New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts. New Bedford is nicknamed "The Whaling City" because it was one of the world's most important whaling ports in the nineteenth century, along with Nantucket, Massachusetts, and New London, Connecticut.[3] New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton are the three largest cities in the South Coast region of Massachusetts. The city is known for its fishing fleet and accompanying seafood industry, as well as for its high concentration of Portuguese Americans.
History
See also: Timeline of New Bedford, Massachusetts
William Allen Wall's depiction of Wampanoag people meeting Bartholomew Gosnold and his crew upon their arrival in New Bedford in 1602
Before the 17th century, the Wampanoag Native Americans, who had settlements throughout southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, were the only inhabitants of the lands along the Acushnet River. Their population is believed to have been about 12,000. While exploring New England, Bartholomew Gosnold landed on Cuttyhunk Island on May 15, 1602. From there, he explored Cape Cod and the neighboring areas, including the site of present-day New Bedford. However, rather than settle the area, he returned to England at the request of his crew.[citation needed]
Old Dartmouth
A group of English Quakers from the Plymouth Colony—who as pacifists held ideological differences with the Puritans on the question of taxes to fund a military—separated and established the first European settlement on the South Coast in 1652.[4] They purchased Old Dartmouth—a region that is now Dartmouth, Acushnet, New Bedford, Fairhaven, and Westport—from Chief Massasoit of the native Wampanoag to start a new society. Whether the transfer of the land was legitimately done has been the subject of intense controversy. Like other native tribes, the Wampanoags did not share the settlers' concepts of private property. The tribe may have understood they were granting usage rights to the land, not giving it up permanently.
At first, Old Dartmouth's 115,000 acres (470 km2) of territory was devoid of major town centers, and had isolated farms and small villages instead.[5] At this time, the economy primarily ran on agriculture and fishing. Land availability attracted many Quakers and Baptists from Newport and Portsmouth in Rhode Island, as well as more Puritans migrating from Britain.
King Philip's War
The rising European population and increasing demand for land led the colonists' relationship with the Native Peoples of New England to deteriorate. European encroachment and disregard for the terms of the Old Dartmouth Purchase led to King Philip's War in 1675.[6] In this conflict, Wampanoag tribesmen, allied with the Narragansett and the Nipmuc, raided Old Dartmouth and other European settlements in the area.[6] Europeans in Old Dartmouth garrisoned in sturdier homes—John Russell's home at Russells Mills, John Cooke's home in Fairhaven, and a third garrison on Palmer Island.[6][7]
Further information: New Bedford Meeting House
New Bedford
A section of Old Dartmouth near the west bank of the Acushnet River, originally called Bedford Village, was officially incorporated as the town of New Bedford on February 23, 1787 after the American Revolutionary War. The name was suggested by the Russell family, who were prominent citizens of the community. The Dukes of Bedford, a leading English aristocratic house, also bore the surname Russell. (Bedford, Massachusetts had been incorporated in 1729; hence "New" Bedford.)
The late 18th century was a time of growth for the town. A small whale fishery developed, as well as modest international trade. In the 1760s, between the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution, shipwrights, carpenters, mechanics, and blacksmiths, settled around New Bedford harbor, creating a skilled and comprehensive maritime community.
New Bedford's first newspaper, The Medley (also known as the New Bedford Marine Journal), was founded in 1792.[8] On June 12, 1792, the town set up its first post office. William Tobey was its first postmaster. The construction of a bridge (originally a toll bridge) between New Bedford and present-day Fairhaven in 1796 also spurred growth. (Fairhaven separated from New Bedford in 1812, forming an independent town that included both present-day Fairhaven and present-day Acushnet.)
Whaling City
Nantucket had been the dominant whaling port, though the industry was controlled by a cartel of merchants in Boston, Newport, and Providence. In the 1760s, Nantucket's most prominent whaling families moved to New Bedford, refining their own oil and making their own premium candles.
The American Revolutionary War completely paralyzed the whaling industry. British forces blockaded American ports and captured or destroyed American commercial ships; they even marched down King's Street in New Bedford (defiantly renamed Union Street after the Revolution) and set businesses on fire.
Lowering Boats by Clifford Warren Ashley, held at the New Bedford Whaling Museum
Nantucket was even more exposed, and the physical destruction, frozen economy, and import taxes imposed after the war obliterated previous fortunes. New Bedford also had a deeper harbor and was located on the mainland. As a result, New Bedford supplanted Nantucket as the nation's preeminent whaling port, and so began the Golden Age of Whaling.
The New Bedford waterfront in 1867
After the War of 1812's embargo was lifted, New Bedford started amassing a number of colossal, sturdy, square-rigged whaling ships, many of them built at the shipyard of Mattapoisett. The invention of on-board tryworks, a system of massive iron pots over a brick furnace, allowed the whalers to render high quality oil from the blubber.[9] This allowed the whaling ships to go out to sea for as long as four years, processing their catch while at sea.[9] Ships from New Bedford came back to port with barrels of oil, spermaceti, and occasionally ambergris.[10]
Old Colony Railroad Station in New Bedford, as it looked c. 1907–1915. As early as 1840, New Bedford was integrated into the northeastern economy by rail.[11]
Whaling dominated New Bedford's economy for much of the century, and many families of the city were involved with it as crew and officers of ships. The Quakers remained prominent and influential in New Bedford throughout the whaling era. They brought religious values into their business models, promoting stability as well as prosperity, investing in infrastructure projects such as rail, and employing without discrimination.[12] They established solid social and economic relationships with Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, integrating New Bedford into the urban northeastern economy.
Ten thousand men worked in the whaling industry. During this period, New Bedford's population increased from approximately 4,000 in 1820 to about 24,000 in 1860.[13] At the height of the whaling industry in 1857, the harbor hosted 329 vessels worth over $12 million, and New Bedford became the richest city per capita in the world.[14]
On March 18, 1847 the town of New Bedford officially became a city; Abraham Hathaway Howland was elected its first mayor.
Land of Opportunity
Main article: Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts
The New Bedford Meeting House, built in 1822, replaced an earlier meeting house on Spring Street.
The Quakers of New Bedford applied their principles of egalitarianism and community-building in their businesses.[15] On the boats, at the docks, at the factories, or in the shops—British, Wampanoag, Cape Verdean, Azorean, Irish, and West African hands found work in New Bedford.[13]
New Bedford also became one of the first fermentation centers of abolitionism in North America, and an important stop on the Underground Railroad. Many people were attracted by New Bedford's relatively open-minded atmosphere. For example, Paul Cuffe—an Ashanti-Wampanoag Quaker and self-made tycoon[16]—among several other remarkable achievements earned black property owners in New Bedford the right to vote decades before Abraham Lincoln even signed the Emancipation Proclamation.[16] Lewis Temple, an African-American blacksmith, invented the Temple toggle iron, which was the most successful harpoon design.[17] Frederick Douglass, the famous social reformer and orator, also found amnesty in New Bedford and worked at the wharf for three years.[18]
Whaling decline
The whaling industry went into decline after the 1859 discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania. Each decade since then saw a gradual decrease in whaling work, activity, and revenue. During the Civil War, the Confederacy engaged in commerce raiding with ships such as the Alabama, the Florida, and the Shenandoah, trying to attack the Yankee whaling industry and sabotage the US economy.[19] Additionally, the US federal government bought several inactive whalers, filled them with stones, sand, and dirt, and towed them to Charleston, South Carolina where the Union Navy sank what became known as the Stone Fleet in an unsuccessful attempt to blockade the Confederate bay.[19] Along with the poor business and low whale populations, this dealt a potent blow to a failing industry.
Textile industry
New Bedford in 1876
In the midst of this decline, greater New Bedford's economy became more dependent on the textile industry, which began to eclipse the whaling industry in the late 19th century. The mills grew and expanded constantly, eventually comprising multiple sites along the Acushnet River. In 1875 alone, the Wamsutta Mills processed 19,000 bales of cotton into 20 million yards of cloth, which had a wholesale value comparable to that of the entire whaling catch, and continued to produce over 20 million yards of cloth yearly after 1883.[20] The Wamsutta Mills remained the world's largest weaving plant until 1892.[21]
The textile mills redefined wealth in New Bedford, and gave birth to a prosperity greater than that of the whaling industry.[22] New Bedford, funded by industrial fortunes, developed a thriving art scene. The Mount Washington Glass Company (which later became Pairpoint) crafted works of glass and silver for the newly affluent class, and examples of these works can be seen today on the second floor of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.[citation needed]
Photographs taken by Lewis Hine for the NCLC.
Wamsutta-Mill-1912-Hines.jpg
Manuel Sousa and family, 306-2(nd) St., On right end is brother-in-law; next (to) him is father who works on the river; next is Manuel (appears to be 12 years old) wearing sweater and has LOC cph.3b12096.jpg
Young messenger in New Bedford. LOC nclc.03743.jpg
All work in the Butler Mills. LOC nclc.02251.jpg
Lewis Hine, John Sousa and family, New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1912.jpg
Immigration
Until 1800, New Bedford and its surrounding communities were, by and large, populated by Protestants of English, Scottish, Welsh, and Dutch origin. During the first half of the 19th century many Irish people came to Massachusetts. In 1818, Irish immigrants established the Catholic mission that built St. Mary's Church. Later in that century, immigrants from Portugal and its colonial possessions in the Atlantic—Cape Verde, the Azores, and Madeira—began arriving in New Bedford and the surrounding area, attracted by jobs in the whaling industry; many had family members who had worked on whaling ships. As the Portuguese community began to increase in population, it established the first Portuguese parish in the city, St. John the Baptist (1871). French Canadians also secured a foothold in New Bedford at about the same time, and they built the Church of the Sacred Heart in 1877.
North Congregational Church, Purchase Street, 1906
Similarly, Polish immigrants began arriving in the late 19th century and established the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 1903. A number of Jewish families, arriving in the late 19th century, were active in the whaling industry, selling provisions and outfitting ships. During the years leading up to the First World War, a sizable eastern-European Jewish community joined them in New Bedford. Some became prominent merchants and businessmen, mainly in textiles and manufacturing.
Modern history
Monument to Portuguese-American Veterans
View of boats docked at New Bedford
Fishing and manufacturing continue to be two of the largest businesses in the area, and healthcare has become a major employer. The three largest single employers based in New Bedford are Southcoast Hospitals Group, one of the top ten employers in Massachusetts (healthcare), Titleist (golf clubs, balls, apparel, manufacturing), and Riverside Manufacturing (apparel manufacturing).[citation needed]
According to a 2001 study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Policy Analysis, the three largest employment sectors in the Greater New Bedford area (the area includes New Bedford and Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, Lakeville, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, and Wareham) were as follows: services (26% of total employment); wholesale trade (22%); manufacturing (19%). The largest industries by employment in the area were as follows: health services, eating and drinking places, wholesale trade, food stores, and social services.[citation needed]
In 2002, the city received $61,194,358 in taxation revenue, $44,536,201 in local receipts, and $12,044,152 classified as other available.
In 2005 the unemployment rate was 7.3%, having dropped throughout the 1990s from 12.5% to 5.3% in 2000, and then having risen to 10.4% in 2003. By 2009, in the midst of the economic crisis of the era, the unemployment rate got as high as 12.4%.
In 2005, the city received $104,925,772 for education, and $22,755,439 for general government from the State of Massachusetts.
In 2016, the city hopes its proximity to Massachusetts' southern coastline will allow it to become a center for the growing wind energy market. Three companies, OffshoreMW, Deepwater Wind, and DONG Energy, have leased portions of New Bedford's Marine Commerce Terminal for the staging of turbines and platforms.[23]
Establishments
In 1847, the New Bedford Horticultural Society was begun by James Arnold.[24]
The Ash Street Jail, which houses inmates from Bristol County, is located in New Bedford. It opened in 1829 and is the oldest continuously operating jail in the United States.[25]
Fort Taber and Fort Rodman (also called the "Fort at Clark's Point") were built during the American Civil War and are now in Fort Taber Park. Both forts are often called Fort Taber, including in some references.[26]
Geography
New Bedford is located at 41°39′06″N 70°56′01″W (41.651803, −70.933705).[27] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.1 square miles (62.5 km2). Of the total area, 20.0 square miles (51.8 km2) is land, and 4.1 square miles (10.7 km2), or 17.13%, is water.[28] New Bedford is a coastal city, a seaport, bordered on the west by Dartmouth, on the north by Freetown, on the east by Acushnet and Fairhaven, and on the south by Buzzards Bay. From New Bedford's northern border with Freetown to the Buzzards Bay coast at Clark's Point the distance is approximately 14 miles (23 km). Across New Bedford east to west is a distance of about 2 miles (3.2 km). The highest point in the city is an unnamed hill crossed by Interstate 195 and Hathaway Road west of downtown, with an elevation greater than 180 feet (55 m) above sea level.[29]
New Bedford Harbor, a body of water shared with Fairhaven, is actually the estuary of the Acushnet River where it empties into Buzzards Bay. The river empties into the bay beyond Clark's Point, the southernmost point of the city. To the west of Clark's Point is Clark's Cove, which extends landward approximately one and a half mile from the bay. Just south of Palmer's Island, beginning near Fort Phoenix in Fairhaven, lies a two-mile-long hurricane barrier, constructed in the 1960s to protect the inner harbor where the fishing fleet anchors. Along with Palmer's Island, the city also lays claim to Fish Island and Pope's Island. Between these two islands lies one of the three sections, the central section, of the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge. The central span, a swing bridge, connects the two islands as well as allowing boats and ships passage to the upper harbor. Two conventional bridges connect each of the islands to the nearest mainland, Fish Island to New Bedford and Pope's Island to Fairhaven. In addition to the harbor, there are several small brooks and ponds within the city limits.
Communities
Bristol County Superior Courthouse in Taunton.
Cities
Attleboro
Fall River
New Bedford
Taunton (county seat)
Towns
Acushnet
Berkley
Dartmouth
Dighton
Easton
Fairhaven
Freetown
Mansfield
North Attleborough
Norton
Raynham
Rehoboth
Seekonk
Somerset
Swansea
Westport
Census-designated places
Acushnet Center
Bliss Corner
Mansfield Center
North Seekonk
North Westport
Norton Center
Ocean Grove
Raynham Center
Smith Mills
Other villages
Assonet
Bowensville
Britannia
East Freetown
East Taunton
Fall River Station
Five Corners
Flint Village
Four Corners
Globe Village
Gushee Pond
Highlands
Hixville
Hornbine
Hortonville
Kingmans Corner
Myricks
North Attleborough Center
North Dighton
North Easton
North Raynham
North Rehoboth
North Taunton
Oakland
Padanaram
Pecks Corner
Perrys Corner
Perryville
Pleasantfield
Pleasant Street
Pottersville
Prattville
Ramblewood
Rehoboth
Sassaquin
South Attleboro
South Rehoboth
South Easton
Squawbetty
Steep Brook
Titicut
Tracy Corner
Wade's Corner
Weir Village
Westville
Whittenton
Whittenton Junction
Bristol County is a county in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 548,285.[1][2] The county seat is Taunton.[3] Some governmental functions are performed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, others by the county, and others by local towns and cities. See administrative divisions of Massachusetts. The property deed records are kept in Taunton, Attleboro, Fall River, and New Bedford.
Bristol County is part of the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT Combined Statistical Area. The county is adjacent to the state of Rhode Island.
The adjacent counties are Plymouth County, Norfolk County, Bristol County, Rhode Island (RI), Newport County, Rhode Island, Providence County, Rhode Island, and Dukes County.
A ship chandler is a retail dealer who specializes in providing supplies or equipment for ships.[1]
For traditional sailing ships, items that could be found in a chandlery might include sail-cloth, rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch, linseed oil, whale oil, tallow, lard, varnish, twine, rope and cordage, hemp, and oakum. Tools (hatchet, axe, hammer, chisel, planes, lantern, nails, spike, boat hook, caulking iron, hand pump, and marlinspike) and items needed for cleaning such as brooms and mops might be available. Galley supplies, leather goods, and paper might also appear. In the age of sail you could find ship chandlers on remote islands, such as St. Helena, who were responsible for delivering water and fresh produce to stave off scurvy.[2] Today's chandlers deal more in goods typical for fuel-powered commercial ships (oil tanker, container ship, and bulk carrier) including maintenance supplies, cleaning compounds, and food stores for the crew.
A distinguishing feature of a ship chandler is the high level of service demanded and the short time required to fill and deliver orders. Commercial ships discharge and turn around quickly, delay is expensive making the services of a dependable ship chandler in great demand. Advantages, today and in the past, are that stores in unfamiliar ports do not need to be sought out (assuming the crew is allowed to leave by immigration authorities) and lines of credit make exchanging of currency a non-issue. (Usually a ship owner would establish a line of credit with the chandler and then be billed for anything delivered to the crew.) Chandlers also deliver the product, freeing up crew to work on repairs or, if allowed, take shore leave.
The ship chandlery business was central to the existence and the social and political dynamics of ports and their waterfront areas.[3] Ship chandlers are typically supplied by nearby merchants.