USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 66
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On Sept. 23, 1815, occurred one of the most terrific gales ever known on this coast. It is said that the tide rose ten or cleven feet higher than had ever been known before, inundating, of course, stores and dwell- ings in the village. Two stores on the Old South wharf and one on the Union wharf were carried away, also B. Church's barn and contents, and Sam- uel Borden's ropewalk, which extended from the main land to Crow Island. Several dwellings were more or less injured. It is related that a long boat put off from the store of John Delano, on Union wharf, con- taining Stephen Merrihew, Asa Swift, William P. Jenney, and others. They landed at Capt. Samuel Borden's, above the bridge, and stopped until the tide ebbed. "Capt. Borden's horse was in the keeping- room, tied to the crane, and barrels of oil, stored in the cellar, floated up and thumped heavily against the floor, caused by the wind and tide rushing in through the cellar windows." Two or three persons from this town, we believe, lost their lives in this storm. Few events of interest, aside from the successes and sub- sequent decline of the town's peculiar branch of in- dustry, have marked its later history. Previous to the financial crisis of 1857 the town increased greatly in population, wealth, and business enterprise, while the moral worth and general excellence of the com-
munity was and is a source of gratification to the people. The records of the first few years of the town's existence are said to have been lost in the great gale of 1815. Some of the earliest town-meet- ings were held in the Methodist meeting-house at the Head of the River. In 1818 meetings were held in the old Congregational meeting-house at the Head of the River, and continued to be held there until about 1831-32, when they were transferred to the Academy Hall, on Main Street, between Fairhaven and Oxford village. There seems to have been some objection to holding the meetings here, probably on the part of people from the northern portion of the town, who were obliged to come a considerable dis- tance. Here, however, they continued to be held until, in 1843, the town house was built, on the road to the Head of the River, near the Woodside Ceme- tery, over a mile north of the village. This building was destroyed by fire in 1858.
For a few years meetings were held in Sawin's Hall, on William Street, and the division of the town, in 1860, removed further objection to the hold- ing of them within the village. Since 1864 they have been held in Phoenix Hall. In 1825 it was voted to petition the Legislature for the opening of a passage from Long Pond, in Middleborough, to the Acushnet River, by means of which a valuable fishery could be secured to the towns along the banks of the river. This, however, was, we think, not accomplished. In 1828 money was raised for the purchase of a burying- ground and building one-half of the stone bridge at the Head of the River. The bridge is a substantial reality, but the cemetery project seems not to have been so successful, a fact for which, in view what has transpired since, we can only be grateful. In 1830, to the credit of the town, be it known that it was voted, "That it is the sense of the inhabitants of Fairhaven that there be no licenses granted to retail- ers or taverns for the sale of spirituous liquors for the ensuing year. In 1832 and 1833 there was a great advance in building operations in the village. In the latter year William, Walnut, and Green Streets were accepted, as well as Washington and Union as far east as Green. Numerous substantial residences were built in various parts of the village at this time. In 1836 we find the first vote authorizing the purchase of a fire-engine, and in 1842 the first one authorizing the construction of a sidewalk. This was the plank walk which formerly crossed the Mill Bridge. Since that date flagged sidewalks have been laid on a large part of Main and Centre Streets, as well as flagged and brick walks on other streets. Recently a con- siderable amount of concreting has been done.
In 1850 Riverside Cemetery, a beautiful resting- place for the dead, presented to the people of the town by Warren Delano, Jr., was consecrated. Its natural beauties were greatly enhanced by the donor in the lay-out and adornment of the grounds, which have been still further embellished by the care and
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taste of owners of lots. The Fairhaven Branch Rail- road, opened in 1854, passed through a portion of the old cemetery at the foot of William Street. The northern part was allowed to remain, and has since been an unsightly disfigurement to the village. Hap- pily, a number of removals have of late been made from here, and it is to be hoped that soon few vestiges of its former use may remain.
Up to the beginning of the war the village was a busy place, in consequence of the whale fishery and industries connected. therewith. With the sudden decline of whaling the town was left with almost nothing of business enterprise. Population and wealth decreased, and the future looked dark indeed. Two manufacturing companies have, however, started up since that period, and with the increasing prosperity of New Bedford and slight gains in population better days have already dawned. The increase in building operations within the last ten years over the amount during the previous decade has been marked. On Sept. 8, 1869, the town was visited by a furious gale, which, besides inflicting a large amount of minor damage, tore off the tall steeple of the Congregational Church, which had been a prominent landmark for over twenty years. It also carried away a large por- tion of the New Bedford bridge, thus rendering Fair- haven people dependent upon a ferry-boat for trans- portation to and from New Bedford. Previous to the opening of the bridge, about the beginning of the present century, the village of Fairhaven and Bedford had, we think, been connected by a rude sort of ferry. This first bridge was destroyed by a storm in 1807. The bridge was rebuilt and again destroyed in the great gale of 1815, while the next structure, after en- during for a half-century and more, met with the disaster mentioned above. Up to this period it had been customary to collect toll from passengers. The removal of this burden has proved to be a great con- venience to the people of the town since the reopening of the bridge in June, 1870. In former days, and especially after the destruction of the bridge in 1869, there was some opposition on the part of New Bedford people to its present location. The advantages of its present situation are, however, so great that the ques- tion may now be considered as a thing of the past. About 1833 a ferry-boat was put on the route between Fairhaven and New Bedford, in order more effectu- ally to accommodate traffic between the two growing places.
The New Bedford and Taunton Railroad was opened about 1840, and for some time a coach was run to accommodate Fairhaven passengers. In 1854 was opened the Fairhaven Branch Railroad, con- necting with the Cape Cod Railroad at Tremont, opening a through line from Fairhaven to Boston, and connecting New Bedford with Cape Cod and Plymouth County. A new and more commodious steam ferry was at this time put on the New Bedford route by the railroad company. At about this time,
R. A. Dunham put on his line of omnibuses, which continued to run to New Bedford, with the exception of periods when the bridge was impassable, until 1872. In October of that year was opened the Fair- haven Branch of the New Bedford and Fairhaven Street Railroad, a convenience which is greatly appre- ciated by the people. In 1873 the ferry-boat " Union" was disposed of, and since that time regular traffic has been given over to the street railroad company. The Fairhaven Branch Railroad was sold to the New Bedford and Taunton some years after its comple- tion, and since that time has passed into the hands of the New Bedford Railroad Company, Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg, and New Bedford Company, and in 1879 was leased by the Old Colony. A tele- graph office is maintained at the railroad station, and telephonic connection with the New Bedford central office is availed of by a number of residents. Aside from the wharves and some buildings in the older portion of the village there is little of the appear- ance of the decayed scaport about Fairhaven. The streets are more regular than in many places, and some of them are beautifully shaded. Centre Street, in particular, beneath its arch of waving elm branches, forms a lovely vista during the warm sea- son. Tasteful and substantial residences scattered about the village add to its good appearance.
It is to be regretted that the town possesses no common or park, and that many of the houses stand close together and very near the street, since its beauty might have been greatly increased by large public or private grounds. In Riverside Cemetery stands a neat and tasteful monument erected by the town in 1867 in memory of her citizens who lost their lives in the rebellion. The monument bears the following names : Bart. Aiken, Charles H. Austin, Joseph S. Caswell, Benjamin F. Cowen, Edward H. Dillingham, Lewis Albert Drew, Charles Eldridge, Barnabas Ener, Jr., John Arthur Fitch, Ebenezer B. Hathaway, Charles N. Jenney, James Merrihew, Harvey C. Morse, Ebenezer Parsons, Jr., Phineas Peckham, Jr., George F. Rogers, Francis H. Stod- dard, Loring P. Taber, John M. Thompson, Amos S. Tripp, William B. Watterson, William A. West.
Within the last few years Fairhaven has been steadily growing in favor as a pleasant but unpreten- tions summer resort. The heat is tempered by the southwest winds from the bay, and our beautiful river and harbor afford facilities for boating and fishing. Fort Phoenix, now dismantled, affords, with its adja- cent rocks and beaches, a delightful resort for the rambler on a summer's afternoon. The view of the river dotted with sailing craft, the compact mass of roofs of the neighboring city, sprinkled with towers and spires, forming a charmingly variegated picture along the opposite bank ; the wooded shores of Clark's Point and Sconticut Neck below on opposite sides of the harbor, the bright waters of the bay fading far off at the south into the blue shores of Falmouth, Nau-
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shon, Nashawena, and Cuttyhunk, is a source of de- light to the lover of natural scenery. One would like to see more activity about the quiet streets and wharves of Fairhaven. Still, the swift-ebbing tide of business prosperity has begun to rise, and from the advantages of its situation, its proximity to New Bedford, and from the excellence of the community itself, the future outlook for the town is not unfavor- able.
The writer would gratefully acknowledge the aid furnished him in the compilation of historical matter by Messrs. Charles Eldridge, Job E. Tripp (of whose historical sketch of the Unitarian Church the follow- ing is, in the main, an abstract), Eben Akin, Jr., and Mr. Ingraham, of the New Bedford Public Library. Ricketson's "History of New Bedford," and news- paper sketches written by various persons, have afforde.l assistance.
Industries and Corporations .- A number of branches of business connected either directly or in- directly with the whale fishery, such as ship-building and repairing, coopering, sail-making, and sperm- candle manufacturing, have been carried on in this place. Ship-building early engaged the attention of the people of Oxford village and Fairhaven. About the year 1800, Abner Pease built, near his homestead, several ships and smaller vessels. At a later date the business was continued by John and Joshua Delano at the Union wharf ship-yard. They were followed by Elias Terry and Fish & Nuttlestone. Here were built a number of ships and other vessels, and at times two or three vessels might have been seen in process of construction. Two of the largest ships ever built on the river, the "Sea Nymph" and "John Milton," were built by Fish & Nuttlestone for the late Edward M. Robinson, of New Bedford. Vessels were also built on Main Street in a lot north of the residence of the late Isaac Wood. Messrs. Delano & Co. have built a number of first-class ships and other vessels at the yard of the late Capt. William G. Be- lackler, on Fort Street. The business has now been discontinued. The Fairhaven Marine Railway, on which vessels are drawn up for repairs, is still in ex- istence. There were two candle manufactories, one at the head of Middle Street, the other on Fort Street. The latter was built by the late William R. Rodman, of New Bedford, in 1831 or 1832. There are now two manufacturing companies established in the town, -- the American Tack Company and the Fairhaven Iron- Works. A portion of the building now occupied by the iron-works was formerly used as a cotton-mill. The Fairhaven Star, a weekly newspaper, published by C. D. Waldron, was established in 1879.
1
NATIONAL BANK OF FAIRHAVEN .- Incorporated in 1831, reorganized in 1864. L. S. Judd, president ; Reuben Nye, cashier; Directors, L. S. Judd, Isaiah West, Cyrus D. Hunt, Phineas E. Terry, Charles H. Morton, Levi M. Snow, James V. Cox. Capital, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
18
FAIRHAVEN INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS was in- corporated in 1832. President, George H. Taber ; Treasurer, Charles Drew; Board of Investment, George H. Taber, Charles H. Morton, Walter P. Winsor, Thomas B. Faller, and John B. Hussey ; Trustees, George II. Taber, Reuben Nye, Bartholo- mew Taber, John M. Howland, Lewis S. Judd, James V. Cox, Noah Stoddard, Cyrus D. Hunt, Job C. Tripp, George F. Howland, Isaac Terry, Walter P. Winsor, Thomas B. Faller, Charles H. Morton, Jonathan H. Holmes, John B. Hussey, Levi M. Snow, John Mayhew.
FAIRHAVEN IRON-WORKS were incorporated in 1879. (Successor to Boston and Fairhaven Iron- Works, incorporated 1863.) President, 1882, Edwin S. Thayer; Directors, Edwin S. Thayer, Lewis S. Judd, Thomas H. Knowles; Treasurer, Job C. Tripp ; Superintendent, William C. Lincoln.
AMERICAN TACK COMPANY was incorporated in 1867. President, 1882, J. A. Beauvais; Directors, J. A. Beauvais, C. P. Brightman, C. D. Hunt, L. S. Judd, Loum Snow, Jr. ; Treasurer, J. A. Beauvais. Capital, one hundred and twenty-five thousand dol- lars.
This company made use of a stone building on Fort Street, erected for the purpose of manufacturing sperm candles. They have since built a two-story and French-roof building at the west, and during the past year (1882) have added a three and one-half story stone addition to the main building.
The Whale Fishery .- In Starbuck's "History of the American Whale Fishery" we read : In the vicinity of New Bedford whaling probably begun but little prior to 1760. In that year William Wood, of Dart- mouth, sold to Elnathan Eldridge, of the same town, a certain tract of land located within the present town of Fairhaven, and within three-quarters of a mile of the centre of the town, on the banks of the Acushnet River, "always excepting and reserving . . . that part of the same where the try house and Oyl Shed now stands." This tract of land was in the vil- lage of Oxford, and we are informed that there can be no doubt that the first whaling-vessels were fitted at this place. The carliest voyage of which the writer has any knowledge was that of the sloop "Phoenix" in 1743, the proceeds of which amounted to nine hundred and sixteen pounds, eighteen shillings, and four pence. She was followed by sloops " Diamond" in 1744, "Speedwell" in 1745, "Speedwell" and " Rainbow" in 1746-47. The " Rainbow" also sailed in 1750 and 1751. Thomas Nye, Judah Paddock, Bartholomew Taber, James Hatheway, or Hathaway, were among those interested in the business at this early period. From Oxford, in 1765, came sloops "Industry" and "Dove," and in 1767 sloops "Myriad," "Sea Flower," "Rover," and "Supply." In 1758, during the French and Indian war, sloop "Industry," Isaiah Eldridge master, was captured by a French privateer, but concerning the result of the capture we
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have no information. Of the early days of Oxford, Ricketson's "History of New Bedford" says, "The village of Oxford at this period fairly rivaled her neighbor across the river. Here were owned and fitted out several large vessels,-ships, brigs, etc.,-owned by the Bennetts, Huddlestones, and others. The sub- stantial old houses still there evince a state of pros- perity at that period." It is stated that two ships and a brig have been seen building at Oxford ship-yard, and four ships lying at the wharf at the same time. The names of some of the early whaling captains are as follows: Thomas Nye, Ephraim Delano, John Delano, Elnathan Delano, Joseph Tripp, Isaiah Eldridge, Salathiel Eldridge, and Benjamin Jenny. Of Lewis Taber it is related that he was once engaged to sail from Mattapoisett. While his vessel was fitting it was his custom to traverse the five miles or more between the two hamlets of Oxford and Matta- poisett on foot. His employer perceiving this, in- formed him that if he would return with one hundred barrels sperm, he should be provided with a horse with which to go back and forth. In due time Capt. Taber sailed, and returned from a successful voyage in one week, having taken a large whale, and received his promised reward.
The prosperity of Oxford as a separate community was checked by the construction of the New Bedford bridge, incorporated in 1796. Business activity soon passed almost entirely to the lower village. The distance between the villages being, however, less than a mile, there has been for many years practically no dividing line between them, and with the increase of population their interests became mutual. In the early days of Fairhaven village the try-works were located near the northeast corner of the land of Wil- liam N. Alden, corner of Main and Washington Streets. Concerning them Capt. Delano writes, "North of the Proctor house were the try-works, where the blubber from the whalers was boiled out. It was the custom invariably to bring in the catch- ings and extract the oil on the land. Just to the northeast of the try-works is the entrance to Herring River, up which the whaling vessels went to get their water, which they obtained at a well, said to be that attached to the John Milan house, between which and Herring Riyer was a fresh-water pond, known as the Frog Pond, with flags growing in it." Herring River is much better known as the Mill Pond, and the John Milan honse is the house on the corner of Walnut and Spring Streets. The first wharves constructed are said to have been the Old South and the old pier at the foot of Washington Street. Union Wharf was built about 1802 or 1803, the names of the proprietors being as follows: William Rotch, Silas Allen, Noah Stoddard, Nicholas Stoddard, John Sherman, Thomas Nye, Benjamin Church, Jr., Stephen Merrihew, Na- thaniel Proctor, John Price, Kelley Eldridge, Asa Swift, Elias Terry, John Delano, Joseph Tripp, Levi Jenney. Some of the ships owned in Fairhaven pre-
vious to the war of 1812 were as follows : "Juno," " President," " Columbia," "Exchange," and " Her- ald." The latter vessel was owned by Capt. Samuel Borden. Capt. Jabez Delano writes, concerning her, " It was a gala day to us boys when the old 'Herald' came in with her cargo of oil from the Brazil Banks, which she performed annually for many years. The peculiar olden-time habits so indelibly impress the mind that they live as though of yesterday's occur- rence. Capt. Borden had his oxen on hand, by which the heavy hoisting was done, while the light casks and barrels were hoisted out by hand." Other ves- sels probably belonging in Fairhaven and Oxford in the latter part of the last century were schooner " Lively," Capt. Rowland Gibbs; brig " Atlantic," Capt. Parker; schooner "Swan," Capt. Mayhew ; " Sally," Capt. Cunningham ; and "Industry," Capt. Taber. Among the ship-owners or agents of this date may be mentioned Messrs. Samuel Borden, Sam- nel Proctor, and John Alden.
The war of 1812 inflicted a temporary check upon maritime pursuits, but after its close the business grew with unprecedented vigor, and during the quarter of a century beginning with 1830 Fairhaven saw the flood-tide of its business prosperity. During this period its wharves were alive with workmen fitting vessels for sea, or discharging the cargoes of those newly arrived. Bustle and activity reigned. At certain periods it was difficult to find men enough to perform the work required. In 1821 three vessels arrived with 2200 barrels sperm and 800 barrels whale oil. In 1830 the number had increased to eleven, with 3062 barrels sperm, 11,093 whale, and 57,300 pounds bone. In 1834 sixteen vessels arrived, with 12,953 barrels sperm, 12,601 barrels whale, and 56,500 pounds bone. Some of the largest aggregate annual catches of sperm and whale oil were made as follows: In 1837, 28,521 barrels; 1841, 26,730 barrels; 1842, 27,680 barrels ; 1845, 32,040 barrels; 1846, 27,524 bar- rels ; and 1849, 29,804 barrels. The largest reported amount of bone brought into this port in one year was 477,900 pounds in 1850. The number of whalers hailing from this port was in 1840 forty-four. In 1845 this number had increased to forty-eight, and in 1847 to fifty. The amount of tonnage reached its maximum limit, 16,840, in 1857. In 1837 the amount of money invested was abont $945,000; in 1850, esti- mating $26,000 to each ship, about $1,350,000. One of the most successful voyages recorded of a Fair- haven vessel is that of the bark "Favorite," Capt. Pierce, F. R. Whitnell, agent, which arrived June 19, 1853, with 84 barrels sperm, 2211 barrels whale, and 31,900 pounds bone, having sent home 300 bar- rels sperm, 4484 barrels whale, and 41,000 pounds bone, the aggregate value being over $100,000. 'The " Favorite" was gone about three years. Successful voyages of vessels whose agents were Gibbe & Jenney, Nathan Church, and other Fairhaven merchants are also found on record.
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Although the whale fishery was greatly conducive to the prosperity of the town, and spread abroad her name and fame, yet it had, as is well known, its dark and tragic side. In 1837 ship "Clifford Wayne" re- turned in consequence of a mutiny among the crew, and caused thereby a loss of ten thousand dollars to those who had invested in her. In the same year ship "Oregon" was lost on a reef near Tahiti. In 1838 ship "Pactolus" was burned in the Pacific. On Dec. 22, 1842, ship "Sharon" put into Sydney, the crew having mutinied and killed Capt. Norris. Capt. Jenney, of the " Albion," was killed by a whale in March, 1844. In 1847 ship " Acushnet" lost her third mate and four men in consequence of a boat being stove, and in 1852 the "Heroine" lost her second mate, C. Fuller, and five men in a severe gale. In 1863 brig " Pavilion," Capt. Handy, was lost, with seven of her crew, in Hudson's Bay, and the survivors endured severe sufferings. On June 27, 1865, occurred a disaster which from its character is one of the most noticeable that ever befell a Fairhaven vessel. On that date bark " Favorite," Capt. Thomas G. Young, F. R. Whitnell, agent, was captured by the rebel cruiser "Shenandoah," after a bold but ineffectual effort at resistance on the part of the gallant captain.
With the commercial crash of 1857, the increasing use of petroleum for illuminating purposes, and the coming on of the Rebellion, the peculiar industry of the town rapidly declined. The number of whaling vessels decreased from forty-three in 1859 to nine in 1863, causing, of course, a great diminution in the amount of business done. A few vessels, principally brigs and schooners, were sent out in succeeding years, but at the present date not a single Fairhaven vessel is engaged in the business, and the town must look to other sources for future prosperity. The last whale-ship to arrive at this port was the "General Scott," Capt. William Washburn, Tripp & Terry, agents, which arrived Oct. 5, 1869. In concluding this sketch the mention of the names of Gibbs & Jenney, Warren Delano, Atkins Adams, F. R. Whit- nell, Nathan Church, Jenney & Tripp, Bradford & Faller, Fish & Robinson, Ezekiel Sawin, and Lemuel Tripp will recall to the minds of many the names of the prominent shipping merchants of the town, who, with others, contributed by their business enterprise to its wealth and prosperity.
Schools .- On April 13, 1798, a number of citizens of the town met, and agreed to build "an academy between the villages and Oxford, fifty feet and half by twenty-four feet and half, two story high." The agreement is signed by Isaac Sherman, Benjamin Lin- coln, Levi Jenne, Noah Stoddard, Nicholas Stoddard, Killey Eldridge, Thomas Delano, Jethro Allen, Jo- seplı Bates, Robert Bennet, Reuben Jenne, Nicholas Taber, and Luther Willson. In 1802 the school was taught by Richard Sawyer, and later in the same year by John Nye and Abiah Haskell. For a number of years this building was the principal place of in-
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