The City That Lit the World...

Hey Everybody!

Welcome to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Let me begin by telling you that New England is sunny for the first time since my arrival! Who knew sunny and 60ish could be so nice! Since 1966 a 13-block district adjacent to the still working waterfront has been a National Historical Park. Today's fisherman harvest flatfish and scallops; New Bedford processes 20 million pounds of scallops per year (20% of US consumption).

The Whaling Museum is located at 18 Johnny Cake Hill, one of many cobblestone streets in the historic district. Cute name & I couldn't resist asking about the origin. The short answer was, "Where are you from?" Apparently, if I'd been born in New England I would know that it's not cute, but just a type of pancake. Who knew! My ignorance was the lightest moment in a day about the whaling industry, loss of human life, and endangered whales.

This is the skeleton of a Sperm Whale next to the boats the whaling ship crew used to chase the whales. Yeah....it was dangerous!

Below are examples of the weapons used:

Close-up of Sperm Whale's flipper....just a big human hand...

Whaling built New Bedford into the richest city in the world for a time. Because the local mansions were built by Quakers they would never have been as ostentatious as the Newport mansions. However, the Quakers' mansion gardens were grand because plants were God's work. Of course, the gardens aren't blooming yet. It is said that New Bedford was the first Newport, RI by about 90 years.

New Bedford views whaling as the first gold rush. The local experts state that it funded the US government (about 90% of it) in those peak whaling years. They also say that whale oil was equivalent to today's petroleum. Whaling was also something of an equalizer for men - any race could start out as a lowly seaman and become a captain. For example, Paul Cuffe was one of the wealthiest men in 19th Century America, and he was African-American. He started the Cuffe School in Providence, RI to educate his own children. It ended up being the first integrated school in the country because the poor white children weren't accepted at any other school.

Because of the wealth, the town grew famous for glassware and attracted artists. But the town also had to deal with "moral pests" and a growing red light district. Thus, in 1832 the Quakers built the Seamen's Bethel (also on Johnny Cake Hill): it's a non-demoninational church started to improve the morals of seamen. It became famous when Gregory Peck starred in the movie version of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. If you NEED to see the pew where Melville sat before his whaling voyage, I can show you :-). The boat pulpit wasn't actually in the original Chapel, but only in Melville's story. But the movie created a tourist base for the chapel & that base demanded a boat pulpit.

It was interesting and sobering to read the cenotaph (empty tomb monuments) hanging in the Seamen's chapel. A lot of men where lost at sea after illness, falling overboard or being pulled overboard after harpooning a whale. The name Frank Kanacka has a surprising meaning - it's not a real name, but is an indication that a new crew member was hired at a port somewhere along the way as a replacement. "Kanacka" was always the last name given to those men & then each was assigned a different first name. Apparently, this was the solution to the language barriers present in international whaling.

The Rotch-Jones-Duff House & Garden Museum is the best example of a whaling merchant's home 150yrs ago. The house is on County Street, along with many other large homes, and the street is worth the drive if you're interested in seeing the Quaker mansions. At first the wealthy built their mansions on city blocks just off the waterfront, but over time the stench and red light district led to the move further up the hill. In some cases, the original mansions were turned into boarding houses for the seamen.

That's it for tonight....more soon.