A mill dam was first built on this site in 1746. About 1799, William White, Sr. built a stone water-powered cotton mill for himself and three of his sons, Phineas, William and Benjamin. That mill, one of the earliest in the country, burned down . . . — — Map (db m16723) HM
Col. Lewis L. Millett, U.S. Army Medal of Honor, D.H.S. (Dartmouth High School) Class 1940, American Legion Post 307, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9059. — — Map (db m95016) WM
This memorial statue is dedicated to Medal of Honor recipient Private David Lewis Gifford Company B, 4th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry and all Dartmouth residents who served in the Civil War. 1861-1865. — — Map (db m95017) HM
In Memory of
Historian, Author, and Fire Chief
Donald R. Bernard
1932 - 1993
Who led Revolutionary and
Civil War Re-enactments on
this site. His efforts brought
awareness of the significant
role the area . . . — — Map (db m88205)
Built for harbor defense in 1775. Destroyed by the British September 6th 1778. Later rebuilt and now the property of the town of Fairhaven. — — Map (db m52383) HM
In May 1775, British General Gage, bottled up in Boston Harbor after the Battle of Concord and Lexington in 1775, sent the HMS Falcon to Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands in search of food and supplies. Two of the . . . — — Map (db m86947) HM
1775 - First naval encounter of American Revolution.
1778 - Captured and destroyed by the British.
1812 - Repelled British attempt at capture.
1861 - Manned by Federal troops in defense of this harbor. — — Map (db m88055) HM
The fortress structures of Fort Phoenix remaining today are the parapet, built before the Civil War, and the gunpowder magazine, completed in 1865. The Civil War era officer's quarters and barracks were destroyed by fire in 1918.
The shape and . . . — — Map (db m88105) HM
Erected in Memory of
Major Israel Fearing
the Ardent Patriot and
Accomplished Soldier
————
On the 7th day of September 1778
the British troops landed from
their ships in the bay for the . . . — — Map (db m88084) HM
Taken from the British at Nassau 1777, by Colonial ship of war Alfred - Placed on Fort Phoenix Recaptured by British and left on the fort spiked, and with trunions knocked off - Afterwards mounted in Union street for village defense. Placed here . . . — — Map (db m88106) HM
William Bradford
Marine Artist
1823-1892
Built his first studio in 1851 on this site.
The Fairhaven native achieved international fame
as a lecturer and an Arctic painter.
Queen Victoria commissioned Bradford . . . — — Map (db m86796) HM
Main inscription
On the 11th of September 2001, at approximately 8:30 am, an attack began against several points in the United States. By 2:00 pm that day, both towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed. A fire was raging in a . . . — — Map (db m85866) WM
Colonel Durfee was born in Fall Rive (then Freetown) April 27th, A.D. 1750, and died in Freetown, December 10th, A.D. 1841. He rendered distinguished service at the Battles of Long Island and White Plains, in New York, and at the Battle of Rhode . . . — — Map (db m244691) WM
His explorations and scientific accomplishments dispelled the legend of the tenebrous sea, beaconed the ocean route to India and opened the gateway of the Atlantic to the American continent.
This monument in his honor marks the eighth . . . — — Map (db m1617) HM
Deposited on this spot during
the glacial period ages ago.
Unique in its tilting feature,
It is recognized as of great
historic and scientific interest.
Preserved by the public in the year 1930 — — Map (db m218829) HM
This 38,030 pound manganese-bronze propeller was manufactured at Philadelphia Navy Yard and was removed from Battleship Massachusetts during her 1998-1999 drydocking. It is one of four. When turning at 185 revolutions per minute, they propelled . . . — — Map (db m33075) HM
This American Eagle adopted as the symbol of television station WTEV as its inaugural program, Jan. 1, 1963, reigned atop the Old New Bedford Post Office from 1891-1956. The eagle was named "Mr. Steadfast" in 1956 by J. Gordon Edge Jr., winner of a . . . — — Map (db m289245) HM
Memorial
"Mr. Steadfast's Flag Plaza"
Dedicated to the Whalers, Fishermen, Merchant Marines, Coastguardsmen, Keepers of the Light Houses and Light Ships who called New Bedford their homeport and made the ultimate sacrifice at sea in service to . . . — — Map (db m289244) HM
Docked across from you (when not at sea as a sail training and education vessel), Ernestina is one of the oldest wooden sailing vessels afloat. The ship is also one of the last surviving Gloucester fishing schooners, one of only two remaining . . . — — Map (db m86768) HM
Threatened by demolition because it was in the path of the Route 18 extension, this Greek Revival style home was moved by WHALE to this once-vacant lot in 1979 and sold to owners who restored it. — — Map (db m107413) HM
In Memory of
Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, U.S.N.
Chief of Naval Operations 1949 1951
He learned to love the sea in New Bedford
Erected November 11, 1955
By Kiwanis and the Standard - Times — — Map (db m290022) HM WM
This 550-ton brick and stone mansion was rescued by WHALE to prevent its demolition and moved to its present site during the blizzard of 1978. Designed in the Federal style, the residence is an outstanding example of New Bedford's prosperity during . . . — — Map (db m290003) HM
By the mid-twentieth century, this magnificent granite home was completely enclosed by storefronts and being used as a warehouse. The Federal-style residence, the only waterfront mansion standing on its original foundation, was WHALE's first . . . — — Map (db m290035) HM
A fine example of late 19th century commercial architecture, this warehouse was erected in front of the Andrew Robeson mansion and housed an auction business selling everything from antique furniture to ships. WHALE acquired the . . . — — Map (db m107415) HM
For many Cape Verde Islanders, the New bedford
wharf area was the first view of America. At the height
of immegration between 1900 and 1921, more than
a dozen packet boats ran between Cape Verde
and New Bedford, the main port of entry. Packet . . . — — Map (db m86766) HM
Paul Cuffe (1759-1817) was a sea captain, merchant, philanthropist, community leader, civil rights advocate and abolitionist. The son of an African father and Native American mother, Cuffe was born on the island of Cuttyhunk, off the coast of New . . . — — Map (db m77465) HM
Captain Paul Cuffe
Paul Cuffe (1759-1817) was a sea captain, merchant, philanthropist, community leader, civil rights advocate and abolitionist.
Here are some significant details about his life.
Westport, MA: site of the . . . — — Map (db m77468) HM
London
Cuffe sought support in London from the African Institution - a group that was committed "to stimulating trade with Africa, without itself trading, to promote African education and improved farming methods, and to be a . . . — — Map (db m86901) HM
The view down Centre Street has changed little over the years, and no street in New Bedford served the whaling industry longer. Little finery can be seen in the facades of these buildings, for this was a working waterfront, where utility overrode . . . — — Map (db m58182) HM
Near this spot, in February 1863, a recruiting office opened to enlist men for the first black regiment authorized to fight for the Union cause. The men who volunteered here formed Company C of the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts.
If captured, . . . — — Map (db m84070) HM
Text on the Bronze Plaque
Near this Site
was located the shipyard of
Colonel George Claghorn
Builder of U.S. Frigate Constitution
and Ship Rebecca the first whaler
to double Cape Horn.
His service in the . . . — — Map (db m86782) HM
On this site in 1936, Cape Verdean and Portuguese dockworkers formed Locals 1413 and 1465 of the International Longshoremens Association (ILA). Prior to organizing, these dockworkers were chosen daily, based only on their physical ability, and had . . . — — Map (db m1614) HM
Text on Front side of Monument:
Dedicated as a Tribute
to the
sturdy whalemen who early won fame
for New Bedford
and their successors who,
inheriting ideals and resourcefulness
gave to the city new prominence . . . — — Map (db m86677)
In 1840, the Army Board of Engineers met in Boston to plan a defense for the Atlantic Coast. New Bedford was considered important because of its fine harbor and industrial base. Major R. Delafield, (considered the "Father of American Seacoast . . . — — Map (db m198211) HM
Seeing Double
As you gaze across Water Street toward the eight-pillar institution, compare closely what you see in the photograph with what stands here today. Built in 1831, the building was designed by architect Russell Warren. For 61 years the . . . — — Map (db m58192) HM
A one-industry whaling town before the Civil War, New Bedford became a one-industry textile town afterward. Cotton bales and coal, both bound for the city's new textile mills, began to replace oil casks on New Bedford wharves.
Oil casks . . . — — Map (db m86731) HM
The boats you see in the harbor today are mostly commercial fishing vessels - primarily draggers and scallopers; the whaling barks of the past have long since vanished. By the 1930s, just as whaling faded and the textile industry fled to the . . . — — Map (db m86680) HM
During the Civil War many of the black men who enlisted at a recruiting office near this spot were mustered into Company C of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Among these recruits was New Bedfords Sergeant William H. Carney. . . . — — Map (db m84071) HM
New Bedford City Hall's Plaza is dedicated to the memory of New Bedford native Joseph Theodore (1917-2008), "The Flag Way". A twice-wounded World War II veteran who tirelessly promoted peace and respect for the stars and stripes, including . . . — — Map (db m290017) HM WM
Born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1800, Lewis Temple established himself as a blacksmith on the New Bedford waterfront by 1836.
Temple manufactured his first toggle-iron in 1848. Its fastening power revolutionized the catching of whales. The . . . — — Map (db m1616) HM
On this site the former meeting house of the First Congregational and Unitarian societies was erected - 1795-97
These buildings were converted into Liberty Hall - 1839
Original Liberty Hall burned and rebuilt - 1854
Merchant National . . . — — Map (db m290015) HM
Text on Upper Front (East) Side of Memorial:
Lost Lightship Sailors Memorial
This Memorial created in Memory of
All Lightship Sailors lost in performance of duties
Inspired by Harold Flagg, LV 73 . . . — — Map (db m86786) HM
Making Room-During the days when New Bedford dominated the whaling trade, 10,000 seamen were required to sail the fleet. Pacific islanders, New England farm boys, Cape Verdeans, Portuguese from the Azores, Wampanoag Indians, and immigrants from . . . — — Map (db m77467) HM
On the other side of the Bourne Counting House, the granite building in front of you, is Merrill's Wharf, completed in 1847. The wharf then was the longest in New Bedford port. Built by Edward Merrill for an expanding whaling fleet, this wharf . . . — — Map (db m86733) HM
This building possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.
Nathan and Polly Johnson, prominent African American abolitionists, sheltered escaped slaves in this underground railroad "station." It . . . — — Map (db m97070) HM
Has been designated a registered National Historic Landmark
Under the provisions of the historic sites act of August 21, 1935 this site possesses exceptional value in commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States — — Map (db m58196) HM
In anticipation of the formation of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, Fleet Bank donated this building to WHALE in 1995. WHALE then donated the building to the National Park Service in 2000 for use as a Visitors Center. — — Map (db m290180) HM
Candles were a major product of the early whaling industry. The pink stucco Rodman Candleworks building built around 1810, is one of two surviving candlewicks buildings in New Bedford. The process of making spermaceti candles was closely guarded . . . — — Map (db m261902) HM
On this site stood the mansion of William Rotch, Jr., built c. 1790 and moved to Johnny Cake Hill in 1851, where it serves as the Mariner's Home. In time, this property passed to Peter J. Haste, a native of Greece, whose generosity made possible its . . . — — Map (db m289251) HM
(Six panels are treated as one, presented left to right)
Paul Cuffee
Paul Cuffe was born in 1759 on the island of Cuttyhunk. He was the son of a Native American woman, Ruth Moses and an . . . — — Map (db m262078) HM
In 1915, in the waning light of whaling's final decade, Emily Howland Bourne financed the construction of a museum building to honor her whaling merchant father, Jonathan Bourne, Jr. This marked the first steadfast effort to preserve New . . . — — Map (db m86657) HM
This Monument is Dedicated by the Government
of Portugal and the Prince Henry Society
of Massachusetts Inc., New Bedford Chapter
to All Immigrants who left their homeland
to come to a foreign shore and who built
The United States of . . . — — Map (db m288870) HM
This former spermaceti candle factory was damaged by fire in the late 1960's. Abandoned and scheduled for demolition, the building was rescued by WHALE and the Architectural Conservation Trust and reopened in 1979. — — Map (db m289246) HM
(Marker on the left side of the door) “In the same New Bedford there stands a whalemans chapel and few are the moody fisherman, shortly bound for the Indian or Pacific Oceans who failed to make a Sunday visit to this spot.” Moby . . . — — Map (db m95382) HM
The outward appearance of the brick and brownstone building diagonally in front of you has changed little over the years. However, the signs identifying the ownership and use of the structure have changed repeatedly. It was originally built as a . . . — — Map (db m62358) HM
In the late 1700s New Bedford's first Congregational Church (illustrated here) stood diagonally across the street at the corner of William and Purchase Streets. In 1838 the church became Liberty Hall. Its first floor was converted into shops and . . . — — Map (db m290013) HM
Change of Address
Andrew Robeson, whaling merchant and steadfast abolitionist, built this Federal-style house in 1821 on a lot on North Second Street, diagonally behind you. The estate, with its conservatory, gardens, surrounding elm trees, . . . — — Map (db m77505) HM
Wealth with a Conscience
Early whaling merchants lived in elegant houses along this street. But by the time Benjamin Rodman built this Federal style home in 1821, many of his wealthy friends were moving uphill away from this shoreside . . . — — Map (db m76980) HM
Near this spot in 1767 the first ship built in New Bedford was launched.
The Dartmouth
Francis Rotch, Owner
She was one of the vessels boarded by the Boston Tea Party in 1773
— — Map (db m58183) HM
Home Away from the Sea
Whaling men spent much of their lives at sea. The ship was their home. Back in port, most of the poor, unskilled sailors knew no one in New Bedford and were essentially homeless until the next voyage.
In 1850 the . . . — — Map (db m58197) HM
1876 - 1976
To Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of
The Rescue of Six Fenians
Robert Cranston · Thomas Darragh · Michael Harrington · Thomas Hassett · Martin Hogan · James Wilson
By the bark Catalpa of New Bedford from the Colony . . . — — Map (db m290021) HM
Saving Mariners' Souls
After months at sea, many whaling men were unable to resist the temptations of this port city. In 1832, the New Bedford Port Society for the Moral Improvement of Seamen opened this mariners' chapel "to protect the rights . . . — — Map (db m58199) HM
In 1839 this Greek Revival building opened its doors to the public, not as the library it is today, but as New Bedford's town hall. When the growing town reached city size in 1847 the granite building became City Hall. Vendors sold produce and meats . . . — — Map (db m198215) HM
Trial by Fire-During the early hours of January 18, 1977, gas leaked from a cracked main into the cellar of OMalleys Tavern, located near where you are now standing. New Bedford had suffered two straight days of record-setting cold in an overall . . . — — Map (db m62389) HM
Twentieth-Century Whaling-As New Bedfords whaling industry declined in the 19th century, more than a dozen other nations began hunting whales using “modern” Norwegian methods, with fast, steam-powered vessels and heavy-gauge harpoon . . . — — Map (db m62387) HM
Customary Duty
Replacing a makeshift operation closer to the waterfront, the U.S. Custom House at Bedford opened on this site in 1836. Here ship captains walked up the granite steps to register their crews and declare their cargoes before . . . — — Map (db m62364) HM
In Memory of All Deceased
Vietnam Veterans
Honor Roll
Pvt. Edward J. Almeida, N.B. · Sgt. Willie J. Wright, N.B. · Cpl. Russell V. Almeida, Dart. · Pvt. Kenneth E. Beauregard, N.B. · PFC. Paul E. Hassey, N.B. · Cpl. James Ferro, Acushnet · . . . — — Map (db m290016) HM
On this toro rests a capstan from the American clipper ship Viking which was wrecked on this island on June 4,1863. Being bound for San Francisco, U.S.A. from Hong Kong, China. Through the intervention of the local authorities and hospitality of the . . . — — Map (db m58179) HM
Early whaling merchants lived in elegant houses along the street. But by the time Benjamin Rodman built this federal style home in 1821, many of his wealthy friends were moving uphill away from this shoreside neighborhood.
Though born into a . . . — — Map (db m290033) HM
A Dead Whale or a Stove Boat
In honor of the whalemen whose skill, hardihood and daring brought fame and fortune to New Bedford and made its name known to every seaport on the globe. Gift of W.W. Crapo . . . — — Map (db m1626) HM
Whaling Capital-In 1857, ninety-five ships and barks left these wharves on whaling voyages. In that year the industry reached its peak, and half of the worldwide whaling was conducted from the New Bedford customs district. Before petroleum was . . . — — Map (db m62411) HM
During the war, we were getting a dollar and a half a gallon for sperm oil. And then around 1922 there was no more demand for sperm oil....The price of sending a ship to sea doubled and the price of oil dropped about 200 percent....And . . . — — Map (db m86759) HM
Working Waterfront-Standing here during the heyday of whaling you would have seen and heard the bustling of a whaling port preparing for sea: ship carpenters building vessels from great white oak timbers, and caulkers hammering oakum---hemp mixed . . . — — Map (db m62410) HM
The view down Centre Street has changed little over the years, and no street in New Bedford served the whaling industry longer. Little finery can be seen in the facades of these buildings, for this was a working waterfront and utility overrode the . . . — — Map (db m261906) HM
Somerset Remembers
1917 1918
These Sons and Daughters Who Served their Country
And Humanity in the World War
Adamson, Thomas · Almy, Albert B · Almy, Israel T · Auclair, Amos J · Babbitt, Leon P · Banville, Edme F · Beaulieu, Reginald J . . . — — Map (db m208878) WM
Erected
In Honor of Our
Countrys Defenders
and Dedicated to
Those
who made the
Supreme Sacrifice
James L. & John E. Lynch
Post 8500
Somerset, Mass.
May 30, 1951 — — Map (db m208829) WM
United States Army
Phillip Y. Adams · John Arruda · Antonio S. Borges · Rodman P. Bowker · Irving F. Brown Jr. · Sheldon I. Clarkson · James P. Davis · Arthur J. Gagnon · Antone C. Lima · John E. Lynch · Stuart C. Manchester · William R. Snyder · . . . — — Map (db m208876) WM
The saga of the Macomber Turnip began on Main Road. Aiden and Elihu Macomber returned to Westport from the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876 with a prize in their pockets: exposition turnip seed. Planted in these fertile fields, the crop developed . . . — — Map (db m23178) HM
Text on the marker's plaque
From the year 1752 to 1876, at least six shipyards flourished along this waterfront from the foot of Pearl Street to Ship Street (Cannonville). The fine harbor, an abundant supply of virgin timber and a . . . — — Map (db m85630) HM
1752
Professional shipbuilding began. Originally, the builders used the abundant timber found in the area woods. Boats were built and launched on the Mattapoisett River. However, most of the larger ships were constructed at the . . . — — Map (db m88214) HM
1835
Congressman John Quincy Adams, representing the Plymouth County District, recommended to the government that a lighthouse be built in Mattapoisett.
1837
Barnabus Hiller sold four acres at Ned's point to . . . — — Map (db m88157) HM
Left side Inscription
Tremont Nail Company has been designated a National Historical Landmark by American Society for Metals Established in 1819, Tremont Nail Company had made nails continuously for more than 150 years, and one of the few . . . — — Map (db m85626) HM
Presented by the Wareham Branch S.A.S.A.P. to the town of Wareham in honor of her sons who paid the supreme sacrifice in the 1917 World War 1918 Walter O. Bennett Dudley Lester Brown Harry Clyde Cariepy Everett Francis Howard Harry Brown . . . — — Map (db m85570) WM
