Whaling City - New Bedford History

"Down To The Sea In Ships"

2012-02-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

And... Starring Clara Bow.

This silent movie was made in New Bedford about the lives of the people in a small Quaker community and the adventures of a whaling ship.

The movie was filmed in New Bedford, Massachusetts and the world premiere was held here at the Olympia Theater on September 25th, 1922.

We are lucky to have a copy of the original 24 page booklet from the film. http://www.whalingcity.net/book_dts_fcov.html

Some of the actors and actresses stayed in the city at Audena Audette's rooming house during the filming.
She was the great grandmother of webmaster, Roger Chartier.

Watch the original movie on the new web page on www.WhalingCity.net

www.whalingcity.net/video_down_to_the_sea_in_ships.html

Whaling once was a proud occupation.

2012-01-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

Whaling

Continued in New Bedford well into the 20th century when the last ships plied the trade.
The locally popular website www.Whaling City.net has a wealth of interesting photographs with descriptions about the history of whaling here.
On the index page for whaling photographs and images you can see that there are twenty-one separate web pages.
Take some time to absorb a little bit of history.

Comique Theater - Mount Royal Skating Ring - Green Parrot Lounge

2011-12-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

1907 picture above. See more about 1907 Weld Square.
Weld Square was a busy area in it's heyday.
Sadly it's all gone.
There was the Rialto Theater at 43 Weld Square and the Comique Theater at 958 Acushnet Ave. that later became the Green Parrot Lounge downstairs and the Mount Royal Skating Rink upstairs. Both were owned by Martin Ferrero.

Legend has it that the Green Parrot actually had an X rated parrot that had such a foul mouth that parents warned their kids to avoid going by the place.

You have to check out this web page written about the Comique Theater before it became the Mount Royal and Green Parrot.
For anyone interested in more about Weld Square check out this page about Louis Baron at the gas station on Weld Square and the anecdotes.
The area was demolished in the 1960's

The Ernestina is back.

2011-10-13T04:12:00.000-07:00

The Tall Ship "Ernestina" is back at dock in New Bedford, Ma. from spending a few months for

repairs in a shipyard across the harbor in Fairhaven.

Cost was around $180,000.

Some problems with the schooner are keeping it from being able to get certified by the Coast

Guard to sail.

Predicted cost of repairs for that purpose was estimated at one time to be around $2 million.

As of October 13 the schooner is also waiting for Coast Guard certification to let people

aboard for educational programs and the like.

The history of the Ernestina is a long one.

Under Capt. Bartlett she said to the Arctic on a few expeditions.

She was built 109 years ago and was first named the Effie M. Morrisey.

Visit www.WhalingCity.net for more information about the historic city of New Bedford,Ma.

Irene came and we yawned.

2011-09-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Above: Tree fell on Dartmouth Street in Blue Meadows housing across from the Stop N Shop.

Although there was a lot of damage to other parts of the country Hurricane Irene (downgraded to a tropical storm) did a lot less damage than expected.

There were some real problems such as when a building lost part of it's side wall and over a hundred occupants had to be evacuated. (who was the contractor?)

There were 250 reported tree falls and a large part of the local population lost power.

There is a great video of a gorgeous sailing vessel the "Satisfaction" out of Port Townsend, Washington being banged up on the rocks after it got loose from it's mooring or anchorage.
On the same page is a video of the whitecaps in New Bedford's outer harbor at East Beach.

Visit www.whalingcity.net/picture_hurricane_tropical_storm_irene.html to see several photos of damage in New Bedford.
Luckily no one in New Bedford ,the Whaling City, was killed as a result of this tropical storm..

The point of this is to mention the difference between what was expected and what ended up happening.

ML Baron, our local weather guru reported on the storm and Sarah Bishop Valentine an author of a book on New England hurricanes was out and about with a crew measuring wind speeds etc.

She and M.L. Baron have a lot of knowledge about weather and local hurricanes and their thoughts and opinions are respected.
There is an article about Sarah's work during Irene in the local newspaper the Standard Times.

1856 April 19 Howland Street Riots. New Bedford, Ma.

2011-08-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

Dens of iniquity and sin were commonplace in the neighborhood of 17 Howland Street in New Bedford, Ma.

In 1856 on April 19th riots broke out and some local people rose up to burn the establishment at 17 Howland St.

Although the place sounded like a fun spot to me the times were different .

The record of the day quotes :

"Rookeries and gin shops were in full blast and the streets thronged with tipsy sailors and bold women, when the air was filled with the sounds of ribald jest and profanity--deviltry, dirt and degradation reigning supreme".

So?
Well all we can say here is that if you want the details read all about it on the www.WhalingCity.net website.

Here's the link to the page for events from 1850 to 1858 scroll down to 1856

The New England Blizzard of 1978

2011-08-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

The great New England blizzard that hit in the winter of 1978 AKA The Blizzard of '78 was one of epic proportions.

At the time it was often called "The storm of the century" in the media.

It combined a hurricane and snow.

Coastal areas were flooded and many homes were lost or damaged.

Nearly 100 lost their lives throughout New England.
New Bedford , Massachusetts was hard hit.

Some of the folks who lived at the time remember it well and can tell you where they were at the time.
Maria Laputana remembers: " I was with a client and stuck in his car for nearly two days. We got buried in by some snow plows and couldn't open the doors. I was stuck with only a small thing to eat."

Others remember their plight and love to tell the stories.
Read more about the Blizzard of 1978.
Visit the website www.WhalingCity.com for more historical information about the great city of New Bedford.

Milk Bottle Restaurant is 52 Feet Tall

2011-04-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

The bottle part of this restaurant is 52 feet tall.
It has a history going back to the 1930's in New Bedford, Ma. when the bottle made of wood, that was steamed and bent right next to the structure in the parking lot.

Read more about the Frates Dairy Restaurant and see all of the photos throughout the years.

1840 New Bedford's First Train Station

2011-04-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

Read about it.

This is a nice piece of history.

This station was eventually demolished and another was built.

Follow the links on the website to get the timeline of the further developments.

What is a 52 foot high milk bottle doing in the far north end of New Bedford?

2011-04-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Frates Dairy family created this fantastic milk bottle out of wood and under it, built a restaurant and ice cream parlor.

Back in the 1930's, it all began. Read more here.
http://www.whalingcity.net/picture_frates_dairy_bottle.html

Photographs of Whaling

2011-04-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

Above is an old photograph of whalers cutting on a wharf.
There are more amazing photographs of whaling adventure
and daily life on www.WhalingCity.com

Here is an old 1904 photograph of some whalers working on board a whale ship coiling line.
There was a lot of work ot do to keep the ship in good condition and to maintain the gear for whaling. Here is a glimpse into that world.

Whalers and Sailors sang Sea Shanties

2011-03-28T22:30:00.000-07:00

The British attacked and burned the port and village of
New Bedford, Massachusetts on Sept. 5 and 6 of 1778 because of privateer and pirate activity from our fair harbor.
New Bedford wasn't just an innocent Whaling City.

"Yo Ho Ho and A Bottle of Rum" is a song available on www.SailorSongs.com from the "Sailing Away" CD.
You can buy downloads or CDs.

How to repair a hull on an old ship

2011-03-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

There was a time when doing things the easy way meant doing things a hard way...
In this case it meant tipping the ship onto it's side and at low tide the crew would fix
the exposed side of the hull.

Next they had to turn the ship around and lay her over to get at the other side.

You can see a better view of the image here at
www.whalingcity.net/picture_old_ship_hove_down.html

A New Bedford stream and pond dissapeared under the streets and houses

2011-03-12T08:22:00.000-08:00

Did you know that a stream ran from north of Hawthorne Street in New Bedford near the St. Luke's hospital?

It ran all the way to the Cove in the south end? That is a few miles.

There was a pond near Cottage and Allen street!

That isn't the only stream that disappeared with the urbanization of the area.

Well I don't think that many residents realize that part of Cottage street was a stream bed and their backyards once was a pond that must have been filled in over the years.

The Whaling City.net site has a great story on this and has more maps as well.

http://www.whalingcity.net/picture_1858_mill_stream.html

Martha Briggs Runaway Slave School - New Bedford, Ma

2011-03-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

In New Bedford at 111-113 Allen Street, near Orchard between Dartmouth Street and County Street, Martha Briggs kept a school in this house for runaway slaves.

New Bedford was a haven for runaway slaves.

The city in general was very tolerant as well as helpful in protecting African Americans from slavery and recapture.

In 1850 the Runaway Slavery Act which allowed the recapture of runaway slaves.

There was a larger than usual population of African Americans in New Bedford. The population grew to .7.5 percent with the additional fugitive slaves.

Many whites at the time were helpful in hiding fugitives.

Authentic Sea Shanties

2011-02-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

From The Whaling City and far and wide. Buy Downloads and/or Hear Samples

Old Bridge at Lund's Corner - Quaker Meeting House

2011-02-19T07:37:00.000-08:00

There in the 1700's was the first stone bridge at Lund's corner in New Bedford.

The British crossed there during the rampage of destruction prompted by the revolutionary and disruptive maritime tactics that New Bedford (then called Bedford Village) residents were up to.

On Sept 4 they crossed into Acushnet and ... read all about the bridge .

The days of September 4- 5 of 1778 was a time of terrible destruction for the whole area surrounding New Bedford.
There was murder, mayhem and buildings and ships burned by the 5-6000 British troops.
Read about the days of the British invasion of New Bedford

Charles W. Morgan

2011-02-13T09:35:00.000-08:00

The Charles W. Morgan was a whaling ship that came from New Bedford, Massachusetts.

It's current home port is Mystic, Connecticut.

You can go there and pay the admission fee to the historical seaport and go aboard.

There you'll see what life was like on a whaler back in the day.

Read about it at the www.Whaling City.net website.

Lizzie Borden - took an ax...

2011-01-31T22:03:00.000-08:00

"Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother forty wacks.
When she saw what she had done she gave her father forty-one ."

Accused of killing her step-mother and her father in their home in Fall River, in 1892, Lizzie Borden was arrested in Fall River in that year.

Her trial began on August 11, 1893 in New Bedford Superior Court Courthouse on 441 County St.
where she was finally acquitted.

There is much mystery and conjecture surrounding the truth about whether she really killed her parents or not.

Most people think she did and got away with it somehow.
Her parents were strict but far from poor.
Some think she did it for the inheritance.
See more images and info about it at
www.WhalingCity.net/picture_1893_lizzie_borden.html

Hetty Green - The Witch of Wall Street

2011-01-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

Hetty Green he was born Henrietta Howland Robinson
in New Bedford, Ma. on November 21, 1834.

She died at 81 years of age on July 3, 1916 after amassing a huge fortune making her the richest woman in the world at that time.

In her later years she grew older to become very eccentric.

Her father died in 1864 when Hetty was 30 years old and she then

inherited 7.5 million dollars in liquid assets from her father.
Her family didn't approve, however, Hetty invested in Civil War Bonds.

Later in life her son lost a leg to gangrene when she was to cheap
to go to a doctor until it was too late.

Her life is an amazing story that you can read about
on this website page www.whalingcity.net/picture_hetty_green.html

The history of New Bedford, Massachusetts

2011-01-28T07:34:00.000-08:00

From the beginning of colonization by Europeans New Bedford was involved in whaling and became the #1 whaling port in the world.

The website www.WhalingCity.net offers an enormous amount of information researched by Roger Chartier from historical documents and maps that were preserved from the earliest settlers.

The website educates us about the historical record of New Bedford, MA, from the earliest time of colonization until today.

The local Native Americans known as the Wampanoag tribe lived here for many years until the mostly English European settlers came. The Wampanoags living in what was to become known as the New Bedford area had then numbered about 12,000.

They lived by harvesting shell fish, hunting and agriculture.
For a part of the population it was their summer resort while others lived there throughout the year.
The arrival of the colonists was the beginning of the steep decline for the Wampanoags who had settled along the Acushnet River which ends at New Bedford harbor and drains into Buzzards Bay.