterworks was 
financed by a federal W. P. A. grant of $22,909 and a loan of $28,000. The total cost of 
the sewer system was $75,914, provided by a W. P. A. grant of $58,419, and a special 
bond issue of $16,495 which was carried out on February 28, 1938, by a vote of 340 to 
28. The community celebrated the victory with bonfires and a parade led by the band.

Shortly after completion, the water rate was increased from 50 cents for each thousand 
gallons to $1.00 for each thousand gallons.

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In 1991 an agreement was reached between The State of Ohio and The Village of 
Lowell following an earlier lawsuit, "State of Ohio, ex rel. Lee Fisher, Attorney General 
v. The Village of Lowell, Ohio". The state alleged in its complaint that the village "op
erated its wastewater treatment plant and sewer system in such a manner as to result 
in numerous violations of the discharge limitations and monitoring requirements of the 
NPDES Permit issued to it by the Director of the Ohio EPA and in violation of the water 
pollution laws of the State of Ohio."

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In the agreement, the Village of Lowell agreed to follow a schedule for compelting im
provements to their wastewater facility. Those improvments were: (a) Submit a Sewer 
System Evaluation Survey to determine sources of clean water entering the sanitary 
sewer system. (b) Submit an approvable facilities plan by July 1, 1991. (c) Submit an 
approvable PTI application and detailed plans and specifications to Ohio EPA by Octo
ber 1, 1991. (d)  Wastewater treatment plant under the full time responsible charge of 
a licensed certified Class II operator by December 1, 1991. (e)  Advertise building bids 
by February 1, 1992. (f) Execution of building contracts by April 1, 1992. (g) Initiation of 
construction by May 1, 1992. (h) Completion of construction by November 1, 1992. (i) 
Attain compliance with final effluent limitations and eliminate overflows and bypasses
by December 1, 1992.

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The order also stated that the Village "shall pay the State of Ohio a civil pentaly of five 
thousand dollars."

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Lowell has had issues with its water for a number of years. The water has been discol
ored, often brown, due to Iron and Manganese contaminants, both naturally occurring 
elements that are generally considered non-toxic.

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The Village has recieved citations for being "in violation of OAC 3745-82-02" for "the 
public water system [exceededing] contaminant level for manganese and iron". The 
EPA says that this type of violation "is defined as a drinking water standard set to ad
dress aesthetics of the water – taste, color, odor." and that "these are not health-based 
standards." The EPA maintains that the water is safe.

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Multiple projects were planned starting in 2021 to improve Lowell's water and sewer 
systems, including a new water treatment facility, new water wells on Buell Island, a 
new sewer plant, and line looping and replacement. By the end of 2021, it was reported 
that state and local sources have contributed $2,728,900 in funding for these projects.