 With that, what is now Lowell became entirely colonist-owned, existing as part of the towns of Chelmsford and Dracut.Entrepreneurs and industrialists soon began using Chelmsford as a location for new mills and manufacturing plants.The presence of Pawtucket Falls offered a source of water power that enabled the construction of a sawmill and gristmill in the early 18th century, followed by a fulling mill in 1737.