New Bedford, Massachusetts, located about 40 miles northeast of Cape Cod in Southeastern New England, takes it's place in history as the "Whaling City." New Bedford may have earned its nickname shortly after the first whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan, was launched from its harbor in 1841. The city quickly became a staging point for the whaling industry in the northeast. Whaling ships from New Bedford overspread the world's oceans then, and today the city's commercial fishing fleet remains one of the largest from Maine to North Carolina. What's more, in October 1996, the US Congress passed the omnibus parks bill which, in part, designated a 13-block, 20-acre area of New Bedford to forever after be known as the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park which then-President Bill Clinton signed in November of 1996.
The Park holds many historic treasures within its boundaries: There's the Schooner Effie M. Morrissey, later renamed the Ernestina, launched in 1894, that was in service for over 100 years. She operated as everything from a fishing schooner ported in Gloucester, Massachusetts to a research vessel exploring the arctic for 20 years to a packet ship that spent 25 years trading with the Cape Verde islands. There's the US Custom House, built between 1834 and 1836. It is the oldest perpetually operating Custom House in the country. Among other sites in the Park, there's the National Historic Landmark District, the Bourne Counting House and the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Along with these historical jewels, the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park flaunts refurbished cobblestone streets and Greek Revival architecture.
Though New Bedford is immersed in the history and the tradition of Southeasten New England, the city has many modern sights and sounds to experience, including additional museums, galleries, walking tours, vineyards, and other points of interest such as New Bedford's Nautical Mile and the Preservation Society tours. For further information on what to do in Historic New Bedford, Massachusetts and it's surrounding towns, look in the New Bedford, Massachusetts yellow pages, the New Bedford, Massachusetts business directory or, better yet, call or write to the New Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce.
Written by Lyndsey Morgan
