AMHR Black Varnish Appaloosa Mini Mare

The first European settlers to the land that would become Lowell arrived in the late 18th century after the 1787 Northwest Ordinance opened the territory for settlement. Soon after the Ordinance took effect, the Ohio Company of Associates purchased 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km 2) of land along the Muskingum River and proceeded to survey the area. The first settlement in what would become the state of Ohio was Marietta, founded in 1788 near the mouth of the Muskingum about 14 miles (23 km) downstream from the site that would become Lowell. By 1789, settlement had spread north to the area where the Cats Creek enters the Muskingum River. By the 1830s the Muskingum Valley had long been settled, and local leaders created a plan to improve the Muskingum River for use as a source of power.