References to New Bedford in the 1800s

"...nowhere in all America will you find more patrician houses; parks and gardens more opulent, than in New Bedford." - Herman Melville,Moby Dick

Introduction

In real life, Asa Mercer recruited his brides from Lowell, Massachusetts, but on "Here Come The Brides" the Bolt brothers found their ladies in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

History

For a general overview of the city of New Bedford, click to read some of the history or more about today

There is also a timeline for New Bedford from 1602 through 1995.

By the mid-1800s, New Bedford was one of the biggest cities along the east coast of the United States, having established itself as a center for the whaling industry.


People

To read about New Bedford's people, click here
New Bedford and the sea have always been closely linked. Among its well-known seafaring residents was Herman Melville. In the neighboring town of Fairhaven, lived Joshua Slocum, another seaman/writer. His books provide a view of what it was like to sail in the late 1800s:

Architecture

Around the town of New Bedford, you can read about:

The Andrew Robeson Mansion is a large house built in 1821 in New Bedford. This site provides information about the house, the family, and the year it was built.

Other sites of architectural interest include:
There is a clickable map of the downtown area, which shows where these houses are located. The chapel mentioned in Moby Dick is on Johnny Cake Hill Road. All the streets in this part of town are cobblestoned.

Fire-fighting

Fires were a big problem in the 1800s. Many of the residential homes were clapboard. Outside of most houses were gates, with hitching posts and hooks for leather buckets. When there was a fire, the townspeople would grab their buckets and form a bucket brigade to help put the fire out.

The New Bedford Fire Museum is adjacent to Fire Station #4, which was built in 1867 and is probably the oldest active fire station in Massachusetts.

Upstairs in the museum, you can read about the petition that was written to convince the government that a fire station was necessary (sounds exactly like something Biddie and Candy would have written). There was concern that there would not be enough money to build it because of money spent on the War. You can also read what the actual expenses were to build the firestation.

Later on, after the firestation was built, the townspeople celebrated and selectman, Robert C. Sherman, donated fireworks.


Downstairs in the museum, you can climb on, ring the bells and explore the old fire engines, including this steamer fire engine from the mid-1800s.



Click here for other interesting facts related to New Bedford.
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