New Bedford: Whales, whales, & more whales
Whales, whales, and more whales. That’s what you will find in New Bedford, Massachusetts. A seaport near Dartmouth College, New Bedford served as one of the world’s top whaling ports in the 19th century, earning the nickname, “The Whaling City”. New Bedford is also known as “the city that lit the world”, in reference to the whale oil used for lamps. New Bedford is home to a national park dedicated to whaling, and a whaling museum. Have you ever read Moby Dick? The story by Herman Melville, of a whaling captain’s search for revenge on an albino sperm whale that severed his leg at the knee and destroyed his previous ship? Moby Dick is set in New Bedford. While commercial whaling is no longer permitted, New Bedford remains one of the top commercial fishing ports in the nation, particularly for scallop fishing.
Why New Bedford?
In mid-May, we took a short trip up to explore the northeastern shore. We spent a day in Newport, Rhode Island (exploring the Cliff Walk and touring the Breakers)! After a long day of walking, we continued our journey by driving over to New Bedford, Massachusetts as a stopover on our way to Martha’s Vineyard. It took approximately 45 minutes to make the drive from Newport. Had we waited until after Memorial Day to make this trip, we could have caught a ferry directly from Newport to Martha’s Vineyard. But the Newport ferry wasn’t running for the season yet. As it turns out, this was a stroke of luck for us! Otherwise, we would have missed an opportunity to visit New Bedford, and would have missed out on some of the best seafood we’ve ever tasted!
My husband and I were only in town one night, to catch the morning ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, right on the harbor. We explored the area around the harbor and saw the docked scallop boats before heading to dinner.
On our walk, we happened upon one of the Nantucket lightships that once marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals south of Nantucket Island. We chose The Black Whale for dinner. This restaurant is located at the co-op fishing pier, within easy walking distance of our hotel.
The Black Whale
According to their website, The Black Whale’s food mission is “to serve fresh, bold, and innovative food that reflects the history of New Bedford and celebrates the New Bedford fisherman, their catch, and their culture”. After seating us, the server brought crab dip with sesame crackers to start. We ordered Boom Boom shrimp and Crab Cakes with tomato bacon jam as appetizers. For entrees, my husband ordered the “Big A” platter, lightly breaded, consisting of shrimp, scallops, calamari, and cod. I ordered shrimp carbonara.
Everything was amazing; fortunately, my husband shared his scallops with me. They were absolutely orgasmic. We eat a lot of seafood, and this was hands down the best seafood we have ever eaten. I couldn’t pass up dessert – a slice of Chocolate Ganache cake, topped with peanut crumble and whipped mascarpone. Dinner left us stuffed, so I took my dessert to go, and ate it later back at the hotel. It was divine! It turns out there is a Fisherman’s Market in New Bedford where I could get more of those local scallops, but their overnight shipping is currently suspended. I check weekly, hoping to one day get my hands on those scallops again without having to drive ten hours first.
‘
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
While we didn’t have time to fully explore New Bedford, there are lots of sites to see if you are in town for a couple of days. In the harbor area, you can find the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. The park is maintained by the National Park Service, and commemorates New Bedford’s place as the top whaling port in the world during the 19th century. The park is spread out over 13 city blocks, and includes other historical sites such as the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
New Bedford Whaling Museum
The museum houses collections such as whaling ship logbooks, five complete whale skeletons, and the world’s largest model whaling ship, the Lagoda. In addition to whaling exhibitions, the museum also showcases related collections such as maps, charts, scrimshaw (pictures engraved on ivory, traditionally by whalers while shipboard), and navigational instruments. The museum houses recordings of more than 60 marine mammals. The museum also has an extensive collection of photographs.
New Bedford Waterfront Visitors Center
The Waterfront Visitor Center located on Fisherman’s Wharf has a number of maritime exhibits, as well as a map and guide for a self-guided Working Waterfront Dock Walk. The tour highlights locations on the working waterfront, and complements information found on interpretive wayside panels along the walk.
Coast Guard Park
Along the harbor front is an area designated Coast Guard Park. Within this area, you will find the U.S. Coast Guard Lightship Memorial, dedicated to lightship sailors and engraved with the names of those that perished performing their duties.
U.S. Custom House
New Bedford’s National Historical Park is also home to the oldest continuously operating customs house in the nation. A customs house is where U.S. Customs officials oversee functions associated with importing and exporting goods, like collecting taxes on imported goods. New Bedford’s success as a whaling port prompted Congress to establish a customs house in town. Today, the Customs House Square Park hosts concerts and other activities. The site once was a recruiting station for the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first black units to fight in the Civil War. A monument commemorates the 54th Regiment nearby.
Underground Railroad in New Bedford
If you need a break from the whaling and nautical culture, famed abolitionist and runaway slave Frederick Douglass settled in New Bedford in 1838. A monument celebrating Douglass is located at a historic building, the Nathan and Mary Johnson House, which served as one of his residences. Douglass lived in three residences in New Bedford, but the Nathan and Mary Johnson House is the only one still standing. In addition to Douglass, Nathan and Mary Johnson sheltered many other escaped slaves in the building through the Underground Railroad.
New Bedford Ferry Terminal
We chose to stop in New Bedford for the ferry terminal. We were heading to Martha’s Vineyard, and had only a few ferry options, since it was still a few weeks before the season officially opened Memorial Day. Our two options were the Steamship Authority ferry from Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts, or the Seastreak ferry from New Bedford. While Wood’s Hole was significantly cheaper at $19 per person round trip compared to $70 per person from New Bedford, driving to Wood’s Hole would add a couple of hours to our trip. Both ferry terminals offered reasonably and comparably priced parking options. In addition to traditional passenger only ferries, Steamship Authority also offers a ferry where you can take your vehicle with you to Martha’s Vineyard. The vehicle ferry requires reservations. Fares and schedules can be found on the websites.
While New Bedford, Massachusetts was a stopover and not our final destination, we enjoyed our brief stay and would certainly return again!