Hello,
and welcome once again to our blog. In
this post, we're traveling back to Massachusetts, this time to the southeast portion
of the state to look at a park preserving locations in New Bedford associated
with the long gone whaling industry, a way of life that inspired the classic
novel Moby Dick.
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| Entrance Sign |
BACKGROUND:
The
town of New Bedford first became a whaling port in the early 1800s when whalers
from Nantucket moved there in order to take advantage of the town’s superior
harbor. Whaling,
the hunting of whales for their bone and blubber, was extremely lucrative in
the first half of the 19th century.
Prior to kerosene becoming the popular lantern oil of choice, oil
extracted from whale blubber was prized for its bright and clean burning
properties. Due to the expertise of the original
Nantucket whalers in the craft of whale hunting, New Bedford grew into the
world’s foremost whaling port, generating immense prosperity. Whaling ships from New Bedford traveled the
world, moving from hunting ground to hunting ground across every ocean. The heyday of the whalers was graphically captured
in the classic novel Moby Dick, written by Herman Melville who had himself
sailed on whaling ships as a young man and spent time in New Bedford. While petroleum based oil became the
preferred lubricant and fuel source following the Civil War, whaling continued out of New
Bedford well into the 20th century as whale bone also became
profitable for use in clothing.
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| A model of a 19th century whaling ship in the park visitor center |
Whaling slowly died out in North
America, eventually being outlawed in most of the world as whale populations
dwindled almost to extinction. New
Bedford transitioned to a commercial fishing town, but citizens chose to preserve
historic homes and buildings that once powered the long defunct industry,
leading to the establishment of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in
1996.
THE PARK:
New
Bedford Whaling National Historical Park preserves, in cooperation with several
private entities, an area of the old historic center of the town of New
Bedford. Within the area covered by the
park border are many buildings and landmarks closely linked to the whaling
industry of the early 19th century.
Several other buildings are part of the park despite not being within
the established park boundary.
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| A view down Centre Street to the waterfront in the historic district within the park's boundaries |
Of
the many historic buildings within the park, only the main visitor center is
owned by the National Park Service. The
other buildings are run by private organizations, and some are not open to the
public for tours.
The
main visitor center is located within a former bank building at the corner of
William and North 2nd streets.
The visitor center extends into an adjacent building and contains
exhibits on the history of whaling and New Bedford, as well as a short
film. A second smaller visitor center is
located on the waterfront, which focuses more on New Bedford’s modern fishing
industry.
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| The main visitor center |
Across
the street from the main visitor center is the historic US Customs House where
sailors would acquire citizenship documents before their voyages. The building is still in use by Customs and Border
Patrol and not open to the public for tours.
Nearby
is the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The
museum is a local staple and was in existence long before the creation of the
park. The museum contains several whale
skeletons, ship models, and more, while the building itself is an historic
structure.
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| The New Bedford Whaling Museum |
Across
the street from the Whaling museum is the Mariners’ Home and the Seamen’s
Bethel. The Mariners’ Home was
established in 1850 to provide lodging for poor sailors who could not afford to
buy or rent a permanent residence. The
Seamen’s Bethel next door is a nondenominational church, founded to serve the
spiritual needs of New Bedford’s sailors who, due to the nature of how whaling
crews were recruited, were both ethnically and religiously diverse.
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| The Seamen's Bethel |
Several
historic houses of prominent citizens connected with the whaling industry are
also preserved by the park, along with several other buildings including the
Rodman Candleworks (now a restaurant) and the historic Double Bank, in addition
to a sailing schooner, the Ernestina-Morrissey, berthed at the waterfront.
TRAVEL TIPS:
It is
recommended for visitors to come to New Bedford on a Sunday morning in order to
avoid weekday traffic and heavy parking amongst the historic district’s narrow
streets. The visitor centers and Whaling
Museum are open from 9:00am-5:00pm year-round.
Guided walking tours are available twice daily during the summer. The walking tour is highly recommended, as
well as the short film which plays both in the visitor center and the Seamen’s
Bethel. The Whaling Museum requires a
fee to visit, which will also grant visitors entrance to the Mariners’ Home,
however the Seamen’s Bethel is open for free.
A fee is also required to tour the Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden
Museum, several blocks away from the main park.
The schooner Ernestina-Morrissey is open seasonally, but was not in port
during the authors’ visit as it was undergoing a multi-year restoration in
Canada. Passport stamps are located at
the main visitor center.
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| The historic US Customs House |
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| The Mariners' Home |
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| The Rotch-Jones-Duff House and Garden Museum |
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| The Rodman Candleworks building |
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| Interior of the Seamen's Bethel. The ship's-bow-pulpit was invented by Herman Melville for Moby Dick, but public confusion due to its absence after being featured in the 1956 film version led to the installation of an actual pulpit. |
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| Herman Melville's Pew at the Seamen's Bethel |
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| The waterfront visitor center |
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| The Benjamin Rodman House, home of wealthy whaling magnate |
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