The Lawrence History Center exists to gather and preserve the history of Lawrence, MA for the purpose of educating students and the general public and promoting research on this exceptional creation of the American Industrial Revolution. The themes of the collections include industrialization and technology, immigration, labor and women's issues. Lawrence was founded in 1847 by the Essex Company to produce textiles using water power. It was to be the ultimate planned city built by the Boston entrepreneurs who established Waltham and Lowell. The Great Stone Dam was the longest in the world at the time it was constructed. Lawrence was, from the outset, a city of immigrants. The City was the site of the 1912 Strike, often called "Bread and Roses" which was influential in launching the labor movement, in strengthening child labor laws, and in lending support to women's suffrage.