![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Whaling Period (c. 1750 - c. 1900)
The first planner By the mid-1700s, the economy in the watershed began to shift to maritime-related activities: whaling, shipbuilding, and extensive import/export trading. The first locally owned whaler shipped out of New Bedford in 1755. It was owned by Joseph Russell, a descendent of the Russell family that had acquired land in New Bedford in the last quarter of the seventeenth century. Five years later, Joseph Russell sold portions of his homestead to a boat-builder, a blacksmith, a cooper, a cordwainer, and a house carpenter. All these professions supported whaling, and their presence in New Bedford stimulated the growth of the whale industry. In essence, Russell functioned as the first planner for New Bedford.
The influence of a few families In 1765, Joseph Rotch, a senior member of an established Nantucket whaling firm, arrived in New Bedford and purchased land from Joseph Russell. Rotch brought with him money and expertise to advance the whale fishery. Within 10 years, 40 to 50 whaleships were registered in New Bedford. The families of Joseph Russell, Joseph Rotch, and Samuel Rodman, Rotch's son-in-law, dominated the economic development of New Bedford. In addition to owning whaling vessels, they were involved in outfitting whaling vessels, and in manufacturing whale oil products.
The bridge changed everything By 1780, there were villages on both sides of the Acushnet River: Bedford village (the present-day historic district of New Bedford) on the west, and Fairhaven village and Oxford village on the east. Shipbuilding, whaling, and related businesses developed in all three villages.
In 1798, William Rotch, a successful businessman in the whaling industry, and several other businessmen built a bridge connecting the east and west side of the river to improve commercial ties between Bedford village and Fairhaven and Oxford villages (Fig. 3). The bridge affected the pattern of development in the watershed in a major but unexpected way: it altered the river's currents and caused sediment to accumulate along the east shore north of the bridge at Oxford village. This prevented further development of Oxford as a port and shipbuilding center. Although maritime activities continued south of the bridge at Fairhaven village, physical expansion of the village was limited because the owner of the adjacent farm refused to sell until the 1830s. As a result, Bedford village (later New Bedford) on the west side of the Acushnet River, became the commercial center.
In 1858, historian Daniel Ricketson wrote of the public's opinion of the bridge: "The bridge is still thought by many to be a great public damage. It is undoubtably a great convenience on many accounts, but it is questionable whether it accommodates the public better than might be done by the ferry boats; and, that the value of our harbor as well as the beauty of the river, is much impaired by it, few will question."
Changing shoreline The growth of the whaling industry brought changes to the shoreline of the Acushnet River, especially the western side (Fig. 4). A map of New Bedford depicting the coastline prior to 1800 showed no wharves. By 1855, numerous wharves had been constructed in the area just north and south of Fish Island. These wharves essentially extended the land out into the harbor. Fish Island, also an area of commercial activity, had become considerably larger by 1855.
A harbor survey conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1853 found that the wharves in New Bedford and on Fish Island, and the New Bedford-Fairhaven bridge had changed the hydrographic properties of the river. The bridge and wharves constricted the channel between the New Bedford coastline and Fish Island and reduced the volume of water passing through this channel during tidal exchanges. As a result, sediment accumulated along the shoreline in front of the wharves. The constriction in the channel between the shore and Fish Island caused more water to flow through the channel between Fish Island and Popes Island. This increased flow washed away mud and sand in the channel between the islands. The construction of wharves, the accumulation of sediment around the docks and in channels, and the subsequent dredging (dredging first began in 1839), affected the shellfish beds and benthic communities in the vicinity. In contrast, the changes in the shoreline on the Fairhaven side were minimal because development had been limited.
Whaling wasn't the only business The growth of the whale fishery brought increases in related businesses, some of which affected the environment. Industries were concentrated in what is now the historic section of New Bedford, with most situated along the coastline (Fig. 5). During the whaling period, there were many whale oil processing firms that refined whale oil for use in lamps or as lubricating oils, or made candles and soap. These firms probably released biological wastes, lye, and caustic cleaning solutions into the environment. These substances may have caused short-term problems, but would not have persisted in the environment. These firms also may have emitted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from burning wood and coal, and arsenic and mercury from burning coal.
Many whaling-related industries worked with metals (Fig. 5). Foundries, machine shops, and casting, plating and metal-working businesses provided the metal goods needed for whaling: copper sheathing for the bottoms of ships, try pots, pumps, fittings, and ship bells. Potential pollutants from these industries include metals, solvents, oils and grease, and acids. Although many of these metal businesses were small shops, there were a few larger ones. The largest, New Bedford Copper Company, located on the waterfront in New Bedford in 1860. The company was bought out by Revere Copper and Brass in 1928, and still operates in the city.
Other industries that operated in New Bedford during the whaling period included tanneries, print shops, coal gas production, and manufacture of paint and varnish, glass, and chemicals. There were only a few of each of these, however. These industries probably released acids, cyanide, petroleum hydrocarbons, phenols, metals, solvents, and biological wastes into the environment. In contrast, there were only a few industries on the eastern shore in Fairhaven and Acushnet.
First sewers New Bedford had grown enough in the first half of the nineteenth century that the first sewer lines were installed in 1852 (Fig. 5). Since most of the early development in New Bedford occurred on the east side of the local hill, whose ridgeline extends north-south (Fig. 6), the sewer lines ran down the hill, along east-west running streets, and emptied directly into the river. Most industries not directly on the coast had access to a sewer line or were located adjacent to a stream. Liquid wastes from manufacturing were disposed of into the sewers or directly into the river or streams. In contrast, the Fairhaven side is relatively flat.
Decline of whaling Whaling reached its peak in 1857 (Fig. 7). Then a number of events during the next 20 years influenced the decline of whaling: discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania in 1859 eliminated the need for whale oil as an illuminant; many whaleships were lost during the Civil War (1861-1865); and in 1871 and 1876 more whaleships were destroyed, crushed in the Arctic ice. By the early 1900s, the use of spring steel and other products to replace baleen put an end to the baleen market and an end to whaling.
For more information about whaling in New Bedford visit the web site of the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
