Into the Civil War: 1861–April 1862

In January 1860, Benjamin Butler’s “Memoranda of Estate & Liabilities” listed an impressive catalog of assets: a twelve-acre family homestead valued at $31,000; the Museum Building along with a contiguous city block that housed the post office, valued at $37,500; an additional plot of land (with buildings) in downtown Lowell, valued at $5,000; his mother Charlotte’s property, valued at $1,500; ten other pieces of real estate, not all in Lowell; and about $10,000 worth of personal property: “furniture, books, pictures, plate, household stuff and plants … horses, carriages, harness, stable furniture, tools, implements, and stock … library safe and office furniture