Lurgan is a prosperous and flourishing manufacturing town in the north-east corner of the County Armagh. It is situated twenty miles S.W. from the city of Belfast, on the line of the Great Northern Railway, and a mile and a-half south from Lough Neagh. The population of Lurgan, according to the last census, was 11.447. The correctness of these figures have been often questioned, the general belief being that the population is over 12,000. The annual valuation of rateable property in the township amounts to £21,571 5s. and this amount is slowly but steadily on the increase. In the year 1831 the population of Lurgan was 3,760 and the rateable property was then £5,576, and since that time both the population and valuation has almost quadrupled.

The municipal affairs of Lurgan are managed by a Board of fifteen Commissioners, incorporated under the Towns Improvement Act of 1854, and the general cleanly appearance of the streets are evidence of the fostering care of the Municipal Board. The town is not picturesque in its appearance, but its fine open main street, particularly from the Church to High Street, is a very observable feature in the construction and formation of the town. The clearance of the old Market House, the last of the buildings that stood in the centre of Market Street, and was known as the Middle Row, has added much to the appearance of the town, in addition to the increased street accommodation available for fairs and markets, the former being held on the second Thursday of each month, and the markets each alternate Thursday. The weekly market and monthly fair are improving, and though the main street is very wide, it is taxed to its upmost, particularly on the days that the fair and market are held together.

The antiquated and unreliable means in the past of obtaining water from public pumps and other sources, has been dispensed with, and the Town Board, in accordance with more enlightened scientific principles, has, at a cost of nearly £30,000, completed new waterworks, from which an unlimited supply of pure water can be obtained from Castors' Bay, an intake of Lough Neagh. The new works were opened in 1894 and they are pronounced to be the finest in the United Kingdom. The advantages of the water supply for domestic purposes is considerably enhanced, considering the facilities afforded to many industries for their development in the interests of the town.

Brownlow House and demesne, some 500 acres in extent, lying in close proximity to the town, being now in the hands of a local syndicate, improvements and increased building accommodation is expected in the near future. Lurgan may be said to be the cradle of the Linen industry, and to the success and skill of its inhabitants and the surrounding villages in the cambric and damask manufactory, and in later years the handkerchief hemstitching business is to be attributed the onward progress of the town, many manufacturers engaged in these industries having accumulated and amassed princely fortunes. Among the many depots of public industry in Lurgan are the extensive power-loom weaving factories of Mr. James Malcolm, D.L.; The Lurgan Weaving Company, Ltd., and that of Messrs. Johnston, Allen & Co., and the linen and cambric manufactories of Messrs: Robert Watson & Co., John Douglas & Son, Thomas Bell & Co., Mathers and Bunting, McCaughey & Co., James Clendinning & Sons, Richardson, Sons & Owden, and the hemstitching factories of the Lurgan Hemming and Veining Company, John Ross & Co., Thomas Faloon, James B. Hanna, J. Maxwell & Co., Murphy & Stevenson, and Mercer & Brown. The Banking Companies represented in Lurgan are the Ulster, the Northern, and the Belfast, each establishment having a branch office.

The Church of Ireland, standing in the centre of the town, is a large and commodious Gothic structure, and has a fine peal of eight bells, in addition to an illuminated clock, and from its commanding position is visible for a long distance. There is also a handsome and spacious Church of Ireland Mission Hall and Schoolhouse in John Street. There are, besides Lurgan College and the Model School, a large number of National Schools available for instruction, two of these being in immediate connection with St. Peter's Church and St. Joseph's Convent. There are also commodious houses of worship for Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Society of Friends, the Salvation Army, and Roman Catholics. The Town Hall is in Union Street, and contains a Lecture Hall, with platform at end with foot lights; a minor hall above large hall, and in the basement Town Clerk's Office. Free Library and Museum Room attached, which was inaugurated during the year. The Mechanics' Institute is a handsome structure, situate at the corner of Market Street and Union Street, and adjoins the Town Hall. In this building the Masonic body met. A new Masonic Hall is in contemplation, and will soon be added to the number of our public buildings. In connection with the institute there is a billiard-room and a well-equipped reading-room and library. The Petty Sessions are held in the County Courthouse fortnightly, the district embracing a large portion of the County Down. The Quarter Sessions for the northern portion of the County Armagh are also held four times a year in the County Building, William Street.

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