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 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGES OF HISTORY. 
 
 AY 31, 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold, 
 with a small party of Englishmen, 
 sailed from the little island of Cuttv- 
 hunk to the main land bordering- on 
 the ''Stately sound" which he called 
 "Gosnold's Hope," but to which has 
 persistently clung the less poetic ap- 
 pelladon of a later date, "Buzzards 
 Bay." It has usually been taken for 
 granted that the discoverers sailed up 
 the Acushnet river, and landed on 
 the shore where the city of New Bedford is now located. Of this there 
 may be some doubt, for the narrative of one of the partv indicates 
 that the harbors found by Gosnold and his companions were two 
 which are west of the Acushnet river. However this may be, it is 
 certain that they were not far from this locality, and the descrip- 
 tions given by the English explorers mav applv as well to the 
 apj")e;irance of our own harbor in those daws. It is said b\' an earh' 
 historian that "the stately groves, llowering meadows and running 
 brooks afforded delightful entertainment to the adventurers," and one 
 of the visitors, writing of the visit, says that Gosnold was met bv a 
 company of the nati\es, "men, women and cIdUh-en, who with all
 
 lo ne;w ueukord. 
 
 coiirlcous kindness entertained him, giving him skins of wild beasts, 
 tohaeeo, turtles, iiemp, artificial strings coloured, and such like 
 things as they had about them." We may be sure that Gosnold 
 traded with the aborigines, for it is stated by the same authority 
 that when the ship returned on the homeward voyage to England, 
 slu- was laden with furs and other productions of the country, among 
 which is particularly mentioned sassafras root, then held in great 
 esteem in England as a medicine. It was the original intention 
 that the expedition, which sailed from Falmouth, England, on the 
 26th of March, 1602, should proceed to Virginia and there found 
 a colonv. But the voyagers chanced upon an island which is easily 
 identified as Cuttyhunk, one of a small group on the southern coast 
 of Massachusetts, where they determined to settle. That they were 
 tickle, and not adapted to pioneering, is shown by their building 
 a rude fort or house, but abandoning the enterprise when it was yet 
 in its infancy. On the 17th of June in the year in which they 
 reached America they sailed on their return to England. 
 
 It has often been asserted that Gosnold and his unstable followers 
 w^ere not the first European visitors to our shores. With some rea- 
 sonable confidence, the claim is made that they were anticipated six 
 centuries by the adventurous Northmen, who were roving dwellers 
 on the New England coast for eight years, and of whom but little 
 doubt remains that they often visited the shores of Buzzards Bay and 
 its vicinity. The records are meagre, but they are believed to be 
 trustworthv and to warrant the conclusion that the coastwise explora- 
 tions of the Northmen, although seemingly unproductive of lasting or 
 valuable results, were thorough. Of all the deductions from these 
 records, it is impossible to speak so confidently. Ditfering widely as 
 they do, some of them must be imaginary, and all are undoubtedly 
 to a great extent fanciful. Yet we do not greatly stretch the imag- 
 ination if we conjecture that the bold northern sailors navigated the 
 waters of the Acushnet and explored the tbrests on its shores. 
 
 Twenty years after the arrival of the Mayflower at Ph'mouth, 
 the dwellers in that colony began to look with covetous eyes on the 
 pleasant land wdiich had delighted Gosnold and his companions. 
 The general court of March, 1639, passed an order that the pur- 
 chasers or "old-comers" should make choice of two or three 
 plantations for themselves and their heirs by the December court. 
 The selections were duly made, and one of them, known as "the
 
 12 NKW HEDFORT). 
 
 sc'coiul place," included tiie locality which is now the city of New 
 I^edford. Hitt'not until 1652 was the right acquired by purchase 
 jioin tin- Indians. On the 29th of November, 1652, a conveyance 
 was made by Wasamequin, an Indian chief, and Wamsutta, his son, 
 of the territory now included in the city of New Bedford and the 
 neighboring towns of Fairhaven, Acushnet, Dartmouth, and West- 
 port. For this large tract of land, the consideration was as follows : 
 "Thirty yards of cloth, eight moose-skins, fifteen axes, fifteen hoes, 
 fifteen pair of breeches, eight blankets, two kettles, one cloak, £2 in 
 wampan, eight pair stockings, eight pair of shoes, one iron pot, and 
 ten shillings in another commoditie." It has been supposed that 
 this other "commoditie" meant rum and tobacco. On the con- 
 trary, it is urged that the purchasers of this land were not afraid to 
 say rum when they meant rum, and that the consideration is as likely 
 to have been something else as liquor. But this aside, the buyers of 
 the territor}^ secured a very fair bargain for their outlay. Wamsutta 
 and his lather Wasamequin, or Massasoit, the name by which he is 
 better known, agreed to remove all the Indians from the tract in a 
 year. This was beyond their power, and the Indians remained in 
 partial possession for many years. 
 
 Settlers had found their way to the territory before the purchase. 
 If tradition can be relied upon, Ralph Russell, his son John, and 
 Anthony Slocum w-ere the first white men to set up homes in this 
 vicinitv. They are said to have come from Taunton in 1650, and to 
 have established an iron forge at Russell's Mills, in what is now the 
 town of Dartmouth. Neither of them was an original proprietor, 
 but on the 9th of March, 1664, John Russell purchased the thirty- 
 fourth part or share of Capt. Miles Standish. John Cooke, who 
 came to Acushnet at about the time the Russells came to Russell's 
 Mills, was an original proprietor, and he was a son of Francis Cooke, 
 a Mayflower Pilgrim. He and John Russell were the leading men 
 in the new town of Dartmouth, and for the first twenty years of its 
 existence were its only representatives in the Old Colony court at 
 Plymouth . 
 
 It is evident, from a study of the records, that many of the 
 pioneer settlers in this region came here for the same reason that the 
 Pilgrims came to Plymouth. Many of them were Friends or Bap- 
 tists, wdio found life in the Plymouth colony hard to bear because 
 they were not of its dominant religious faith. John Cooke, before
 
 PAGES OF HISTORY. 13 
 
 alluded to, was a Baptist preacher, and was highl}^ honored by his 
 townsmen, holding various offices of trust for many years. But the 
 general court saw lit to fine him ten shillings "for breaking the Sab- 
 bath by unnecessary travelling thereon." It has been surmised, 
 and not unreasonably, that he was travelling to fulfill an appointment 
 to preach. 
 
 The founders of Plymouth colony made one step toward the reali- 
 zation of perfect religious liberty. The founders of the town of 
 Dartmouth made another, which was not less important. We can do 
 no better in this connection than to quote the admirable statement 
 made by Hon. William W. Crapo in his oration at the Dartmouth 
 centennial, Sept. 14th, 1864. He said : 
 
 "I have said our fathers were Puritans. They were more than that — they were 
 the Protestants of tlie Puritans. They were in sjmpathy witli the established gov- 
 ernment at Plymoutli in evei-y tiling except the one matter of compulsorj^ taxation 
 for religious purposes. Full}^ believing in freedom of conscience, they had early 
 conceived a strong aversion to the arbitrary imposition of taxes by the civil power 
 for the support of a ministry with which they were not in unison and over which 
 they had no control. The early records of tlie town, imperfect and fragmentary as 
 they are, in connection with the histoiy of the colony, plainly tell us how earnestly 
 and even bitterly this controversy was waged, and for how many years it was the 
 source of discord and of jjersecution. The Plymouth colony court annually appor- 
 tioned to the town a tax for the support of ministers, in addition to the province 
 tax, but the Baptists and Quakers of Dartmouth were inflexible in their resistance to 
 it, and while the province rates were fjiitbfullj' met, those for the maintenance of 
 ministers were refused. It also troubled our good rulers at Plymouth that our 
 fathers were so negligent in providing stated preaching according to the established 
 Puritan faith." 
 
 The authorities at Plymouth were disposed to force the refrac- 
 tory Baptists and Quakers into compliance. In 1674, the court 
 passed an order in which it took into "serious consideration the 
 tremendous dispensation of God towards the people of Dartmouth in 
 suffering the barbarous heathen to spoil and destroy most of their 
 habitations," expressing the fear that the carelessness to obtain and 
 attend unto the ministry of the word of God "may have been a 
 provocation of God thus to chastise their contempt of his gospel, 
 which we earnestly desire the people of that phice mav seriously 
 consider of, lay to heart and be humbled for, with a solicitous en- 
 deavor after a reformation thereof, by a vigorous putting forth to 
 obtain an able, faithful dispenser of the word of God amongst them, 
 and to encourage him therein : the neglect whereof this court, as 
 they must and, God willing. the\- will not permit for the future."
 
 14 
 
 NEW P.KDFORD. 
 
 This (lid not iVighk-n the people of Dartmouth, whose ideas of 
 religious duty were quite as inflexible as those of the members of 
 the Plymouth court. They would worship God, but they would do it 
 in their own way, and the}' would contribute not a penny to the sup- 
 port of a ministry of which they did not fully approve. The 
 struggle between the town and the court lasted over fifty years, but 
 the tovt^n yielded never a grain. It reached a culmination in 1724. 
 In 1722, the assembly of Massachusetts passed an act to raise one 
 hundred pounds in the town of Dartmouth, and seventy-two pounds 
 eleven shillings in the adjoining town of Tiverton (then a part of 
 Massachusetts) for the support of ministers whose selection was 
 subject to the approval of the general court. The two towns were 
 the only ones in the province that had not received any Presbyterian 
 ministers, and the action of the general court was to force them into 
 line with the rest. It was provided that the sum assessed should be 
 included in the province tax, and afterwards be drawn out of the 
 treasur}'. The people of Dartmouth had a town meeting on the 26th 
 of November, 1722, and voted not to pay the money, but to raise 
 seven hundred pounds to protect the selectmen trom the conse- 
 quences of the refusal and to defray the expenses of an appeal to the 
 king. Only five taxpayers protested against this appropriation, 
 which was a large one for those days, and it is worthy of note, as 
 showing the earnestness of the people, that it was met by the tax of 
 that year, and not left to posterity to pay, on the ground that future 
 generations would reap the benefit and must therefore foot the bills. 
 The selectmen refused to assess the tax which had been ordered b}' 
 the assembly. They were imprisoned in Bristol jail tor eighteen 
 months, but the appeal to the king resulted in their release and the 
 order that the obnoxious taxes be remitted. Thus ended a struggle 
 for religious libert}' the importance of which can hardly be over- 
 estimated. On both sides it was waged by patriotic and conscien- 
 tious men, but it must ever be occasion for honest pride to the 
 dwellers in Dartmouth and her daughter municipalities that the 
 pioneers within her borders stood firmly and successfully for the 
 principle of complete independence of the Christian church from the 
 domination or guidance of the state. 
 
 King Philip's war was the occasion of much distress to the inhab- 
 itants of this region. This is not the place to enter into an extended 
 account of that last struggle of the Indians of southeastern New
 
 PAGES OF HISTORY. 1 7 
 
 England to retain possession of their hunting grounds. While it 
 lasted, it was bitter and relentless. It extended over a considerable 
 part of eastern Massachusetts, but it is recorded that no other por- 
 tion of the territory was so devastated as that on which New Bedford 
 stands. One historian of the time wrote that Dartmouth's " distresses 
 required succour, great part of the town being laid desolate and many 
 of the inhabitants killed ; the most of Plymouth forces were ordered 
 thither." Tradition says that the dwelling of every white person 
 within the limits of the town was destroyed. However, after the 
 death of Philip and the dispersion of his followers, the town appears 
 to have quickly recovered. 
 
 After the close of King Philip's war, the settlers by the Appone- 
 cansett turned their attention to the shores of the Acushnet. Some 
 time prior to 1711, Joseph Russell, son of the John Russell who 
 established the iron forge at Russell's Mills, came here and resided 
 at what is now the corner of County and South streets. Joseph 
 Russell, Jr., who was born at the garrison in Apponegansett in the 
 troublous times of Indian warfare, also came to live near his father. 
 The third Joseph in the line was probably born within the limits of 
 the present city, and to him is generally credited the honor of being 
 its founder. He was a man of enterprise and of far-seeing business 
 ability. He established the whale-fishery at this port, and he built 
 the first sperm oil factory located here. He also was an importer of 
 foreign goods, and carried on a flourishing and extensive business, 
 for those da3's, until it was ruined by the Revolutionary War. 
 
 The village remained an agricultural community for many 
 years. Two or three sloops, indeed, fitted lor the whale-fishery, and 
 there was a "try-house" near the shore. Yet the site of the present 
 city was covered by a forest, and the farm houses were at some dis- 
 tance from the river. Not until almost fifty years had passed from 
 the time when the first Joseph Russell located here were any signs 
 apparent of the future commercial and industrial life of the towai. 
 In 1760, John Loudon, a caulker, came here from Pembroke and 
 established himself as a shipbuilder. Then came Benjamin Taber, 
 a boatbuilder and blockmaker ; John Alden, a house carpenter; 
 Barzillai Myrick, a ship carpenter; Elnathan Sampson, a black- 
 smith ; and Gideon Mosher, a mechanic, but of what trade it is not 
 stated. These men, and others like them, were the pioneers of New 
 Bedford's industries, and we have abundant reason to believe that they
 
 ly NEW HEOFORl). 
 
 worked wiscl}- and well. Not one of them was rich, even when 
 iud'^ed hv the limited standards of their day, but they had stout 
 hearts and willino- hands and so achieved a measurable share oi 
 success. 
 
 In 1765, Joseph Rotch came to the village from Nantucket. He 
 had selected the harbor as well adapted to the prosecution of the 
 whale-tishery, and having means and enterprise he embarked in 
 business with vigor, reaping much success. His settlement here 
 gave to the place a great impetus, ensuring its growth and pros- 
 perity. 
 
 Up to this time the village had no name of its own. That part 
 of Dartmouth which afterwards became New Bedford was then 
 known as the Acushena territory. But it had now become of suf- 
 ficient importance to make a distinctive name a necessity. Ac- 
 cordingly, upon a public occasion, Joseph Rotch suggested, and 
 the suggestion was adopted, that the name should be "Bedford," in 
 honor of Joseph Russell, who bore the family name of the Duke of 
 Bedford. This, it must be remembered, was in the "Old Colony 
 days," when New England was under the rule of the king, and the 
 compliment was probably then much more apparent than it is now. 
 
 Prosperity came to the thrifty and industrious village. Its 
 population grew and its enterprises flourished. The whaling fleet 
 increased, and Bedford seemed fairly launched on a fortunate career. 
 The war of the Revolution destroyed every pleasing anticipation in 
 which the people had indulged. For the time, the whaling industry 
 was ruined, while the young merchants saw not only their pro- 
 spective gains cut oft\ but their present prosperity vanish. Some of 
 the inhabitants engaged in privateering, but as most of the business 
 men were Quakers they could not conscientiously do this. The 
 peaceful non-resistants, however, shared in the punishment inflicted 
 upon the place by a large force from the British army. The harbor 
 had become a noted rendezvous for privateers, which brought here 
 their prizes and unloaded their cargoes. In retaliation, Maj.-Gen. 
 Grev, under orders from Sir Henry Clinton, made a raid on the 
 village on the 5th and 6th of September, 1778, destroying propert}' 
 to the value of £96,980, and inflicting a crushing blow on the settle- 
 ment. The storv has been well and exhaustively told elsewhere, 
 and only the briefest summary of it need be given here. On the 
 afternoon of September 5th, the British frigate Carysfort and several
 
 PAGES OF HISTORY. I9 
 
 transports appeared in the bay, with between four thousand and five 
 thousand troops. These were landed at Clark's Cove, to avoid pass- 
 ing a fort which guarded the mouth of Acushnet river. The troops 
 marched up the Count}^ road to the village, where they burned 
 thirty-^ur vessels, ten dwelling houses, and about twenty-five other 
 buildings, including a rope walk and a distiller}-. While the troops 
 were marching up the County road, they fired upon and killed 
 Abraham Russell, Thomas Cook, and Diah Traftbrd. This was the 
 first blood shed in this neighborhood in the Revolution. The British 
 soldiery marched to the head of the river, through what is now 
 Acushnet, and down on the Fairhaven side, re-embarking on their 
 vessels at Sconticut Neck. 
 
 When peace came, the people went bravely at work to re- 
 build their shattered fortunes. How well they succeeded is told in 
 other chapters of this volume. 
 
 After the war was over, the village rapidly grew, and in a few 
 years it was ready to set up for itself as an independent municipality. 
 In 1787, it was severed from the old township of Dartmouth, and for 
 the first time became New Bedford. The prefix "New" was 
 adopted to distinguish the town from another Bedford, in another 
 part of the State. The division of the old town of Dartmouth was 
 strenuously opposed, not only by all the inhabitants of that part 
 of the town which would still remain as Dartmouth, but by many 
 who lived in the territory of Bedford. Some of these latter remon- 
 strants, in a paper which is still on file among the archives of the 
 Secretary of State of Massachusetts, assert that they "have been 
 particularly happy in contemplating the idea of our union with and 
 conjunction to a town of superior consequence, holding rank and 
 place among the principal and most respectable towns in this Com- 
 monwealth." This is one of the reasons they assign for opposing 
 the division, while the other is that "at a time of general distress, 
 when the burdens of taxation are heavy upon us, we apprehend that 
 the additional expense of a representative and a whole set of town 
 officers, a grammar school master and the apparatus of public 
 buildings will be more than ten times sufficient to outweigh every 
 advantageous consideration." But such arguments as these were 
 seen to be of little weight in the face of the evident necessity tor a 
 division, and on the 23d of February, 1787, the bill incorporating 
 the town of New Bedford becanu' a law. The new town included.
 
 20 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 beside llu' New Becirord of the present day, what is now Fairhaven 
 and Aciishnet. The territory ol" the two hitter towns was set off in 
 1812, the division being the result of irreconcilable political views 
 between the dwellers on the opposite sides of the Acushnet river. 
 Many years after, Fairhaven was divided, and the town of Acushnet 
 was carved from its north end. At intervals slight changes have 
 been made in the town and city lines, but they remain today substan- 
 tially as first drawn. 
 
 In 1847, New Bedford was incorporated as a city. The conduct 
 of its affairs was entrusted to a city council, consisting of a mayor 
 and six aldermen, and a common council of four members from each 
 of the six wards. A school committee of three members from each 
 ward was also instituted, with a board of overseers of the poor and 
 other necessary officials. In substance, the government of the city 
 now remains as at first, though there have been some changes in 
 detail. The list of mayors and the years in which the}' served the 
 city is as follows : 
 
 1847-51, Abraham II. Howlanil. 
 
 1852, William J. Hotch. 
 
 1853-54, Rodney French. 
 
 1855-50, George Tlowlaml, Jr. 
 
 1857-58,* Georcfe II. Dunbar. 
 
 1850, Willard Nye. 
 
 1860-61, and to Sept. 20, 1802, Isaac C. 
 Taber. 
 
 1862, from Sept. 29; 1863-65, George 
 Howland, Jr. 
 
 1866-67, John H. Perry. 
 
 1868-69, Andrew G. Pierce. 
 1870-72, George B. Richmond. 
 
 1873, George H. Dunbar. 
 
 1874, George B. Richmond. 
 1875-76, Abraham H. Howland, Jr. 
 
 1877, Alanson Borden. 
 
 1878, George B. Richmond. 
 1879-80, W' illiam 'J'. Soule. 
 1881-84, George Wilson. 
 1885-88, Morgan Rotch. 
 
 The growth of the population of New Bedford is exhibited in 
 the following table, compiled from the census reports. It gives also 
 the population of the towns which have been cut oft' from it. 
 
 Fairhaven. 
 
 Acushnet. 
 
 Year. New Bedford. 
 
 1700 3.313 
 
 1800 4,361 
 
 1810 5,6.51 
 
 1820 3,947 2,733 
 
 1830 7.,592 3,034 
 
 1840 12,087 3.951 
 
 18.i0 16,443 4,304 
 
 18.55 20,380 ..... .... 4,693 
 
 1860 22,:500 3,118 1,387 
 
 1865 20,8.53 2,547 1,251 
 
 1870 21,320 • ■ .2,626 1.132 
 
 1875 25,805 2,768 1,059 
 
 1880 26,845 2,875 1,105 
 
 1885 33,393 2,880 1,071 
 
 *The municipal year was changed, in 1857, and Mayor Dunbar's first term was only nine months.
 
 ■- '>^, •^> 
 
 ^•-s---mya.iua-^Xi.i!UaK3aUKi,t.XS':M I
 
 PAGES OF HISTORY. 23 
 
 The following tabular statement, compiled tVom the records of 
 the assessors of taxes, shows the progress of New Bedford in wealth 
 since 1850. The first column gives the number of poll taxes as- 
 sessed in each of the years indicated. The other columns explain 
 themselves. 
 
 Year. Polls. Real Estate. Personal Estate. Total Valuation. 
 
 18.50 
 18.5.5 
 1860 
 186.5 
 1870 
 1875 
 1880 
 1885 
 1888 
 
 . 3,627 $18,632,600 
 
 . 4,32.5 25.597,100 
 
 . 5,317 .... $9,157,200 .... $13,9.55,700 .... 23,112,900 
 
 . 1,578 .... 8,161,800 .... 12,171,800 .... 20,333.600 
 
 5,251 .... 8,774,500 .... 14,221,514 .... 22,996,014 
 
 6,226 .... 11,946,600 .... 14,428,674 . . . 26,375,274 
 
 7.028 .... 13,1.38,400 .... 13,137,519 .... 26,275,919 
 
 8.349 .... 16,293,800 .... 15,104,090 .... 31,397,890 
 
 9,424 .... 18,023,700 .... 15,430,647 .... 33.454,347 
 
 This brief sketch of the history of New Bedford may fittingly 
 close with a reference to the record of New Bedford in the Civil War. 
 In few cities in the country was a deeper interest felt in the conflict, 
 and scarcely one did more in proportion to its means and its popula- 
 tion to uphold the cause of the Union. New Bedford men were 
 among the first to respond to the call for troops, and New Bedford 
 soldiers and sailors faithfully helped fight the battles of freedom until 
 the war had ended. When the first call was made, the City Guards, 
 then included in the Third Regiment, responded at once, leaving 
 New Bedford on the morning of April 16, 1861, two days after Major 
 Anderson had evacuated Fort Sumter. These men were ordered 
 into service for only three months, but most of them afterwards 
 re-enlisted and served through the war. When the subsequent calls 
 were made, other companies were organized, and including these, 
 the men who enlisted in regiments mainly recruited in other parts of 
 the State, and men who enlisted in the navy. New Bedford furnished 
 about thirty-two hundred men for the war, which was a surplus of 
 eleven hundred and ten men over the demands made upon her. It 
 gave one hundred and twenty officers to the military service, and it 
 furnished many officers to the navy. Its city government appro- 
 priated and expended on account of the war, $177,000. This 
 was e.xclusive of money expended for aid to families of volunteers, 
 and afterwards refunded b}' the Commonwealth, amounting to 
 $125,495.85. 
 
 This is a remarkabk' sliowing for a city as small as New Bed- 
 ford was tlien, and whose chief indu.strv received a tremendous blow
 
 24 
 
 NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 from the war. But we think it was not so remarkable as the work 
 of the women of New Bedford in their appropriate way in aid of the 
 war for the Union. Two days after the first men left New Bedford 
 for southern batdefields, the women of the city had a meeting and 
 organized for the work. How well they succeeded is shown by the 
 record of their contributions for the relief and comfort of the soldiers. 
 The Ladies' Soldiers' Relief Society gave upwards of $20,000 in 
 money ; in cotton cloth and flannel, $4000 ; and in hospital stores, 
 $6000. The Society for the Comfort and Relief of our Soldiers in 
 Hospitals gave an immense amount of clothing and hospital stores, 
 aggregating man}^ thousand dollars in value.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 
 
 HE history of the New Enghind whale- 
 fishery is so interwoven with the his- 
 tory of New Bedford durino- the last 
 century," said Hon. William W. 
 Crapo, in an oration delivered at the 
 municipal celebration of the centen- 
 nial of national independence, ''that 
 they cannot be separated ; and no 
 record of the growth and business of 
 our town and city can be complete 
 without it. Our wealth, our population, and our progress have been 
 the fruits of this industry ; and our position and fame among the 
 cities of the world is due to its successful prosecution." 
 
 The thriving manufacturing city of New Bedford of 1888 is 
 the outgrowth of a settlement of fishermen, — fishermen on a large 
 scale, — who drew to them the mechanics and traders needed to sup- 
 ply their wants and formed the nucleus of the citv of today. New 
 Bedford's wealth was brought from the depths of the ocean by her 
 sons, who braved every danger, accepted every hazard, and fear- 
 lessly entered unknown regions in pursuit of their prev. Gathered 
 from the ocean, at her own peril, New Bedford's wealth impoverished 
 no other's treasury, and for the distinction of being the wealthiest city 
 of her size in the Union she owes no debt save to her own sons. 
 The Whaling City today, as one hundred years ago, is the home of 
 the great industry. First at the flood tide, she is still first at the ebb- 
 ing. The discovery of petroleum with the advent of earth oils was a
 
 26 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 severe blow to the whale-fishery. With keen foresight the old New 
 Bedford whalemen pierced the future's veil, discerning the inevitable 
 decline of the whale-fishery. Fresh fields were sought for invest- 
 ment, and the capital for mills, factories, and founderies w^as at once 
 forthcoming. The old whaling port w\as transformed into a bustling 
 work-shop and her future was assured. Yet toda}^ the whaling is 
 by no means the least important of her industries, for in it she leads 
 the world, as she w^ill while a whale remains in the deep. The 
 change was but a manifestation of the enterprise and progress which 
 characterize the New Bedford whale-fishermen. 
 
 This whale-fishery, in the prosecution of which New Bedford 
 surpassed all the world and so greatly and rapidly increased her 
 wealth, is of very ancient origin, dating back to the dajs of Alexander 
 the Great. The Dutch were engaged in the pursuit and Northmen 
 sought the great fish before the voyages of Columbus. In the New 
 World the whale-fishery is contemporary with the settlement of New 
 York and the New England colonies. It was first established along 
 the shores of Long Island as early as 1640. Some thirty years after, 
 came the first whaling expedition from Nantucket, which w^as under- 
 taken by some of the original purchasers of the island. A whale 
 came into the harbor and continued there three days. The curiosity 
 of the villagers was excited, and, determined to prevent his escape, 
 they invented and wrought a harpoon with which they attacked and 
 killed the monster. This encouraged them to make whaling a per- 
 manent business, as whales were numerous about the shores, and the 
 pursuit was soon extensively carried on in small boats. In 1672 
 the islanders, eager for further knowledge, sent to the main land for 
 whalers from Cape Cod and Easthampton, L. I., to instruct them in 
 the art. By 17 15 the people of Nantucket were pursuing the w'hales 
 upon the ocean in small sloops and schooners, making brief vo3"ages, 
 bringing home the blubber and trying out the oil on the shore. This 
 was in the primitive days of whaling. 
 
 In the vicinity of New Bedford whaling probably commenced 
 about 1760. To Joseph Russell, the founder of the city, is attributed 
 the lienor of being the pioneer of the whale-fishery, he having been 
 engaged in the business as early as 1755. His calling demanded the 
 use of boats, consequently the earliest settlers of the town were 
 industrious and enterprising mechanics and the earliest settlement 
 was of an industrial more than an agricultural character. In 1765,
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 29 
 
 Joseph Rotch, of Nantucket, an enterprising merchant of experience 
 and knowledge, selected New Bedford harbor as eligible and advan- 
 tageous for the prosecution of the whale-fishery and brought to the 
 village an acquisition of capital which had been needed to stimulate 
 the industry. Mr. Rotch purchased land, built ships and sent them out. 
 New Bedford brains designed the vessels and planned their voyages. 
 New Bedford hands built them and then n">anned them on the sea. 
 Thus were born many allied industries on the land, and refineries 
 and candle factories, with other important branches of business, were 
 established. In the year of Mr. Rotch's arrival four sloops, from 40 
 to 60 tons burden, were engaged in the business. These small ves- 
 sels usually sailed in pairs and so long as they kept company the 
 blubber of the captured whales was divided equally among them. 
 The voyages were gradually extended and, in the ten years follow- 
 ing, the whaling fleet was increased from two or three small vessels 
 to fifty of larger size. In 1774 New Bedford sent vessels to the 
 Falkland Islands, and it was the enterprise and daring of those 
 whalemen that inspired Edmund Burke's eloquent tribute to the 
 industry' in the House of Commons. The War of the Revolution 
 checked the growth of the industr}' and almost stamped out the busi- 
 ness. Joseph Russell lost most of his property and the same may 
 be said of all whose interests were on the sea. Mr. Rotch left the 
 town and remained away during the war. Long before this, New 
 Bedford had outstripped all competitors in the industr\- and her ships 
 were scattered throughout the world in every navicrable water. 
 
 "It is a remarkable coincidence," commented lion. W. W. 
 Crapo in his centennial address, "that the war which had been pre- 
 cipitated in the destruction of tea thrown overboard from the Dart- 
 mouth, a ship owned by Francis Rotch of the village of Bedford, 
 should have associated with its close the advent in English waters of 
 the ship Bedford as the first vessel floating the American flag in any 
 British port."' The Bedford sailed from New Bedford harbor before 
 the war. 
 
 Many difficulties were found after the war in replacing the \es- 
 sels which had been burned by the British or fallen into disuse and 
 decay. The English government placed a heavy alien duty on oil 
 with the object of tbrcing the industr\' to lier o\\ n harbors. For a 
 time Britain was successful in this, but the persistenc}' and persua- 
 siveness of New Bedford's citizens obtained the privilege of sending
 
 30 
 
 NKVV BEDFORD. 
 
 oil to ports of other countries free of duty. The work of developing 
 the industry early in the nineteenth century was slow and difficult, 
 with the many hazards encountered on the sea and the opposition of 
 foreign powers on the land. No marked improvement was manifest 
 
 until after the close of the war 
 of 1812. During that war ships 
 were captured and destroyed 
 or used as transports by the 
 British. After its termination 
 the \\ hale-fishery as prosecuted 
 
 in New Bedford advanced 
 
 with great rapidity and sue- 5| 
 
 cess. The city continued 
 
 to lead all other ports in 
 
 the whaling interests. 
 
 From the year 1820 until 
 
 the year 1857 the city's prosperity and accumulation of wealth were 
 
 uninterrupted. The whaling industry reached its highest point in 
 
 capital, in vessels, and in tonnage in 1857. Its fleet of 329 ships and
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 3I 
 
 whaling outfits was worth more than twelve millions of dollars and 
 required more than ten thousand seamen. The largest importations 
 of oil and bone were in 185 1 and 1853. The quantities of each with 
 the prices realized from their sale were as follows : 
 
 1851. 
 
 99,591 barrels sperm oil, at $1.27i per gallon $3,991,980.75 
 
 328,483 barrels whale oil, at A^ per gallon 4,682,114.56 
 
 3,966,500 pounds bone, at .34^ per pound 1,368,442..50 
 
 $10,042,.537.81 
 
 1853- 
 
 103,077 barrels sperm oil, at .$1.24| per gallon $4,050,539.56 
 
 260,114 barrels whale oil, at .58| per gallon 4,762,524.77 
 
 5,652,300 pounds bone, at .34^ per pound 1,950,043.50 
 
 §10,763,107.83 
 
 The depredations of rebel cruisers at the opening of the Civil 
 War carried dismay into our whaling fleets as early as 1862, but the 
 great loss occurred in June, 1865, when the Shenandoah entered into 
 Behring strait and captured and burned twenty-five ships, most of 
 them of large size, and bonded four others for the purpose of furnish- 
 ing transportation. Fiftv whaling vessels were captured by the rebel 
 cruisers, of which forty-six with outfits and cargoes were burned. Of 
 this number twenty-eight sailed from and were owned in New Bedford. 
 The loss of ships and outfits belonging here exceeded one million 
 of dollars, and of oil and bone on board, $400,000. Many ships were 
 sold durino; the war or were transferred to the merchant service. 
 Some in the Pacific ocean were put under the Hawaiian flag. Of 
 those sold forty w^ere purchased by the United States and tormed the 
 larger portion of the two famous stone fleets which in 1861 were sunk 
 ofl' the harbors of Charleston and Savannah to prevent the entrance 
 of blockade runners and the ingress and egress of privateers. Of 
 these vessels the greater number were New Bedlbrd whalers. In 
 September, 1871, thirty-three ships were abandoned in the Arctic 
 ocean hopelessly crushed in the ice. Twelve hundred men were 
 hemmed in by the ice and escaped only after a perilous journe}^ of 
 seventy miles. Of the thirty-three vessels crushed or abandoned, 
 twenty-two belonged in New Bedford and were valued without the oil 
 and bone on board at $1,090,000. In 1876 twelve ships were aban-
 
 32 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 doiu'd in tlic Arctic. Fifty lives were lost and $660,000 worth of 
 property was destroyed. 
 
 Tlie latest momentous disaster to befall the whaling industry was 
 on the third of August, 1888, when five vessels were lost in a terrific 
 <rale oft' Point Barrow in the Arctic ocean. Three of these vessels 
 were owned in New Bedford — the ship Young Phoenix and barks 
 Mary & Susan and Fleetwing — and the loss sustained by the New 
 Bedford owners was about $60,000. These whalers were anchored 
 between Cape Smith and Point Barrow, waiting for the ice to break 
 up. All the vessels in the fleet sutfered by the storm and were 
 succored by the U. S. R. M. steamers Thetis and Bear, which carried 
 the shipwrecked whalemen to San Francisco. Scarcely a season 
 goes by without some similar disaster, and the whole life of an Arctic 
 whaleman is crowded with danger and suflfering. 
 
 From natural causes the w^hale-fishery began to decline before 
 some of these disasters occurred, and the shipping has never been 
 replaced except by the building of an occasional vessel ; but the 
 capital that could again have sent out great fleets on the sea to 
 replace those fired by the pirate's torch or whose timbers are entombed 
 in Arctic ice and snow contributed to the varied industries of the 
 city. 
 
 The average price of sperm oil for the year 1887 was 66 cents, of 
 whale oil 32 cents, and of bone $3.12. The reader will glean from 
 this the truth, that the value of the catch in late years depends 
 largely on the bone secured, which is by far the most important feat- 
 ure of many whalers' cargoes. It is within ,the remembrance of 
 many an old whaleman when this bone, now so precious, was dumped 
 over the ship's side as waste or only saved by the sailors for "scrim- 
 shaw work," as they termed their employment in idle hours on ship- 
 board in making curious knick-knacks for friends on shore. When 
 first saved, the bone had a market value of only a few cents a pound. 
 In 1823 it was worth about 12 cents. From that it jumped to 25, then 
 30 and 40. as its value became more apparent, and when the demand 
 increased the price rapidlv rose to about the present figures. While 
 substitutes were tound for the other products of the whale-fishery, 
 inventive genius in vain has strived to supply an article that will fill 
 the place of the whalebone. Russian horn, celluloid. — artificial and 
 natural substances alike have been tried, but none will answer the 
 purpose. The discovery of petroleum was timely, for the increasing

 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 35 
 
 demands of the New and the Old World could never have been sup- 
 plied by whale oil, but it is reserved for the future to find that substi- 
 tute which can fill the place of the bone which now advances in price 
 with its ever-growing consumption. 
 
 A rough estimate shows the capital toda}^ invested in the whale- 
 fishery in the world to be not far from two and a quarter millions dol- 
 lars. Of this New Bedford alone has an interest of a million and 
 three-quarters — seven-ninths of the industry being managed in New 
 Bedford. 
 
 Despite its decline, it is an undisputed tact that the whale-fishery 
 of our city, as now carried on, has a larger interest than the whal- 
 ing of the whole outside WH)rld together. 
 
 The statistics given herewith will show the reader something of 
 the magnitude of New Bedford's present whaling interests. 
 
 Vessels Employed in the Whale-fishery January i, 1888. 
 
 Ships auil Barks. Brigs. Sclioouers. Tous. 
 
 New Bedford, 62 2 10 18,911 
 
 Edgartowii, 2 1 1 612 
 
 Provineetowii, - 1 8 881 
 
 Bostou, - 1 2 296 
 
 New Loudon, - - S 491 
 
 StoniugtOD, - - 2 180 
 
 San Francisco, 19 1 1 6,480 
 
 Total for January 1, 1888, . 83 6 27 27,851 
 
 Importations 
 
 Of sperm oil, whale oil, and whalebone into the Ihiited States 
 in 1887 : 
 
 Barrels Sperm. Barrels Whale. Pounds Bone. 
 New Bedford, 18,r)6r) 2,.oO;5 ir),;{70 
 
 Boston, i:.m; - 
 
 Provineetowii, 486 1^ A\)0 
 
 New London, - 1,1 JO (;,Oi;i 
 
 New York, 2,.^76 (i;{4 1,^0S 
 
 San Francisco, 880 2'.i,S70 .")61,694 
 
 Total, 18,S7;J :^4.i7i :)s:.,on 
 
 In studying this talkie the reader must bear in iiiiiul that the great 
 New Bedford Arctic lleet has its rendezvous at San Francisco, and
 
 36 NEW nEDFORD. 
 
 that the New Bedford whalemen bring into that port an immense 
 amount of oil and bone, which swells the figures of the importations of 
 
 San Francisco given above. The magnitude, however, of the busi- 
 ness of New Bedford is shown by the fact that the total value of oils 
 and whalebone imported into New Bedford lor the past half centur}' 
 
 was $141,290^177. The following table compiled by B. F. H. Reed 
 shows the average prices of whale catchings for half a century and 
 the value of oil and whalebone received at New Bedford : 
 
 Date. Siienu oil per )j:al. Whale oil per >ral. Whalebone iter iiouiid. \alii(' of catch. 
 
 1S;{5 .$.84 $.3() $.24 
 
 183G 88 44 25 
 
 1837 82 33 22 
 
 1838 8.J 32 1!) .'s2,4!»0,0.")l 
 
 1839 1.04 34 1!) 2,385,:537 
 
 1840 1.01 31 .Ill 2,344,142 
 
 1841 i)4 32 20 2,204,130 
 
 1842 73 34 23 2,337,.o4.5 
 
 1843 G3 34 .3.5 l,703,.3.5(i 
 
 1844 1)0 36 40 3,104,01).t 
 
 184.5 88 33 34 2,707,117 
 
 184G 88 34 34 2,182,403 
 
 1847 1.00 36 31 3,383,-562 
 
 1848 1.00 33 25 2,913,483 
 
 1849 1.09 40 32 2,765,460 
 
 1850 1.21 49 34 3,279,695 
 
 1851 1.27 45 34 4,812,395 
 
 1852 1.24 68 51 2,8,53,862 
 
 1853 1.25 58 34 2,733,015 
 
 1854 1.49 .59 39 5,924,362 
 
 1855 1.77 71 45 5,283,120 
 
 1856 1.62 79 58 5,364,700 
 
 1857 1.28 73 97 6,178,728 
 
 1858 1.21 54 92 4,605,523 
 
 1S,59 1.36 48 77 5.831,.564 
 
 I860 1.41 49 79 4,216,696 
 
 1861 1.31 45 70 3,.384,463 
 
 1862 1.27 51 85 2,695,167 
 
 1863 1.11 66 1.06 2!708,912 
 
 1864 96 63 90 2^370,644 
 
 1865 1.45 93 1.02 2,87o!83S 
 
 1866 1.82 88 95 3,137,088 
 
 1867 1.70 54 85 2.874.602 
 
 1868 1.39 68 73 4,7.56,040 
 
 1869 1.38 77 90 3.168J40 
 
 1870 1.20 .59 77 2.981,012 
 
 1871 1.18 54 82 2^547^071 
 
 1872 1.32 60 1.27 1,893,235
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 3/ 
 
 Date. Sperm oil per gal. Wliale oil per gal. WhalcVioiie i)er pomid. Value of ('atcli. 
 
 is:;^ $1.31 $.o4: $.i)s .$i,8:{;j,ii2 
 
 1S71 1.44 5o iin l,l)8(),o:54 
 
 is:.-, 1.41 57 l.l-i •2,8S2,4.-50 
 
 1870. ...-». 1.2.5 54 l.ilO 1,717,383 
 
 1S77 1.07 55 2.3(; 1,450,083 
 
 1878 90 43 2.42 1,780,-585 
 
 187!) 84 39 2.34 1,735,190 
 
 1880 99 51 2.00 2,014,088 
 
 ]S8] 88 48 1.03 1,0.53,108 
 
 1882 1.00 53 1.71 1.395,455 
 
 1883 97 .54 2.87 1,048,200 
 
 1884 85 50 3.55 1,084.980 
 
 1885 82 45 2.08 1,429,554 
 
 1880 74 33 2.73 1,042,-530 
 
 1887 00 32 3.12 1,042,794 
 
 The statistics for the term of suspension of specie payments dur- 
 ing and after the war Mr. Reed based upon gold values. 
 
 The following shows the number of whaling vessels belonging 
 lo New Bedford and their tonnage for the past fifty years, with the 
 exception of two or three years not easily obtainable : 
 
 Date. Vessels. Tonnage. 
 
 St'pt. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 .(.111. 
 
 .1.111. 
 
 .);iii. 
 
 •Fiiii. 
 
 .Ian. 
 
 .fail. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 -Ian. 
 
 .Ian. 
 
 .Fan. 
 
 .Ian. 
 
 .I:in. 
 
 .Fan. 
 
 -Ian. 
 
 -Fan. 
 
 .Ian. 
 
 .Fan. 
 
 .Ian. 
 
 .Fan. 
 
 .Fan. 
 
 .Fan. 
 
 .Tan. 
 
 •Ian. 
 
 ,1839 177 50,118 
 
 , 1841 201 0.3,059 
 
 , 1844 219 09,703 
 
 , 1845 239 70,784 
 
 , 1840 254 80,033 
 
 , 1847 254 82,701 
 
 , 1848 248 80,940 
 
 , 1849 2-50 81.075 
 
 , 18.50 2.38 77,138 
 
 , 1851 249 81,442 
 
 , 1852 282 94,042 
 
 , 18.53 311 104.005 
 
 , 18-54 318 107,512 
 
 , 18-55 -314 105.4.59 
 
 , 18.50 320 107,702 
 
 , 1857 329 Ill .304 
 
 , 18-58 324 110.207 
 
 , 18,59 310 107.931 
 
 , 1800 301 103,5(14 
 
 , 1801 291 98.700 
 
 , 18(;2 200 S(i.'.l71 
 
 , 1803 220 7.3.001 
 
 , 1804 197 r,|.si5 
 
 , 1805 175 58,012 
 
 , 1800 , 101 ■ .50.403
 
 38 
 
 NEW bp:i)FORD. 
 
 VesBcls. Tonnage. 
 
 l>al('. -Q rjAA 
 
 .Inn. 1, ISdS i«^ ; 
 
 .hn>. MS.in 179 ^yfO 
 
 .,,„ 1 1S7() 176 .- • • ^^O'^^'-'' 
 
 •' " \\' 17X 50,100 
 
 .Ian. 1, lS/1 '7o , 
 
 Jan. 1, 1872 1« ^^'f,? 
 
 ..;;: 1 1874 na 32,594 
 
 ja„. 1, 1875 107 ^9'«41 
 
 , ,' TQ-(. 116 • • 31,691 
 
 Jan. 1, 18(() iio . . . 1 
 
 - , ,0-- lis 30.4bo 
 
 130 33,444 
 
 Jan. 1, 1878 
 
 .125 31,899 
 
 '.'.['..'.. m 31,376 
 
 Ill 28,186 
 
 . , ,^^„ 13-> 33,368 
 
 Jan. 1, 18/9 ^''- 
 
 Ja"! 1^ 1881 '.'.'... 123 31,376 
 
 Jan. 1, 1882 
 
 Jan. 1, 1883 106 ^7.140 
 
 Jan. 1, 1884 93 22,877 
 
 Jan. 1, 1885 8'^ •^1'728 
 
 Jan. 1, 1886 . . . • 77 19,913 
 
 Jan. 1, 1887 77 19,667 
 
 Jan. 1, 1888 74 18,911 
 
 The increase in 1846 was caused by the demand for vessels for 
 the bowhead fishery, then just discovered in the Okhotsk and Kam- 
 chatka seas and the Arctic ocean. In 1850 the California emigration 
 had an effect in the opposite direction. 
 
 One of the most important features of the whaling industry of 
 today is the steam whaling. The steam whaler is an outgrowth of 
 the necessities of Arctic whaling. It was soon found of the first 
 importance to enter and leave the frozen seas with the greatest expe- 
 dition. To a brainy seaman of New Bedford the idea of the appli- 
 cation of steam at once suggested itself. He saw at a glance its 
 possibilities — a quicker excursion to the Arctic, a longer stay with 
 diminished danger of being nipped in the ice, and a greatly increased 
 facilitv ill pursuing the chase for the monster of the deep. With the 
 characteristic enterprise and keenness of the hardy New Englander, 
 he at once put his idea into practice. With read}- money a steamer 
 was built which revolutionized the methods of whaling, increased the 
 catch, and was at once followed by others, until now the fleet of 
 steam whalers is of prime importance in the industry. A description 
 of one of these vessels will suffice for all. The William Lewis, the 
 latest addition to the fleet of steam whalers, was built at Bath, Maine,
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 
 
 39 
 
 in the summer of i{ 
 and has left New Bed- 
 ford for the Sandwich 
 Islands, whence she 
 will sail for the Arctic 
 ocean in 1889. This 
 vessel, which is bark 
 rigged, is in some re- 
 spects one of the finest 
 of steam whalers. Of 
 460 tons gross tonnage, 
 she is 145 feet long, 
 with 30 feet breadth of 
 beam, and the depth 
 of her hold is 16^ feet. 
 She is built entirely of 
 live oak"* and white 
 oak, copper and iron 
 fastened. Her plank- 
 ing is of white oak, and 
 she is sheathed with 
 two inch hickory to 
 protect her hull from 
 
 GROUP OF OLD WHALERS. 
 
 BARK ROSSEAU.
 
 40 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 the ice. Her stem is protected by heavy composition plates. To 
 )-)rc\ent her from being cruslied if pinched by the ice, she has three 
 sets of pointers forward and two aft. She is provided with a Provi- 
 dence steam windhiss which is worked by steam power and is a very 
 powerful labor-saving piece of mechanism. The vessel has a 4^ com- 
 pound engine, of 22 inches diameter of high pressure cylinder, 38 
 inches diameter of low pressure cylinder, and 26 inch stroke, fitted 
 witii independent adjustable cut-off valve. The shaft makes 100 rev- 
 olutions per minute. The main cabin is unusually large, finished in 
 ash with black walnut trimmings. A mahogany dining table occu- 
 pies the centre of the floor. It has an extension at the forward end. 
 
 liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!^ 
 
 SEAMEN'S BETHEL AND MARINERS' HOME. 
 
 On the port side are three staterooms and a water closet, the last 
 named leading from a passage on deck just forward of the wheel 
 house. On the starboard side out of the main cabin are two laro-e 
 rooms, — the chief engineer's room and pantry, the latter being well 
 supplied with lockers and drawers. Just forward of the engineer's 
 room, in the jnissage-way to the main deck, are two state rooms, fin- 
 ished tor other officers. The caWn is heated by steam. Aft of the 
 main cabin is the captain's cabin, in ash, with the same trimmings 
 as the main cabin, and supplied with furniture of the most attractive
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 4I 
 
 patterns. The chairs and sofa are upholstered in brown plush and a 
 Brussels carpet is on the floor. Adjoining this room on the star- 
 board side is the captain's state room, furnished in a st\'le in keeping 
 with other furniture on the ship. The steerage on the port side 
 forward of the cabin is fitted with eight berths and is heated by steam, 
 while the forecastle, which is very large and contains twenty-two 
 berths, is also heated by steam. The vessel has a large poop deck, 
 on the forward part of which is a platform surrounded by a rail. 
 This place is used as a lookout, and has communication with the 
 engine room. Forward of the cabin is the engine, and just forward of 
 the engine is the boiler. The cook's galley is aft of the mainmast 
 and forward of the boiler. The wheel-house is aft and the steering- 
 gear is the Edison patent. On deck are two ••• try-pots," each capable 
 of holding two hundred gallons, in which the blubber is tried out 
 after being cut up. Between decks are large iron tanks, each hold- 
 ing one hundred barrels of oil. These tanks are to receive oil from 
 the cooler and from them it is run through pipes into the lower hold 
 to fill the casks. This description of one of the finest steam whalers 
 ever built will give the reader as good an idea as words can present 
 of this class of vessels, their protection against the ice of the north, 
 and the comfort afforded their crews. She bears the name of the 
 pioneer of steam whaling, a man to whose energv and enterprise the 
 industry is greatly indebted. 
 
 For those who have not lived in a seaboard town it would be hard 
 to imagine the cosmopolitan aspect of the whaling port of New Bed- 
 ford in the great da3's of whaling. For those whose fortunes were 
 cast along the coast the animated scenes at a wharf where a whaler 
 is fitting are in striking contrast to the humdrum tiiough Inisv life 
 on their own piers attending the loading and unloading of merchant 
 vessels. Representatives of every nation on the face of the world 
 contribute to a whaler's crew. The typical Yankee's nasal twang, the 
 Frenchman's jargon, the Irishman's brogue, the South Sea Islander's 
 guttural tones, the Spaniard's oaths, mingled with the strange speech of 
 the Portuguese, the Swede, the Norwegian, the German, the Italian, 
 the Malay, and the Chinese, — every tongue is heard in a surprisingly 
 weird medley. Coal black "Bravas" from the Cape Verd islands 
 jostle against the Americanized African negro and intermingle with a 
 motley group of sailors voluntarily exiled from their homes in Pico, 
 San Miguel, Fayal, Flores, Corvo, and other islands of the Azores.
 
 42 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 In curious contrast to these men of swarthy complexion are the light 
 haired men of northern Europe. Here indeed is a congress of 
 nations. Such an ethnological study with the living subjects for 
 many years presented itself daily to the stranger in New Bedford. 
 
 The great Arctic fleet now has its rendezvous at San Francisco, 
 where the ships are titted out, and in the middle of February a host of 
 the New Bedford ship masters and seamen make a hurried trip across 
 the continent to join their vessels, returning to their homes early 
 in November at the conclusion of their voyages into the frozen 
 north. 
 
 At New Bedford all the ships but the Arctic fleet are now litted 
 out, the work giving employment and business to mechanics and 
 tradesmen of every description. In the past, many whalers were built 
 here, and no better constructed craft ever sailed the seas. They were 
 built on honor, and integrity and conscientiousness went in with every 
 bolt and timber. But with the decline of whaling, the ship yards were 
 one after another abandoned, and a large part of the population of New 
 Bedford can now scarcely remember the spectacle of a launching. 
 Some of the fleet, in the days when a great demand for ships existed, 
 were purchased from the merchant service and transformed into 
 whalers. For voyages in southern waters the vessels do not need the 
 stout armor that surrounds those that are destined to push through 
 frozen waters. When the blacksmith, the cooper, the ship carpenter, 
 the caulker, the sailmaker, the painter, and the rigger have finished 
 their labors the vessel is in readiness for her outfit. In years past the 
 first step was to fill her ground tier with salt water, partly as ballast. 
 In those days the whalers had three tiers. At this time, however, the 
 greater number have but two and only fresh water is taken aboard. 
 First comes some five hundred barrels of water, then fiftv barrels of 
 salt provision, fifty or sixty barrels of flour in bread, and twenty 
 barrels filled with uncooked flour. A thousand gallons of molasses, 
 four hundred pounds of coffee and the same amount of sugar follow. 
 Household stores of almost every kind are represented, and the fur- 
 nishings embrace a wonderful variety of articles. An estimate of the 
 fittings in 1858, when sixty-five ships sailed Irom New Bedford, 
 showed an expenditure of almost two million dollars, and included 
 flour, meal, beef, pork, salt, molasses, rice, beans, dried apples, sugar, 
 butter, cheese, ham, codfish, coffee, tea, raisins, corn, potatoes, onions, 
 vinegar, sperm candles, fresh water, oak and pine wood, staves, head-
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 45 
 
 ing, iron hoops, rivets, sheathing copper and yellow metal, sheath 
 nails, coppering nails, tar, cordage, boat-boards, pine boards, flags, 
 bricks, lime, canvas, cotton twine, cotton cloth, tobacco, white lead, 
 linseed oil, paint, liquors, guVi powder, and clothing. These were 
 only the principal articles. The catalogue in detail is astounding 
 tor its minutiae, showing that the whaleman pays tribute to almost 
 every trade. 
 
 Shipping a crew is not the least important task of the ow-ner ot 
 a whaleship. In the average ship, from twenty-four to thirty men 
 are required. These must be selected with care, lor upon their skill, 
 enterprise, and endurance the success of the voyage depends. When 
 the owner has provided a good ship and has furnished her with 
 ever}- appliance for her work, he must still trust the success of the 
 voyage to the men who are selected to conduct it. Ordinarily, the 
 crew includes : The master, usually a man of long experience and 
 tried ability, who has served in many subordinate positions under 
 skilled captains ; the mates, three or four in number, daring, alert 
 seamen, with the ambition to show themselves w^orthy the command 
 of a vessel ; the boat steerers, brawny sons of the sea, with quick 
 eve and readv decision in emero-encies ; the steward and cook, men 
 of great importance on shipboard ; a cooper, whose duties are indi- 
 cated by his title, and who is often an adept at many trades ; and 
 the sailors, who are usually graded as seamen, ordinary seamen, and 
 green hands. Among these latter may often be found smart, active 
 voung men from the coimtry, destined in 3^ears to come to be masters 
 of ships, because they are built of the timber tbund in the masterly 
 sailor. The way to the cabin is often long and difficult, and the 
 seekers for distinction in the whaling service experience the same dis- 
 couragements and disappointments that come to the ambitious in all 
 other pursuits. 
 
 The introduction of the steam whaler has added to the officers 
 of the vessel the engineer, and to the crew the firemen. 
 
 When the ship is ready for sea. she is towed out of the harbor 
 by a stuffy little tug and is soon, wnth all sail set, off on her voyage. 
 The first night out all hands are called aft to tell oft' tiie watches and 
 select boats' crew^s. The regulations to be observed on shipboard are 
 read and the master gives general instructions to be obeyed during the 
 voyage. On the first calm da}' the boats are lowered, and the green 
 hands are taught their places and the handling of their oars. Many
 
 4.6 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 a poor boy has had a dreaded attack of seasickness or the equally 
 dreaded malady, homesickness, but a considerate New Bedford cap- 
 tain practices forbearance and the stricken ones are excused from duty 
 aloft and are soon in a condition to resume their work. 
 
 The sailors are divided into boats' crews of six. When whales are 
 sighted frequently all the boats are lowered at once. Six men remain 
 aboard as ship keepers, while their comrades in the several boats 
 lessen the chance of the escape of their prey. When the leviathan is 
 neared the boatsteerer throws the irons and at once changes positions 
 with the boatheader, who is generally the master of the ship or one 
 of the officers, and whose duty it is to strike the whale with the lance. 
 The officer does this, going forward as the boat draws to the whale's 
 side. The great monster spouts blood, the sign of the throes of 
 death, and often this ends the chase, nothing remaining but to tow 
 the whale to the ship for the processes of cutting in and boiling out. 
 But frequentlv the pursuit does not end in this way, for the whale 
 sometimes assumes the role of pursuer and enacts it with w^onderful 
 effect. Then is seen the most exciting and dangerous part of the 
 whaleman's life. The monsters of the deep are endowed wdth enor- 
 mous strength w^hich, when wounded or infuriated, thev use with 
 terrible effect. Scores of thrilling stories are told by every old 
 whaleman. A typical one is that of Capt. Mallory of the bark 
 Osceola, who relates an instance in which one of his boats struck a 
 large sperm whale. Soon after another boat fastened to him and 
 was stove. Then from the first boat a bomb lance was fired into him. 
 This boat was at once stove by the w^hale, the bottom being knocked 
 completely out. The ship picked up the swimming crews and was 
 then steered for the whale. On seeing his new antagonist he rushed 
 at her, striking her on the bow, knocking off the cutwater with his 
 head, and tearing the copper and sheathing from her bow with his 
 jaw. The ship was again run for him, and as she ranged alongside 
 two bomb and two whale lances were fired into the whale. A boat 
 was then lowered and two more bomb lances were discharged into 
 him without effect. By this time it was night, and the boat was called 
 aboard. The ship was kept near the whale, which could be occasion- 
 ally heard fighting the fragments of boats and oars. •• Thus through 
 the night," continues the narrator of this episode, " he held his ground, 
 although he had two lines (600 fathoms) towing on to the harpoons, 
 five bombs exploded in him, and other wounds from lances." The
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 
 
 49 
 
 next morning the attack was renewed with bomb lances and thirty- 
 one were fired into him before he was killed. 
 
 No limit to these exciting stories has ever yet been found. 
 The readers of this book will be more interested in them than in the 
 statistical tables of the catchings and valuations, important as they 
 are. Here is the narrative of an experience which is typical of 
 hundreds of others. The captain of the bark Parker Cook of Prov- 
 incetown many years ago lowered two boats lor a bvdl sperm whale. 
 The nearest boat met him head on, and, when abreast of the hump, 
 the boatsteerer put two irons into him. Before the boat could be 
 brought head on, the whale jumped half out of water and capsized 
 the craft, the line Ibuling the boatsteerer's leg, almost severing it 
 from the bod\'. Manifesting wonderful nerve and great presence of 
 mind, the sailor cut the line. The other boat picked up the upset 
 crew and returned to the bark. But the whale was not satisfied with 
 this. He ran for the bark with all the force at his command, strikino- 
 the vessel a tremendous blow, prostrating the men on deck and bury- 
 ing in his head the cutwater and stem up to the planking. A second 
 time he struck the vessel, but with much less force. Meanwhile the 
 captain had made ready his bomb lance and lowered another boat. 
 Three times, within eight yards of him, the captain fired the lance 
 into his body, and eventually made him spout blood, though with 
 every piercing of the lance he rushed open-mouthed at the boat, 
 requiring the utmost skill and courage to avoid him. One hundred 
 and three barrels of oil was the reward of the captors, who were 
 obliged to put into Fayal for medical aid for the boatsteerer, and to 
 repair their damaged vessel. 
 
 Two ships at least have been destroyed by the attacks of whales. 
 One of these was the Essex of Nantucket, and the other the Ann 
 Alexander of New Bedlbrd. In both these cases, the ship was 
 struck by an infuriated whale and so injured that she soon sank. 
 The crews were obliged to take to the boats, and sufiered terribly. 
 In fact, very few of the crew of the Essex survived. 
 
 In one instance it is recorded that a whale was killed only at'ter 
 a chase of nine miles in which it carried otT one boat, which was 
 demolished, and nearly six miles of line. 
 
 Another captain tells an experience in which a whale was killed 
 only after nine hours' fighting. Three boats were stove, a number of 
 irons and bombs were lost, several oars were broken, and, to crown
 
 50 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 all, the whale sunk in forty fathoms of water, carrying a large quan- 
 tity of line with him. 
 
 When the whale is dead it is taken in tow to the ship's side. 
 The cutting operations are then begun. The great pieces of blubber 
 are hauled over the main hatch and minced into fme pieces called 
 horse pieces and the boiling begins. Water is pumped into caboose 
 pens or jogs along the deck to prevent the woodwork catching fire 
 from the try works. The casks containing the provisions, tow lines, 
 or sails have been emptied and are cleansed and swabbed clean. 
 The hot oil is then forced in and the casks are lashed to the rail on 
 the ship's side to cool before being stowed below. Various modifica- 
 tions of this process are, however, practiced in different vessels. 
 Wlien a whale is cut at night one watch boils until midnight while 
 the other watch is below, and from that time until six in the 
 morning the second watch takes hold. The oil once below and the 
 weather good the whalemen are again on the outlook for their prey. 
 From twelve hundred to two thousand barrels is a good voyage for 
 right whalemen. Preparing the casks for the oil, it is readih^ seen, 
 gives emplovment to the cooper with the shooks which are stowed 
 snugly away below on the outward trip. 
 
 "I should like," says Capt. Davis, author of The Nimrod of the 
 Sea, himself a veteran whaleman, in speaking of the right whale, 
 "to convey to the reader some idea of the dimensions of the creature 
 from which the bone is taken. To do so is onl}'- possible by entering 
 into the details of the various parts, with their sizes, and by com- 
 parison with objects familiar to the mind. The blubber, or blanket, 
 of such a whale would carpet a room twent}'-two 3'ards long and nine 
 yards wide, averaging half a yard in thickness. * * * gg|- ^^p ^ 
 saw-log two feet in diameter and twent}^ feet in length for the ridge 
 pole of the room we propose to build : then raise it in the air fifteen 
 feet, and support it with pieces of timber seventeen feet long, spread, 
 say, nine feet. This will make a room nine feet wide at the bottom, 
 two feet wide at the peak, and twenty feet long, and will convev an 
 idea of the upper jaw, the saw-log and slanting supports representing 
 the bone. * * * These walls of bone are clasped bv the white 
 blubbery lips, which at the bottom are four feet thick, tapering to a 
 blunt edge, where they fit into a rebate sunk in the upper jaw. The 
 throat is four feet thick, and is mainly blubber, interpenetrated by 
 fibrous, muscular flesh. The lips and throat of a two-hundred-and-
 
 THE WHALE-FISHERY. 53 
 
 fifty-barrel whale should yield sixty barrels of oil, and, with the sup- 
 porting jaw-bones, will weigh as much as twenty-five oxen of one 
 thousand pounds each. Attached to the throat by a broad base is 
 the enormous tongue, the size of which can be better conceived by 
 the fact that twenty-five barrels of oil have been taken from one. 
 Such a tongue v/ould equal in weight ten oxen. * * * The tail 
 of such a whale is about twenty-five feet broad and six feet deep, and 
 is considerably more forked than that of the spermaceti. The point 
 of juncture with the body is about four feet in diameter, the vertebra 
 about fifteen inches ; the remainder of the small being packed with 
 rope-like tendons from the size of a finger to that of a man's leg. 
 The great rounded joint at the base of the skull gleams like an ivory 
 sphere, nearly as large round as a carriage wheel. Through the 
 greatest blood-vessels, more than a foot in diameter, surges, at each 
 pulsation of a heart as large as a hogshead, a torrent of barrels of 
 blood heated to one hundred and four degrees. The respiratory canal 
 is over twelve inches in diameter, through which the rush of air is as 
 noisy as the exhaust-pipe of a thousand-horse power steam engine ; 
 and when the fatal wound is given, torrents of clotted blood are 
 spattered into the air over the nauseated hunters. In conclusion, the 
 right whale has an eye scarcely larger than a cow's, and an ear that 
 would scarcely admit a knitting-needle." 
 
 Of the whaleships man}- have paid the purchaser the vessel's 
 original cost, the expense of her outfitting, and something additional 
 in one voyage. Many voyages are recorded in w4iich the value of 
 the catchings ranged from $65,000 to $100,000. Occasionally one 
 has gone beyond this high figure. On the other hand, there have 
 been voyages in which scarcely a whale has been seen. 
 
 A sperm whaler's voyage is often extended three or four years. 
 In that time the ship visits the Pacific and Indian oceans. New Zealand, 
 the Society and Feejee islands, and the coast of Peru. The vessels 
 leave in December, January, and February. Occa'sionally they make 
 what is called a mixed voyage, seeking both sperm and right whales, 
 taking each in its season. If whales are taken on the outward trip 
 the catch is often shipped home from the Western Islands or the first 
 port touched. 
 
 A whaleship is like a farm. Something to be done is always the 
 rule. There is no room on board for drones ; every hand must be a 
 worker. While not pursuing a whale one watcli — llio division of
 
 54 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 officers and crew which manages the vessel — is always busy on 
 deck for four hours at a time. The remainder of the crew are then 
 below reading or sleeping or repairing clothes or doing such work as 
 they choose for themselves. Saturday is wash day, and Sunday, if 
 no whale is in sight, all work is suspended ; but at the signal "There 
 she blows !" everything is busUe and the Sunday quiet must be set 
 aside for the business of the voyage. 
 
 The Seamen's Bethel and Mariners' Home, illustrated on page 40 
 of this book, is, to those who see it daily, a constant reminder of what 
 New Bedford owes to the whale-fishery. These are under the man- 
 agement of the New Bedford Port Society for the Moral Improve- 
 ment of Seamen, an organization which was formed in 1830, and 
 which was the direct result of concern for the moral and religious 
 welfare of the thousands of seamen who were brought to New Bedford 
 by the demands of the whaling mdustry. Under the care of faithful 
 chaplains, the Bethel has done a work the influence of which has 
 reached to every corner of the world, and the Mariners' Home has 
 proven a welcome resting place to many a w^eary sailor. 
 
 The whaling industry has also its newspaper organ, the Whale- 
 men's Shipping List and Merchants' Transcript, which was founded 
 by Henr}' Lindsey in 1843, and which has since been published weekly. 
 It is now conducted by E. P. Raymond, who has managed it since 
 1861, and has owned it since 1873. No other paper like it can be 
 found in the world, and few commercial journals can boast of includ- 
 ing so widely separated regions in their circulation.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 
 
 NE of our oldest residents received 
 the other day a letter of inquiry 
 which interested him more than 
 such a letter mi^^ht have been 
 expected to. He is a typical New 
 Bedford citizen, who received the 
 foundation of his knowledge in 
 our public schools. At an early 
 age he commenced a life on the 
 ocean wave and later he became 
 the successful master of a whaling vessel. When he was no longer 
 of use in the long boat, having acquired a competency he retired from 
 active business and invested his fortune in home industries, from 
 which he receives an ample income. The old gentleman feels that 
 he is indebted to his city in many ways and he regards it as a duty and 
 a pleasure to do whatever he can for the promotion of its interests. 
 The letter was as follows : 
 
 My Dear Sir : — I write to ask your advice witli relation to a svimnier home. Sev- 
 eral of my family liave been ill with a malarious difficulty and are yet delicate. The 
 regulation summer resort won't do at all. I am looking for a quiet but interesting 
 place, with pretty natural attractions, boating facilities, and pleasant drives. Above 
 all, the place must be healthy. If you know of any place combining such advan- 
 tages, will you kindly coiinimnicatc with ineV 
 
 A day or two before, the old gentleman had received a note from 
 the son of a friend of his youth, who had been engaged in manufac- 
 turing in England for many years, and who desired to engage in 
 a similar line of manufacturino- in this countr\ . This i^entleman
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 liiid sou^Hit advice with relation to an eligible place to locate and 
 had returned to this country to decide upon a situation. 
 
 Immediately on receipt of the above letter, the old gendeman sat 
 down and wrote to each of his friends, invidng them to run down to 
 New Bedford for a day. The invitations were accepted and two days 
 later, on the arrival of the New York train, both gentlemen appeared 
 and were cordially received by their host. 
 
 At the breakfast table the latter disclosed the reason of his invi- 
 tation. " Before the day is over," he said, "I hope to convince you, 
 my dear sir, that there is no more delightful place in which to spend 
 a summer this side of Paradise than in New Bedford, and you, 
 sir, that this city offers unrivalled facilities for manulacturing pur- 
 poses. Two unqualified statements, you see, but statements which I 
 am confident you will admit at my dinner table. This morning I 
 propose to take you for a stroll and this afternoon we will devote to 
 driving. If you have finished your coffee, let us take our hats 
 and go. 
 
 "I dare say you will often find me inclined to lapse into ancient 
 history, gentlemen," said the host, as the party emerged on the street ; 
 "I have lived to see this place undergo many wonderful changes and 
 I am apt to grow reminiscent as I wander along. When I grow tire- 
 some don't hesitate to interrupt me, but I wish to thoroughly inform 
 you about my city before 3'ou leave it. 
 
 "You may have observed that New Bedford is built on a hill- 
 side. As our centennial orator expressed it, it 'lies between green 
 pastures on the one hand and the still waters of the river on the other.' 
 To give you the facts in a practical form, the city is situated on the 
 west side of the Acushnet river, which makes up, in a northerly direc- 
 tion, into the land near the western extremity of Buzzards bay, on the 
 south shore of Massachusetts. At present we have a population of 
 38,000 to 40,000 people, and we are growing rapidly. We rank first 
 as a whaling city, as ever3-body knows, and third in the point of cotton 
 manufacturing among the cities of the United States, having sur- 
 passed Lawrence, Manchester, Lewiston, and other places. We 
 have about one hundred and twenty miles of streets, forty or fifty 
 miles of which are macadamized or paved. The city is about ten and 
 two-thirds miles long from the tip of Clark's point on the south to 
 Freetown on the north, and its average width is two miles. The area 
 of the city is about twenty and one-quarter square miles. Finally,
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 
 
 57 
 
 New Bedford is, I believe, the wealthiest city in the United States in 
 proportion to its population. So much for a few cold facts to start 
 
 with. 
 
 "And now, gen- 
 tlemen, we are on 
 Water street, over- 
 flowing, to all old cit- 
 izens, such as I am, 
 with the most inter- 
 esting-reminiscences. 
 This is the corner 
 
 of Union and Water 
 streets, 'Four Corners,' 
 as it was called in my 
 boyhood. William A. 
 Wall, an artist whose 
 oenius has illuminated 
 some prominent pages 
 in local history, painted 
 a view of the 'Four Cor- 
 ners in 1812,' which is regarded as accurate in detail and truthful in 
 the portraits of several leading actors of those times. Among the
 
 1^8 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 incidental features of this painting is a picture of William Rotch, 
 senior, 'Friend Rotch,' as he was called, in one of the old-fashioned 
 square-topped chaises of the period. 
 
 "Almost.every old building on this street is interesting to me and 
 I shall show you houses which were here previous to the Revolution. 
 This was one of the first streets of the old town. When I was a boy 
 it was the principal business street. But innovations have come. 
 'Westward the star of empire takes its way,' and business has taken 
 the same direction. Fiftv years ago all the dry goods, boot and shoe, 
 and tailor shop*>, the book, hardware, and drug stores were on this 
 street and the lower part of Union street. 
 
 "But w^hile these innovations have come to the dealers in mer- 
 chandise, there are two classes that have remained. The financiers 
 and the lawyers have never deserted the street. Nearly all of our 
 banks and insurance offices are located here. Three generations of 
 our wealthv men have been daily frequenters of the street. Within 
 these precincts are the old law offices, where notables of the bar in 
 bygone vears have received their maiden tees.. From these offices 
 have gone forth five judges to dignify their high stations, two of wdiom 
 have been chief justices, two members of Congress, of whom city and 
 state are proud, two attorney-generals, and a governor of the Com- 
 monwealth. Their students have read Blackstone in these old rooms 
 and, when their seniors have been called to appear before the final 
 bar, have taken possession, while the legal world has gone on as 
 before. The faded and weather-worn collection of ancient signs over 
 dilapidated stairways and beneath chamber windows have, while they 
 were permitted to remain, been suggestive of rich memories to the 
 elderly citizens who paused to peruse them. Among those who have 
 been called to serve in distinguished positions are John Henry Clifford, 
 who was governor of the State in 1853 and also attorney-general for 
 several years. During his term in the latter office he conducted the 
 memorable trial of Prof. John AV. Webster tor the murder of Dr. 
 George Parkman. Subsequently he declined appointment as minis- 
 ter to Russia and Turkev. George Marston served as attorney- 
 
 ^ CD ^ 
 
 general for several years, and Thomas D. Eliot and William W. Crapo 
 served long terms in Congress. The above, with the exception of 
 Mr. Crapo. are now dead." 
 
 "What is that building of brick and brown stone which is so 
 prominent and so handsome?" asked one of the strangers, at this 
 point.
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 
 
 "I'm glad you interrupted me, sir, for I should certainly have 
 wearied 3'ou. That is the new building of the National Bank of 
 Commerce, one of the prosperous banks of this city. This mag- 
 nificent edifice occupies the site of the old Bedford Commercial bank, 
 which, I remember, was a quaint old structure of brick and stone, 
 the windows of which were fortified with heavy shutters. A heavy 
 block tackle was used for hoisting up a heavy wooden trap door, 
 and a still heavier one beneath opened to the steps that led to the 
 subterranean vaults where the specie was kept. This iron door 
 was fastened by a long tongue-bolt, running lengthwise with the 
 door, and drawn b}^ a secret process in another part of the building. 
 I can see the old cashier now, in his pepper and salt suit, his knee- 
 pants, and knee buckles. Heigh-ho ! 
 
 "At the foot of William street you see the handsome granite 
 front building, with eight heavy pillars, occupied on the lower floor 
 by the Merchants and Mechanics national banks. 
 
 "The Board of Trade rooms are on this street," said the old 
 gentleman, "and we will look in for a moment. They are not pre- 
 tentious, as you may see, but they have been and are the centre of 
 many influences which have been of much benefit to the city. The 
 Board was organized on the 5th of March, 1884, '^^ ^^^ outcome 
 of a feeling which had existed for several years that such an organi- 
 zation was needed in New Bedford. At first, it did not include the 
 representatives of many interests beside that of whaling. Though 
 its benefits were best in this branch of our industries, it soon became 
 apparent that the Board was not exerting the influence it ought upon 
 the newer enterprises of the city. Accordingly, in 1886, a number 
 of the younger business men took hold of the organization, and 
 it has since been an active factor in promoting the growth and pros- 
 perity of New Bedford. Its more than two hundred and fifty mem- 
 bers represent every industry and business in the city, and their 
 combined efforts and influence have been productive of manv valua- 
 ble results. Conspicuous among the enterprises of the Board was 
 its first industrial fair, held in the autumn of 1887. It was an experi- 
 ment, and a doubtful one. But it was a revelation to our own people 
 of the extent and variety of our home manufactures. Thousands 
 of persons visited it, and went away with a higher opinion of their 
 city than ever they had before. It is asserted by men who are 
 familiar with the facts that to the influence of this fair is due the
 
 62 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 establish iiK'iit of al least one more cotton manufacturing enterprise.* 
 The Board has also interested itself in securing better postal facilities, 
 and in many ways has been watchful for the welfare of the city. Its 
 rooms are attractive, without being over fine, and afford a pleasant 
 resort for the members. 
 
 "Walkin<r south to the corner of Water and School streets, we 
 see an old-fashioned square house on a high embankment. The 
 house was built for William Hathaw^ay in 1772 and it is not improb- 
 able that old knocker has often resounded through the house in Revo- 
 lutionary times as some of Mr. Hathaway's neighbors came to tell 
 him of important news of the War for Independence. The house is 
 now known as the Gideon Rowland house. 
 
 "And this old house reminds me that Gideon Rowland was a 
 member of one of the most celebrated of whaling firms, I. Rowland, 
 Jr., & Co. Re married a daughter of the head of the firm in 1798, 
 at about which time the firm was organized. Thomas Mandell was 
 admitted a partner in 1819.. Gideon had two daughters, Sylvia Ann 
 and Abigail. The former died in 1865, leaving a property of about 
 $2,000,000. Among her bequests were $100,000 towards the intro- 
 duction of water into the city, a similar sum for educational and 
 literary purposes, and another large bequest for the benefit of aged 
 women of the city. Abigail married Edward Mott Robinson, and 
 their daughter, Retty Rowland Robinson, married Edward Green, of 
 New York. She is now reputed to be the wealthiest woman in 
 America. Gideon Rowland died in 1847, and within the memorv of 
 most people now living the firm consisted of Messrs. Mandell and 
 Robinson and Miss Rowland. Miss Robinson was the heir to 
 $5,000,000 from her father and $1,000,000 from her aunt. 
 
 "The high towers which are seen on many of the old buildings 
 
 *'rhe fair of 1888, in progress while this book was passing through the press, 
 was even move successful than that of 1887. It was held in the Adelphi rink, a large 
 building on the corner of Count}- and Mill streets, coujuiencing on the 1st of October 
 and continuing four weeks. The lepresentation of the industries of the city was very 
 coiiii)lete. some of the more prominent being cotton manufacturing, shoe making, 
 glass working, and the manufacture of silver plated ware. Other industries showed 
 their finished products. Tlie rink did not allord sufficient space for the exhibitors 
 who desired places, and the managers were forced to build a large annex in Mill 
 street, while an adjoining ward room was also utilized. While the fair was in pro- 
 gress it was visited by lifty thousand persons, including hundreds from other places. 
 It is hoped that the industrial fair will hereafter be held at regular intervals.
 
 RESIDENCE OF CHARLES S. KELLEY,
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 65 
 
 in the vicinity mark the shops formerly kept by the outfitters. Men 
 were constantly watching in these towers, in the palmy days of whal- 
 ing, for incoming whaleships, and immediately one was sighted the 
 outfitters would start in their boat to meet the ship. Then they would 
 run alongside, swarm over the rail, and solicit customers. As most of 
 the whalemen in those days had good sums of money coming to them 
 on the settlement of the voyage and as they spent it with all the 
 freedom for which Jack is proverbial, there was always a sharp 
 rivalry among these agents. 
 
 "Going still farther south we reach the Portuguese quarter of the 
 town. At the windows are dusky women with red bandannas wound 
 fantastically about their heads, and the stores in this section are kept 
 by Portuguese. Some of the older of the inhabitants found their way 
 here on whaleships but many of them have come here from the 
 Western Islands by the packet lines, the barkentine Moses B. Tower 
 making four regular trips yearly between this city and the islands. 
 If we were to walk half a mile farther south, we should come to the 
 Potomska and Acushnet cotton mills. The only house for religious 
 worship on this street is the South Mission Chapel, which has done 
 an excellent work among the sailors in the past and is doing equally 
 excellent work in a rather different line now." 
 
 "I should like to have a look at the wharves," said one of the 
 visitors. 
 
 "So you shall," said their guide. "The principal wharves are 
 twenty-five in number and they front upon one of the most beautiful 
 harbors in the world. The pretty and pertinentl}' named town of 
 Fairhaven lies opposite. A draw-bridge, about four thousand feet 
 in length, connects the city and town, and the cars of the Union 
 Street Railway Company cross it at intervals of twenty minutes. Let 
 us walk down Middle street and over the bridge a little wa}-, that I maN- 
 let you have what to me is a most charming view. The first bridge, 
 I may say, was constructed in 1798 but was washed away in 1807. It 
 was rebuilt, but was again destroyed in the September gale of 181 5. 
 A new bridge was constructed some four years later, but it was 
 ruined in the great September gale of 1869. The present bridge 
 was built soon after. Ncnice these fishing stands at Irequent inter- 
 vals. The}' are appreciated bv tlie boys of all ages." 
 
 So the men crossed tlie bridge a distance and. turning, one could 
 not help remarking :
 
 66 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 •'What a beautiful picture !" 
 
 "I thought you would be struck with it," said the old resident, 
 complacendy. "At the extreme north is the Grinnell mill. The 
 irroup 1)1' six mills of stone and brick next south are the Wamsuttas, 
 the most celebrated cotton mills in the world. Below the bridge 
 are the immense coal pockets of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & 
 Iron Compan}^ and still further south we see the works of the Pair- 
 point Manufacturing Company, the Mount Washington Glass Works, 
 and the Potomska and Acushnet mills. The large number of elm 
 trees add much to the beauty of the city. No city excels New Bed- 
 ford in the matter of shade trees." 
 
 ••The harbor is as charming as the Bay of Naples !" exclaimed 
 the gentleman in search of a summer home. 
 
 •'The river takes its rise near the Middleboro ponds," said the 
 historian, ••flows down by the village of Acushnet and increases in 
 breadth until it empties into the bay. There are several pretty islands. 
 That you see with the lighthouse is Palmer's Island, picturesque with 
 craggy rocks and scrubby cedars. The little island near Fairhaven 
 is Crow island. A rope walk formerly connected it with the main 
 land on the Fairhaven side. The bridge crosses Pope's and Fish 
 islands. The former retains some of its primeval cedars. Upon the 
 latter are wharves, oil factories, and workshops. United States reve- 
 nue schoolship S. P. Chase lies alongside the dock here during the 
 winter months. This little bark is the training school for the cadets, 
 who receive appointments as third lieutenants in the revenue service 
 on their graduation. 
 
 "Between this island and the New Bedford side is the draw- 
 bridge. North of the bridge, on the Fairhaven side, is the rock}' bluff 
 called the Isle of Marsh, which, however, is only insulated at high 
 water. At the north, the spires of the pleasant little village of Acush- 
 net can be seen, while Fort Phoenix, the old fortress which surmounts 
 a high rock on the Fairhaven side, is one of the most picturesque 
 spots on the coast. The harbor is a favorite rendezvous for yachts 
 during the summer, and the New York club and other great fleets 
 visit us almost annually, when on their cruises. The treatment which 
 they receive from the home club, whose handsome club house stands 
 on Pope's island, and the citizens as well, has made the citv famous 
 among the bold Corinthians for its hospitality." 
 
 "What is the depth of the channel of the river?" inquired the
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 69 
 
 business man of the trio, who looked at the picture from a practical 
 point of view. 
 
 "Vessels drawing eighteen feet of water can enter the harbor at 
 mean low water and it is now proposed to excavate a channel two 
 hundred feet wide of greater depth. New Bedford, by the way, is a 
 port of entry, and the amount of revenue collected during the last 
 tiscal year was $29,023.28. We have a regular line of fine passen- 
 ger boats running to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket and also 
 steamer lines to New York and Nonquitt, the latter a new summer 
 resort on the west side of Buzzards bay which is rapidly coming into 
 prominence. 
 
 "Under some button wood trees on the New Bedford shore, near 
 this bridge, the first ship built in the town was launched in 1767 
 She was owned by Francis Rotch and her name was the Dartmouth. 
 Her first voyage was made to London with a cargo of oil. This 
 vessel was subsequently famous as being one of the ships which carried 
 into Boston harbor the tea which was thrown overboard. Among 
 the earlier ships built was the Rebecca, owned by Joseph Russell & 
 Sons, which was launched in the spring of 1785. This ship was 
 built by George Claghorn, who afterwards built the frigate Consti- 
 tution. The timber of which she was built was cut in the south- 
 west part of the town. She measured 175 67-95 tons, which, we are 
 told, was at that time considered so large that people came from 
 Taunton and other surrounding towns to see ' the big ship.' A 
 figurehead of a woman was carved for her, but the Friends society 
 remonstrated against so vain and useless an ornament and she went to 
 sea without it. A mock funeral was held over it by a few gay young- 
 men, one or more of them sons of Joseph Russell, and it was buried 
 in the sand upon the shore. The command of so large a ship was 
 deemed a great responsibility at this time. James Hay den was finally- 
 selected as captain. She was the first American whaleship that 
 doubled Cape Horn, but she made a disastrous end. In the autumn 
 of 1798 she sailed from Liverpool for New York and was never heard 
 from afterwards. Central wharf, built by Joseph Russellt is the site 
 of the original headquarters of the whale-fishery. The story of 
 whaling in those days borders on romance, and men of iron nerve 
 and energy were required to man these small and poorly-fitted 
 vessels. 
 
 "A good many fine vessels were built here in days gone by, and
 
 70 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 I think it was Mark Twain who makes one of his characters, an old 
 salt, compliment them something in this wise. If you heave down 
 one of those 'down east' vessels, he said, you can throw a dog 
 through the seams, but take a New Bedford ship and you can 'heave 
 her down and hold her there, and she'll never shed a tear.' 
 
 "Now, the scene at the wharves recalls Walt Whitman's lines: 
 
 'On sluggish, lonesome, muddy waters, anchored near the shore, 
 An old, dismasted, gray, and batter'd ship, disabled, done, and broken, 
 After free voyages to all the seas of earth, hauled up at last and hawser'd tight. 
 Lies rusting, mouldering.' 
 
 "But the old dismantled hulks of whalers lying alongside the 
 docks are very dear in the eyes of their owners, having brought 
 fortunes from the broad fields of the ocean, after much toil and 
 manifold perils. And, as has been said, it has been a creation 
 of wealth by the skill of the merchant and the hardy daring of the 
 sailor, and not a mere exchange of the wealth. Few parallels can 
 be found in this or any country of such successful enterprise. The 
 oldest vessels in the world today are the Rousseau and True Love ; 
 the former now lies at the wharf at the foot of North street. Her 
 history is very interesting. She was built for Stephen Girard, of 
 Philadelphia, b}' Nicholas Vandusen, and was launched from the 
 yard of the Vandusens, near Shakamaxon street, on the Delaware, 
 in 1801. She is 95 feet long, 28 feet broad, and 18 feet deep, and 
 registers 305 tons. Her rig was that of a full rigged ship and at 
 the time of her building she was considered a fair sized vessel for 
 those times. After doing service for Mr. Girard for several 3'ears, 
 her rig was changed and she was regarded as one of the fastest 
 barks sailing from Philadelphia. About a year after the death of 
 Girard, in the latter part of 183 1, she was purchased by the late 
 George Howland, of this city, who was extensively engaged in the 
 whale-fishery in the early part of this century. When the Rousseau 
 arrived at this port she had open bulwarks tbrward of the mainmast, 
 carrying orf either side a spare spar, which lay in stout iron crutches 
 and which afforded the onl}- protection from the waves forward of 
 that mast. Abaft the mainmast the deck was raised a few inches. 
 She was immediately fitted for whaling, bulwarks being put in for- 
 ward, and when she sailed on her maiden whaling voyage was in 
 command of Capt. Walter Hillman, of Martha's Vineyard, and,
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 
 
 73 
 
 it may be added, the voyage was a good one. Later a new deck 
 was laid and it was made flush. She was a well built ship, con- 
 structed of live oak top entire, with white oak bottom, and when 
 her bottom was replanked some ten years ago, her floor timbers 
 were as firmh' on her keel as when built. After the death of George 
 Rowland, the vessel was continued in the whaling business by his 
 sons, George and Matthew Rowland. She made numerous good 
 voyages and about seven 3'ears ago she was sold to her present 
 owners, Aikin & Swift. She arrived in port from her last voyage 
 April 8, 1886, with thirteen hundred and sixtv barrels of sperm and 
 one hundred and eighty barrels of whale oil. Philadelphians are 
 discussing the feasibility of purchasing the old vessel and fitting her 
 as a schoolship for wayward youth as a memorial to the great mer- 
 chant, banker, and philanthropist. 
 
 ."But our fleet is leaving us. One by one they weigh anchor 
 and sail out on the great deep, doubling Cape Rorn and making San 
 Francisco their home port. Through the Golden Gate they pass on 
 hazardous vo3'ages to the Arctic, enticed by the alhiring chances 
 of great earnings in short periods. Let us hope 
 
 'That bright success maj' on their valoi- wait, 
 And rich reward attend upon their toil." 
 
 "Union street, through which I will take you as we walk home 
 for lunch, was originally a cart path, leading from the shore to the 
 house of Joseph Russell, the founder of the city, which stood near 
 the pre&ent residence of the late Mrs. Charles W. Morgan, on 
 County street. The Russell house, now about one hundred and fortv 
 years old, is still in good preservation. It has been moved from its 
 original site and is a tenement house on Emerson street, near Kemp- 
 ton. The Mansion Rouse is the old residence of William Rotcli, 
 much enlarged, however. The old yellow house at the northeast 
 corner of Union and Bethel streets was the old residence of Isaac 
 Rowland, Jr. I can remember when the Eagle Rotel occupied the 
 site of the large brick building known as Ricketson Block, on the 
 southwest corner of Union and Fourth streets, and dwelling houses 
 occupied the lots on which are situated the Eddy and Masonic build- 
 ings, — both tine, large brick structures having stores on the tirst 
 floor. The Grand Opera Rouse, on this street, was remodelled from 
 the old Grace church. The interior of the Opera Rouse is planned
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 75 
 
 and decorated after the style of the Boston Museum, and is one of 
 the largest and handsomest theatres in New England. It seats over 
 twelve hundred persons. 
 
 "Purchase street is now the main business thoroughfare and 
 here most of the dry goods houses are located. Sixty years ago 
 there was not a single drv ooods store on Purchase street between 
 Union and Middle streets. On the east side of the street were dwell- 
 ings, and north of these was a garden extending to William street. 
 A church occupied the land on which Liberty Hall is situated. In 
 1845 William Bradford, who has since placed his name among the 
 noted artists of the world, conducted a dr}^ goods store at No. i6. 
 The Parker House, the leading hotel of the city, is situated on the 
 east side of this street, between Elm and Middle streets. It is of 
 wood and was at one time the residence of John Avery Parker. 
 It was refitted and enlarged for a hotel in 1841, and has since ranked 
 as a first class hostelry. The other leading hotels of the city, by the 
 way, the Mansion and Bancroft, are both excellent houses. The 
 buildings on this street are not pretentious, for the most part, but 
 there are several large and handsome blocks, among them the 
 Cummings, Liberty Hall, and Wing buildings." 
 
 Lunch over, the gentlemen entered the carriage for a drive about 
 town. The visitors were strongly impressed with the cleanliness ot 
 the streets, with the superb elm shade trees, the sidewalks of stone, 
 and the tastefulness and richness of many of the public buildings. 
 Among those which were particularly admired were the Unitarian 
 church on Union street, built of native granite, which is one of the 
 finest specimens of architecture in the city. It was built during the 
 years 1836-38, and the original cost, including land, was $40,000. 
 The North Congregational church on Purchase street was built at 
 about the same time. It is of native granite also, with a frontage ot 
 sixty-eight feet and a depth of ninety feet. It is of the Gothic order of 
 architecture, with square tower and battlements. The City hall, on 
 the square included within Pleasant, Sixth, William, and Market 
 streets, is built of native granite and is a handsome and substantial 
 building. It was built in the year 1838-39, at a cost of $60,000, 
 inclusive of land. Seth II. Ingalls, an old resident, who was the 
 builder of the Unitarian church and custom house, also erected this 
 building. It is surrounded by a handsome park. A fountain plays 
 in front of the hall, and under the old elms seats have been placed.
 
 
 
 \ i 
 I,
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 77 
 
 The basement of the hall was used for many years as a market. 
 Now a number of the citv offices are located here. On the second 
 floor is a beautiful hall in which public meetings are held. Over the 
 stage is a hue large copy by William A. Wall of Stuart's portrait of 
 Washington. In the third story are the meeting rooms of the board 
 of aldermen, common council, and school committee. 
 
 The custom iiouse building, at the corner of William and Second 
 streets, is a most sightly public edifice of granite. It is after the 
 Doric style of architecture and was built at a cost of $31,740, inclu- 
 sive of land. On the first floor is the post office, and the offices of the 
 customs department occup}' the second. The receipts of this post 
 office are larger than in most cities of the size of New Bedford. 
 The government has purcliased land on William street, from Second 
 street through to Acushnet avenue, and Congress has made an 
 appropriation for a new public building for the customs and post 
 office, work upon which will soon be commenced. Opposite the lot 
 designed for this new buildinir is the edifice of the New Bedford Safe 
 Deposit and Trust Companv, which has one of the handsomest bank- 
 ing rooms in the city. 
 
 The city library building, on William street, opposite City Hall, 
 is a beautiful edifice of brick with granite underpinning and steps 
 and freestone ornaments. It was the first free public library estab- 
 lished under municipal sanction. The edifice was erected in 1856-57 
 and its cost was about $40,000. It outgrew its original quarters and 
 an addition on the north nearly as large as the main building has 
 only lately been constructed. 
 
 "But a few years after the incorporation of the city," said tlie 
 old resident, resuming his reminiscences, "the want of books and 
 the inability of most of the inhabitants to procure them, led to a com- 
 bination of effort for that purpose and several such combinations were 
 formed. Amona" the earliest to organize such a scheme were the 
 proprietors of Dobson's Encyclopedia, which, for the unlearned and 
 isolated people of these times, formed quite a library in itself. The 
 well worn volumes, which are now in the Free Public Library, 
 bear testimouN' to the thoroughness with wiiich its jiages were read 
 and consulted. 
 
 "But the desire for books outgrew the set of encyclopedias, and 
 the Library Society and Social Library followed. Then the three 
 societies were united under the name of the New Bedtord Social
 
 78 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Library. For nearly a half century this collection of books was the 
 principal source whence was supplied the desire of the people for 
 knowledge and intellectual recreation, and it was a feature in mould- 
 ing the characters of the young men and women of that day. 
 
 "May 24, 185 1, an act was passed by the General Court of 
 Massachusetts, authorizing cities and towns to establish and main- 
 tain public libraries. Forty-five days after the passage of the 
 enabling act, Warren Ladd, who was at that time a member of the 
 common council, introduced an order to consider the expediency 
 of adopting the measure. The order passed the popular branch 
 
 FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
 
 unanimously., but the aldermen non-concurred. Earl}- in the follow- 
 ing year a large petition, headed by James B. Congdon, was presented 
 to the council, requesting the adoption of the act. The committee 
 on public instruction, to which the matter was referred, reported 
 recommending an appropriation of $1500 tor the establishment of the 
 library. In its report the committee stated that it had been assured 
 that "provided the authorities should, by the passage of the order 
 making the appropriation asked for, establish the principle that the 
 maintenance of a free cit}- library for the continuous education of the 
 people will be the settled policy of the cit}'," the five thousand vol- 
 umes of the New Bedford Social Library would be transferred to 
 the citv.
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 
 
 "But meanwhile, before the presentation of the report, the appro- 
 priation bill for the year had passed, containing an appropriation of 
 $1500 for the library. This appropriation bill was adopted July 20, 
 1852, and the date of its adoption is the date of the establishment of 
 the New Bedford Free Public Library. This was the only public 
 library established under the law of 185 1, excepting that in Boston. 
 The delivery of books commenced on Thursday, March 3, 1853. 
 The number of volumes at the opening was between five thousand 
 and six thousand, and the number has now increased to over fifty 
 thousand volumes, selected mainly with a view to the needs and 
 desires of the reading public of New Bedford, but comprising not a 
 few books of rarity and great value. The librarian has gi,ven especial 
 attention to the department of local history, including not merely that 
 of this city, but embracing that of the surrounding towns. The files 
 of local newspapers are very complete, while all books and pamphlets 
 having even the slightest bearing on our local history are carefully 
 preserved and classified. The reading room is an interesting place. 
 Here, on several long tables surrounded by many easy chairs, are all 
 the leading periodicals of the day, American and foreign, with some, 
 of which, I venture to say, you have never heard. On neat racks 
 along the side of the room are files of such newspapers as are most 
 likelv to interest the people of this city, and in a corner is a large 
 book case, full of the latest and most valuable books of reference. 
 They range from the Encyclopasdia Britannica, through the field of 
 dictionaries, gazetteers, and directories, to the United Slates Dispen- 
 satory and the Tribune Almanac. All these books, newspapers, and 
 magazines are accessible to the public, witliout the interventi(^n of 
 the librarian or any assistant, and it speaks well for the appreciation 
 in wiiich the library is held that the privilege is rarely abused. 
 During the thirty-six years that the library has been open, two 
 periodicals have been mutilated and a few pencil-marked. None 
 have been lost. 
 
 " Robert C. Ingraham was the first librarian and has olliciated 
 in that capacity to the present time, a period ot thirt}-six years. 
 Much of the success of the library is due to his zeal and intelligence. 
 The library has grown under his care to be one of the best free pub- 
 lic libraries in the country. Me knows it thoroughly and his vast store 
 of information concerning its contents is freely placed at the disposal 
 of the seeker for knowledge or recreation among its volumes. Four
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 83 
 
 assistants are required to do the work of the library. In the year 
 1887, the latest for which statistics are av^ailable, forty-two thousand 
 six hundred fifty-seven volumes were taken out; this was a decrease 
 from the number of deliveries of the preceding year, and it is 
 accounted for by the facts that for some months the library was closed 
 for repairs and alterations and that the delivery of works of fiction 
 was suspended for the purpose of preparing and printing a new cat- 
 alogue. 
 
 "A number of trust funds have been established for the benefit 
 of the library. The first was that of George Howland, Jr., its amount, 
 ipi6oo, being the amount of his salary as mayor for two years. The 
 second constitutes the Charles W. Morgan fund and its amount is 
 $1000. Then there is the Oliver Crocker fund of $1000. the James 
 B. Congdon fund of $500, and the George O. Crocker fund of 
 $10,000. 
 
 "The chief dependence of the trustees, however, for additions 
 to the library, is the bequest of Sylvia Ann Howland, $50,000 of 
 which was set apart for the library, the annual income from which is 
 about $3000. During the delay which attended the ligitalion upon 
 the will (.)t the deceased, the funds of the estate largely increased, 
 and in addition to the bequest which constitutes the fund, about 
 $10,000 was paid into the treasury of the city as interest or income, 
 and placed to the credit of the library. The appropriation b\' the 
 city barely suffices for salaries and other e.\[)enses."' 
 
 Within this elegant building, on a large marble tablet, we road 
 this noble testimony : 
 
 •^ This tablet coiinneiiioriiU's the enlighteiu'il liberality ol Sylvia Ami Howland, 
 who bestowed upon the city of Xew Bedford the sum of two liimdrcil tliousaiid dol- 
 lars ; one Imiidred thousand to aid in supplyin*;' tlie eity with pun' water: and one 
 hundred tliousand as a fund for the promotion of liberal education l)y tlie enlariie- 
 nipnt of tlie Free Pu])lic Fabrary, and l)y (extending to the children and yonib id tbe 
 city tbe means of a wider and more o;enerous culluic" 
 
 She died in 1865. 
 
 In one of the ante-rooms are a number ol piiotographs ol the 
 handsome residences of the city and also several portraits, among 
 them a rude unfinished picture of William Rotch, to whom a large 
 share of New Bedford's business prosperity is due, by an artist named 
 Huckley. In the main library room hang pt)rtraits of George How- 
 land, Jr., by Wilson, and of James B. Congdon by Eaton. There
 
 NORTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 85 
 
 are also engravings from some of the celebrated paintings of the 
 Yosemite, by Albert Bierstadt, who was once a photographer in 
 New Bedford. 
 
 The library occupies the second floor of the building. On the 
 first floor are the offices of the mayor, city clerk, city treasurer, city 
 auditor, superintendent of streets, and board of assessors. 
 
 The passenger station of the Old Colony railroad, situated east 
 of Acushnet avenue, between Willis and Pearl streets, is one of the 
 attractive buildings of the cit}'. Its architecture is Romanesque. 
 The building is 159.3 by 37.8 feet in area, with walls of red face 
 brick and trimmings of brown kibbe, rock-faced with round crandled 
 corners, and the roofs are covered with copper-green slate. The 
 foundation is built on piles and large square blocks of granite laid in 
 cement mortar. The river is on the east and there is a pretty view 
 of Oxford village opposite. On the west is a large and handsome 
 lawn, bordered \\'ith trees and dotted with flowerbeds. The interior 
 is finished with Philadelphia face brick dadoes, ^.6 feet in height with 
 moulded cap. The walls are sheathed with moulded sheathing of 
 brown ash and above the vertical sheathing is a plain frieze with a 
 cornice ot the same wood. The cases, desks, and the waitino- room 
 seats are of tiie same wood, the latter being very heavy and low, with 
 carvings on the arms. The chandeliers, fire dogs, and brackets 
 supporting the passengers' writing desks are of wrought iron, unique 
 in design. There are open fire places, with tiled hearths, raised 
 stone curbing, and large carved stone lintels. 
 
 The Grace and St. James churches (Episcopal), on Count\- 
 street, are each of brick and stone and are two of tiie Hnest exam- 
 ples of intelligent architecture in the city. The former was com- 
 pleted in 1881, has a seating capacity for six hundred people, and 
 cost $47,000. In the tower is a chime of bells, ten in number, 
 weighing over eleven thousand pounds, the gift of Stephen G. Dris- 
 col. These were rung for the first time on Christmas eve, 1882. 
 St. Lawrence church, on County street, is a stately granite edifice, 
 built in 1870. The tower has recently been carried to a heiglit 
 of one hundred feet, and, beinir situated on the highest ground in the 
 city, is a prominent feature. Among other notable church edifices 
 are the North Christian church on Purchase street, built in 1833 ' 
 the Trinitarian church on Fourth street, built in 1832 : the William 
 street Baptist church, completed in 1829 and since enlarged and
 
 86 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 partially rebuilt; the Pleasant street Methodist church, dedicated in 
 1849; the church of the Sacred Heart (French Catholic) ; and the 
 church of St. John the Baptist (Portuguese Catholic). These latter 
 are all of wood. The County street Methodist cluirch, a brick 
 edifice built in 1859, is one of the handsomest church buildings in the 
 city. The Seamen's Bethel, on Bethel street, designed to promote 
 the interests of seamen, was built about 1831. With it is connected 
 a home for mariners. Both were erected by the Port Society. The 
 Friends meeting house, on Spring street, is an unostentatious square 
 structure of brick and the fitting of the interior is severely plain. 
 The Friends, by the way, built the first meeting house for religious 
 worship erected in this city. 
 
 The Trinitarian Church Home, opposite the Trinitarian church 
 on Fourth street, attracts the attention of all visitors to the city who 
 are interested in religious efibrt, lor its peculiar adaptation to the 
 social phases of church work. It serves the purposes of a chapel, 
 and its audience room on the second floor is a model Sunday school 
 room. On the lower floor and in the basement are the parlor, supper 
 room, and kitchen. Externally, the building, constructed of brick 
 and wood, is of attractive appearance, and realizes the idea of a 
 " church home." 
 
 "A long line of famous ministers has filled our pulpits," said 
 the historian, "and among them I recall Dr. Samuel West, who 
 preached at the Head of the River from 1761 to 1803, George L. 
 Prentiss, Moses How, Orville Dewey, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Dr. 
 Ephraim Peabody, J. H. Morisson, John Weiss, Wheelock Craig, 
 William S. Studley, and Mark Trafton."' 
 
 The visitors were particularly struck with the handsome school 
 buildings, among them the High school, a model edifice of imposing 
 proportions, occupying an entire block of land, with an area of 
 about three-fourths of an acre, bounded by Summer, Mill. Chestnut, 
 and North streets, a high and commanding situation, and from a 
 distance one of the most prominent objects in the citv. The build- 
 ing is of brick, with Amherst (Ohio) freestone trimmings and under- 
 pinning, and basement window sills of Rockport granite. It is three 
 stories high, with a flat topped hiproof. The fronton Summer street 
 is ninety -five feet and the width ninety-two feet. The Summer street 
 entrance is under a projecting portico twenty-one by fifteen feet and 
 over the centre front are a tower and spire. Strangers to the city
 
 RESIDENCE OF EBEN C. MILLIKEN.
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 
 
 89 
 
 should know that the view from the tower is extensive and 
 Thompson, Fifth, Parker, 
 Acushnet avenue, Maxfield, 
 and Cedar Grove street school 
 houses are all of brick and 
 would ornament any city. 
 The new Harrington school 
 house, named in honor of 
 Henry F. Harrington, for 
 many years the beloved sup- 
 erintendent of schools, is 
 
 fine. The 
 
 o 
 
 considered a good 
 specimen of the 
 best class of school 
 architecture. 
 
 There are 
 th ree parochial 
 schools, two of 
 w h i c h are con- 
 nected with the 
 Irish Catholic 
 parishes and one 
 with the French 
 Catholic parish 
 
 of the city. The buildings are of brick, three stories in height, 
 
 and are well proportioned edifices.
 
 90 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Friends' academy, located between Morgan and Elm streets, west 
 of County, is a sightly building of brick with a tower. This build- 
 ing was dedicated in 1857, but was subsequently enlarged and remod- 
 elled. It may be of interest and not generally known, that the old 
 school house erected by William Rotch in 1810 was sawn in two and 
 forms two dwelling houses, which are located on Elm street, west of 
 the present school house. The old portico is an outbuilding on the 
 premises of one. 
 
 There are unusually good facilities, the visitors were told, for 
 police and fire protection. The police department numbers sixty-three 
 officers and employes, as follows: One chief, two captains, six 
 lieutenants, forty-seven patrolmen, five housekeepers, one janitor, 
 and one matron. There are six stations and a lockup for women. 
 The total number of arrests in 1887 was ten hundred ninety-three, 
 and the annual cost in round numbers to maintain this branch of the 
 city's business is $50,000. 
 
 The fire department has five fine brick engine houses and a 
 ladder and hose house, six steam fire engines — five in commission 
 and one in reserve — ready for immediate use, one aerial hook and 
 ladder truck, two ordinary hook and ladder trucks, — one in reserve, — 
 four two-wheeled and five four-wheeled hose carriages, one still 
 alarm wagon, three sleigh-reels, six exercise and coal wagons, one 
 telegraph wagon, and three sleigh reels. There are over twenty horses 
 belonging to the department. The force consists of one chief, four 
 assistant engineers and clerks, thirteen men permanently emplo3'ed, 
 and one hundred thirty-two call members, making a total of one hun- 
 dred fifty-one men. Hydrants are established at every point where 
 they are needed, and to which the water mains extend. In the fire 
 alarm system there are fifty-four signal boxes and twenty-five miles 
 of wire ; eight bell strikers, eight fifteen-inch engine house gongs, 
 seven seven-inch engineers' gongs, and three small tappers, operated 
 by a battery of one hundred forty-seven cups. The total cost of the 
 department yearly is about $30,000, and the value of the property in 
 the department will approximate $125,000. Something of the eftec- 
 tiveness of the department can be seen by the following figures of 
 losses for the past ten years : 1877, $26,063.66 : 1878, $28,154.46 ; 
 1879, $9,163.16; 1880, $7,609.13; 1881, $26,624.96; 1882, 
 $23,169.64; 1883, $17,398.14; 1884, $134,729.82; 1885, $6,982.41 ; 
 1886, $26,786.03; 1887, $45,141.50. Connected with this depart-
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 93 
 
 ment is a Protecting Society of seventy-five members, which has 
 done excellent work in past years. 
 
 The house of correction for the county, and the jail, are located 
 here. A new prison building has just been completed, fronting on Ash 
 street and extending from Union to Court streets, with a wing running 
 easterly. The cost of the new prison building was over $80,000. 
 It is provided with two hundred eighty-seven cells and is considered 
 the finest prison building in the state. Advantage has been taken of 
 all the modern improvements in prisons, the cells are large and par- 
 ticular care has been given to ventilation. The long term prisoners 
 here are employed in making shoes and a new factory for this pur- 
 pose has recently been built. 
 
 The city common was pointed out. This beautiful spot is in the 
 north part of the city and is bounded by County, Purchase, Pope, and 
 Pearl streets. The Soldiers and Sailors monument, a tasteful and 
 appropriate structure, erected by the city at a cost of about $13,000, 
 as a memorial to those who lost their lives during the War of the 
 Rebellion, occupies a prominent situation here. It was designed and 
 contracted for by George F. Meacham of Boston, and the inscriptions 
 upon its base are as follows : 
 
 North side. 
 
 "Navy." 
 
 East side. 
 
 "Erected by the City of New Bedford, as a tribute of gratitude 
 to her sons who fell defending their Country in its struggle with 
 Slavery and Treason." 
 
 South side. 
 
 "Army." 
 
 West side. 
 
 "Dedicated July 4, 1866." 
 
 Two of the cemeteries, the Rural in the southwest part of the 
 city, and the Oak Grove in the west part, are retired and lovely spots. 
 Nature has been lavish of her gifts, and good taste and a liberal 
 expenditure of money has added to the beauty of these final resting 
 places for the departed. 
 
 As they rode along, the old resident called the attention of his
 
 94 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 guests to the elaborate system of drainage which the ebbing and 
 flowing tides make perfect and efficient ; and also to the exxellent city 
 waterworks, constructed in 1867-69, and which cost about $1,200,000. 
 
 "Thirty years ago it was an exceedingly difficult matter to obtain 
 a water suitable for supplying steam engine and other mechanical 
 purposes within our city limits," said the old resident guide. "Few 
 cities were then so poorly provided for in this respect. At that time 
 it was a busy community. It was reaping the profitable harvest of 
 the whale-fishery and the general appearance was one of prosperity. 
 No one will probably ever know how much its interests actually suf- 
 fered for lack of the numerous advantages accruing from an ample 
 supply of pure water, but that they did sufi^er there can be no doubt. 
 
 "Public water works were not the popular institutions in those 
 days that they have since become, and although the project of intro- 
 ducing water was often agitated, it was at first frowned upon by a 
 large majority of the citizens. But as the question was more fre- 
 quently discussed, and the many blessings which an abundant supply 
 would bring to our city were pointed out, the demand for trustworthy 
 information on this subject became more general. 
 
 "The first definite movement took form on March 8th, i860, 
 when an order passed both branches of the city government directing 
 that a joint special committee be appointed to fully consider the ques- 
 tion and to report some plan, together with the probable cost. The 
 period from i860 to 1865 was occupied in the examination of different 
 schemes presented, by which this important problem could be solved. 
 These investigations were conducted by joint committees of the city 
 government appointed each year. Capt. Charles H. Bigelow, the 
 engineer in charge of the construction of the fort at Clark's point, 
 together with George A. Briggs, then city surveyor, and William F. 
 Durfee, civil engineer, were the first to make surveys and estimates of 
 the various sources of supph'. 
 
 "The advantages of the head waters of the Acushnet river as a 
 source of suppU' were soon apparent, and this conclusion was endorsed 
 b}' William J. Mcx\lpine, the eminent hj^draulic engineer, whose 
 counsel was sought in 1865. During this period Prof. George I. 
 Chase, of Brown University', had made several chemical examinations 
 of samples taken from the Acushnet and declared it to be a water of 
 remarkable purity. 
 
 "The usual form of enactment w-as passed by the legislature April
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 97 
 
 18, 1863, and was accepted by the city on April 14, 1864. Three 
 constructing corrimissioners, Messrs. William W. Crapo, Warren 
 Ladd, and David B. Kempton, were appointed November 30, 
 1865. These gentlemen, together with George A. Briggs as chief 
 engineer, and William J. McAlpine as consulting engineer, began 
 at once with the construction of the present system of water works. 
 This work was vigorously continued and water was first introduced 
 into the city in December, 1869." 
 
 The source of supply is from a storing reservoir artificially 
 formed by constructing a dam across the valley of the Acushnet, 
 about seven miles north of the centre of the city. The area of 
 water shed above the dam is thirty-three thousand acres ; the area of 
 water surface of reservoir is three hundred acres ; capacity of reser- 
 voir when full is four hundred million ijallons. The elevation of the 
 iull reservoir is forty feet plus the tide in New Bedford harbor. In 
 1886 a canal was dug permitting an auxiliary supply to the storing 
 reservoir from Little Q^iittacas pond. This pond has a surface area 
 of three hundred twenty acres and is one of the great chain known 
 as the Middleboro ponds, and whose drainage area is estimated at 
 thirty-five thousand acres. The elevation of the water surface of 
 this pond is ten feet above that of the storing reservoir. Little Q^iit- 
 tacas pond is located northerly from the storing reservoir, about two 
 and a half miles distant from its northern borders, and twelve miles 
 distant from New Bedford. From the dam at the storing reservoir the 
 water flows by gravity through a single ring brick conduit. This 
 conduit is in form of an tgg shape oval. Its interior diameters are 
 three and tour feet, the lower end being a circle of three feet diameter. 
 Its length is five and five-eighths miles. There are three overflows 
 upon this line of conduit for the discharge of surplus water. The 
 grade is six inches to the mile. The outlet to the conduit is into the 
 receiving reservoir. When filled, the water has a depth of twelve feet, 
 and its elevation is thirt}^ feet plus tide. The capacity of the reservoir 
 is three million gallons. The pumping station is situated about two 
 hundred seventy feet west of the receiving reservoir and the water is 
 conducted to the pump wells through cast iron pipes tbrty-two inches 
 in diameter. As an alternative, a supplv mav be obtained at the jiump 
 wells directly from the conduit through a pipe ihirty-six inclies in 
 diameter laid around outside the banks of the receiving reservoir. 
 From the pump wells the water is raised a height of one hundred
 
 98 
 
 NIJW BEDFORD. 
 
 twenty-four feet to the distributing reservoir. The distributing reser- 
 voir has a capacity of fifteen million gallons when filled. The water 
 has a depth of seventeen feet and its surface is at an elevation of one 
 hundred lifty-four feet plus the tide. In 1873 a stand pipe was erected 
 near the distributing reservoir for use at times when it was necessary 
 to emptv the reservoir for repairs. Its internal diameter is five feet 
 and the elevation of its top is one hundred ninety-seven feet plus tide. 
 In 1884-85. the pumping facilities were remodelled and enlarged 
 from plans prepared by the present superintendent, Mr. R. C. P. 
 Coggeshall. This work involved the building of two new pump 
 
 PUMPING STATION, NEW BEDFORD WATER WORKS. 
 
 wells with the necessary connections, an addition to the engine house, 
 and a new force main. There are three pumping engines which 
 have a total capacit}^ of pumping fifteen million gallons in twenty- 
 four hours. Engine No. i was designed by William J. Mc/\lpine, 
 C. E., and was built by the Qiiintard Iron Works of New York. 
 It is a vertical beam condensing engine with two vertical, bucket and 
 plunger pumps. Its general dimensions are : Steam C3'linder, 38 
 inches diameter; stroke, 8 feet; beam, 26 feet long; fi}- wheel, 16 
 feet in diameter. The pumps are placed one each side of the beam 
 center. Diameter of the pumps, 28 inches ; stroke, 4 feet 8 inches.
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. • lOI 
 
 The beam is supported by a cast iron hollow column which serves as 
 an air chamber. The pumps of this engine were originally single 
 acting, but they were remodelled as above in 1886. This engine 
 now has a capacitv of six million gallons in twenty-four hours. 
 Engine No. 2 was erected in 1874 ^""^ ^^^ built by Henry R. 
 Worthington of New York. It is of the well known compound 
 duplex pattern made by that firm. The principal dimensions are as 
 follows : High pressure steam cylinders, twenty-one inches diameter. 
 Low pressure steam cylinders, thirty-six and seven eighths inches 
 diameter. Length of stroke, thirty-six inches. Water plungers, sev- 
 enteen and one-half inches diameter. This engine has a capacity 
 of four million gallons in twenty-four hours. Engine No. 3 was 
 erected in 1886. This engine is essentially the same as the well 
 known type so extensively used throughout the country, with the 
 addition of a device known as the high duty attachment, which allows 
 the steam to be used expansively, and by which greatly increased 
 economy in the running of the engine has been secured. The prin- 
 cipal dimensions are as follows : Diameter high pressure cylinder, 
 eighteen inches. Diameter low pressure cylinder, thirty-six inches. 
 Diameter of plungers, twenty-four inches. Stroke, twenty-six inches. 
 This engine has a capacity of five million gallons in twenty-four hours. 
 For the supply of the engines there are six boilers, four being hori- 
 zontal tubular boilers eighteen feet long, six feet diameter, and two 
 being upright, thirteen feet seven inches long and sixty-four inches 
 diameter. There are two force mains connecting the pumps with 
 the distributing reservoir, one thirty inch diameter, one sixteen inch 
 diameter. The engines may pump through either at discretion. 
 The force mains are also connected with the distributing system so 
 that the suppl}' may be maintained by direct pumping. The distribut- 
 ing mains are partly of cast iron and partly wrought iron. There 
 are fifty-four and one-third miles of pipes in use, ranging from thirty 
 inches to four inches in diameter. Of this length about nine and one 
 half miles are of wrought iron cement lined pipe, the rest being of 
 cast iron. There are also several short lengths of smaller distribu- 
 tion pipes ranging in size from one to four inches, of which the total 
 length is five thousand eight hundred twelve feet. 
 
 December i, 1887, there were in use five hundred forty-seven 
 stop gates, four hundred ten fire hydrants, five thousand four hun- 
 dred ninety-five taps for domestic supply, forty-two meters for
 
 I02 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 manufacturing purposes, sixty meters for domestic purposes, and 
 twenty-eight motors. The average daily consumption during the 
 year 1887 was three million forty-seven thousand four hundred four 
 gallons. The estimated total population was thirty-six thousand, and 
 of this number thirty thousand eighty were supplied. This is at the 
 rate of one hundred one gallons per day to each consumer, or five 
 hundred fift3^-live gallons per day to each tap. 
 
 The cost of the works to December i, 1887, was $1,298,460.76. 
 The bonded indebtedness is $690,000. The works are controlled by 
 a board of five members who report to the city council. The super- 
 intendents have been the following persons: To 187 1, George A. 
 
 SWAIN FREE SCHOOL. 
 
 Briggs ; 1871-72, Israel C. Cornish; 1872-77, George B. Wheeler; 
 1877-81, William B. Sherman; 1881 to date, Robert C. P. Cogges- 
 hall. Hon. James B. Congdon acted as clerk of tiie board from the 
 the commencement until 1879, since which time the position has been 
 filled by the superintendent. The water rates here are lower than 
 in any other city in the United States, ranging from $2.50 a year 
 for a single faucet in a dwelling house to two and one-half cents a 
 thousand gallons for manufacturing purposes. 
 
 "Our public schools,"' resumed the old resident, plunging into a 
 new subject, "were the pioneers in the practical exemplification of the 
 methods of instruction which now prevail." In 1821, notwithstanding
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. IO5 
 
 the fact that the wealth of the town was intensely hostile to the move- 
 ment, it was voted to appropriate $1200 for the establishment of a 
 regular system of public schools, in conformity to the laws of the 
 commonwealth. Prior to that time there was a free school supported 
 at public expense. It was intended for the poor alone, and, as James 
 B. Congdon pnce remarked, "was in every sense a -poor school." A 
 movement for the establishment of a high school a few years after- 
 wards, excited acrimonious hostility, but finally the opposition gave 
 way and from that time forward, the schools grew more and more 
 deeply in popular favor. In 1861 Abner J. Phipps was elected super- 
 intendent, and he was succeeded in February, 1865, by Rev. Henry 
 F. Harrington, of Cambridge, who at once commenced a series of 
 reforms and improvements which have secured for our schools a dis- 
 tinguished position. The reorganization of the primary schools, and 
 the substitution of intelligent and attractive methods of learning in 
 place of the old "rote" methods, were accomplished in 1865. Two 
 years later the New Bedford Manual of Instruction was adopted, 
 which was so well approved that it was copied entire into the vf)lume 
 of the reports of the State Board of Education, the following year, 
 and thousands of copies were distributed by private subscription in the 
 normal schools and among the school committees and teachers of the 
 state. 
 
 In 1869 a beginning was made toward the introduction of sup- 
 plementary reading in the shape of three hundred subscriptions to 
 the Nursery. This was the first practical recognition in New England 
 of the great principle, now so widely and heartily accepted, that it is 
 only reading much which can confer the ability to read well. Its 
 application has been extended to a wide range of the best literature 
 supplied to the schools of every grade. 
 
 The school system has received an incalculable achantage 
 through the "Sylvia Ann Howland fund," which is the fruit of a gift 
 of $100,000 to the city by the lady whose name it bears, the 
 income to be equally divided between the Free Public Library and the 
 public schools. The city pays six per cent, for the use of the fund 
 and there is a provision that no portion of the avails shall be devoted 
 to any purpose for which the city is legally bound to provide by taxa- 
 tion. So the schools have an annual income of $3000, whereby the 
 school committee can supply the best possible aids to study, through 
 books of reference, books for supplementary reading, including the
 
 HIGH SCHOOL HOUSE,
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. IO9 
 
 old masterpieces of English literature and the cream of contemporary 
 authors, apparatus and cabinets for scientific illustration, museums 
 for object teaching, maps, globes, pictures, and musical instruments. 
 In the last year, for instance, $985 were spent for books, $1252 for 
 music and musical instruments, including a grand piano for the High 
 school and two organs, and $137 for chemical and philosophical 
 apparatus. A large amount was also expended for purposes that 
 cannot be classified. 
 
 There are twenty-six school buildings, nine of which are of brick. 
 There is one high school, tour grammar, fourteen primary, five coun- 
 try, two mill, and four evening schools. The total number of teachers 
 employed is one hundred fifty-two, and five thousand fifty pupils were 
 enrolled last year. The cost of maintaining each pupil in the High 
 school in 1887 was $39.72 ; in the grammar schools, $22.90; in the 
 primary schools, $19.65 ; and in the mill schools. $31.24. The 
 total cost of maintaining the public schools was $103,777.27, of which 
 amount $75,473.10 went for teachers' salaries. 
 
 The Swain Free School otTers superior opportunities for the 
 acquirement of advanced education. It was established through the 
 liberality of William W. Swain, who died September 21, 1858. A 
 bequest in his will enabled the trustees, after securing the act of incor- 
 poration March 18, 1881, to open the school October 25, 1882. A 
 fine old house and estate on County street was included in the bequest, 
 which amounts in its entirety to about $150,000. The school is held 
 in the old Swain mansion, which has been fitted for the purpose. 
 The building sets back from the street and the surroundings are very 
 picturesque, the old house standing in the midst of a magnificent 
 growth of trees. The studies taught are Greek, Latin, mathematics, 
 history, geography, English, art, physics, chemistr}', German, French, 
 and Italian. Applicants for admission must be residents of New 
 Bedford or of the adjacent towns, and nuisi have pursued a course of 
 study equivalent to that of our best iiigh schools or academies. There 
 are at present four teachers in the school and certificates have been 
 awarded to about fift\' pupils. The board of trustees comprises 
 Lincoln F. Brigham, William W. Crapo, Edward D. Mandell, Andrew 
 G. Pierce, George H. Dunbar, C. B. H. Fessenden, Charles W. 
 Cliftbrd, William J. Potter, Charles H. Peirce, Edmund Grinnell, and 
 Francis T. Akin. Andrew Ingraham is the master of the school. 
 Following are extracts from Mr. Swain's will :
 
 I lo NK;W BEDFORD. 
 
 "My hope is tliiit the provision heroin made will tx' snfHcient for cstaljlisliin^ anrl 
 sui)|)urtin<? a school of a high charactci-, where the pupils may receive a thorough 
 education upon the most liberal and enlightened principles, free of any charge of 
 tuition. 
 
 "My intention !•; thai the >icho<»l sliall never be, in aii\ torni or degree, exclusive, 
 either religiously or politically, but open for the admission of all whose good charac- 
 ter and condition entitle them to share in its benefits, and of this the trustees are to 
 he the sole judges. 
 
 "My wish is that this class of scholars {i.e.. ■•those whose parents cannot atlord 
 to send them to our most expensive schools"') liave precedence in admission, leaving 
 the decision on each individual application to the trustees, who are alone to decide 
 thereon." 
 
 Friends' academy is a day school, located between Morgan and 
 Elm streets, west of County. In 1810 a schoolhouse was erected at 
 the corner of County and Elm streets in the village. William Rotch, 
 William Rotch. Jr., Satnuel Rodman, Samuel Elam, Thomas Arnold. 
 James Arnold, Obadiah M. Brown. Samuel Rodman, Jr., Benjamin 
 Rodman, Charles W. Morgan. George Rowland, Thomas Rotch. 
 Joseph Rotch, Joseph Ricketson, John Howland, Jr.. Nathaniel 
 Hathaway. William Swain, and Thomas S. Swain, agreed to con- 
 tribute sums aggregating $14,161 "for the purpose of establishing 
 and endowing an institution for the instruction of Friends' children 
 and such others as it may appear hereafter, as may usefully and 
 safely be admitted therein, in the knowledge of the languages, of 
 mathematics, and philosophy, and such other branches of useful litera- 
 ture as hereafter, upon experiment, may be found within the compass 
 and means of the institution usefully to teach.'" Februar^' 12. 181 2, 
 a charter was granted, signed by Governor Elbridge Gerrv. The 
 present building was dedicated May 7. 1857, and three years after it 
 was enlarged and remodelled. It has always been an excellent 
 school. It present master is Thomas H. Eckfeldt. 
 
 The attention of the visitors was called to the newspapers of 
 the city. 
 
 The New Bedford Mercury, a weekly newspaper, was established 
 in 1807 by Benjamin Lindsey, who had previously worked as com- 
 positor and foreman in the printing office of the Palladium, in Boston. 
 It was a small sheet of sixteen columns, printed "on good paper and 
 in fair type," and the subscription price was two dollars annually. In 
 his address to the public the editor stated that it was his wish and 
 intention to publish a useful and, as far as resources would penuit. 
 an entertaining journal. In politics it proposed to adopt the truly
 
 ST. LAWRENCE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 
 
 113 
 
 republican principles of Washington's farewell address, convinced 
 that all Americans were alike interested in their support. The first 
 issue contains "very late foreign news" and a proclamation by Thomas 
 Jefferson. Among the advertisements in the second number was one 
 announcing that the "stage will start from Crocker's tavern, in New 
 Bedford, at sunrise on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and 
 arrive at Boston at three o'clock p. m." The founder of the Mercury 
 conducted it alone until 1826, when his son, Benjamin Lindsey, Jr., 
 
 UNITED STATES REVENUE MARINE BARK S. P, CHASE. 
 
 was associated with him. In 1831 they started the l)ail\- Mercury, 
 the first daily established in New Bedford, and the senior partner 
 soon after retiring, the entire management devolved upon the son, 
 who published it until July 15, 1861, when, having been appointed 
 United States consul at St. Catherines, Brazil, he sold the news- 
 paper establishment to C. 1>. 11. Fessenden and William G. Baker. 
 In May, 1876, the Mercurv passed by purchase into the hands of the 
 present proprietors, Stephen W. Booth, Warren E. Chase, and William
 
 114 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 L. Sayer, who now conduct it as a morning paper. The weekly 
 edition is also published by the same firm, which is known as the 
 Mercury Publishing Company. The daily has four pages and the 
 weekly twelve. 
 
 The Daily Evening Standard was first issued on Friday, February 
 15th, 1850, and was a sheet nineteen by twenty-seven inches in size. 
 Edmund Anthony, the publisher, was a native of Swansea, and for 
 some years carried on the printing business in Taunton, where he 
 founded the Taunton Democrat, now the Gazette, and its weekly 
 edition. In Januar3s 1864, Mr. Anthony commenced the publica- 
 tion of the Springfield Union and July 26th of that year it was 
 announced that the Standard would appear in the name of E. 
 Anthony & Sons, Edmund Anthony, Jr., and Benjamin Anthony 
 being admitted as partners. Mr. Anthony disposed of his Spring- 
 field enterprise in about two years and returned to New Bedford, 
 where he died January 24, 1876, at the age of sixty-seven years. 
 The style of the firm continues as before. The Republican Standard, 
 weekly, commenced at the same time with the daily. Both the daily 
 and weekly are eight page newspapers, large sheets of fifty-six 
 columns. 
 
 Both of the New Bedford newspapers are conducted with vigor 
 and spirit, and maintain a good position for character, enterprise, and 
 ability among the journals of Massachusetts. Each of them has the 
 news service of the Associated Press, furnished by private telegraph 
 wires terminating in their editorial rooms, and each has an active 
 and etficient corps of local reporters and correspondents. Several 
 attempts to establish other papers have been made, but thev have 
 uniformly been unsuccessful. 
 
 The Whalemen's Shipping List and Merchants' Transcript enjoys 
 the distinction of being the onl}^ paper of its kind in the world. It 
 has been noticed elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 The old gentleman also brought to the notice of his friends the 
 many organizations of philanthropy and reform, such as the Women's 
 Reform and Relief Society, which maintains a temporary home at 
 the corner of Merrimac and Pleasant streets ; the Orphans' Home, on 
 French avenue, at the corner of Cove street, which was organized in 
 1842 and maintains about thirty inmates ; the Day Nurser3', which 
 cares for children whose parents are compelled to relinquish their 
 care during the working hours of the day ; the Young Men's Chris-
 
 RESIDENCE OF EDWARD D. MANDELL.
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. II 7 
 
 tian Association and Women's Auxiliary ; the Women's Christian 
 Association ; the Port Society, with its Ladies' Branch, maintaining a 
 home and church for seamen ; the Ladies' City Mission Society ; 
 the Association for the Relief of Aged Women, and the Union for 
 Good Works. This latter is a noble institution, not only because it 
 cares for the poor, but because it aids them to be self-reliant and self- 
 supporting by tiding over times of need. It provides sewing or other 
 work for needy women ; it maintains a sales-room for the handiwork 
 of the indigent or the gentlewoman reduced in circumstances, whether 
 the work be preserves, needle-work, or anything that is salable ; it 
 has a large reception-room well stocked with the best papers, period- 
 icals, and magazines, books, all the parlor games, etc. ; it provides 
 throughout the winter season a series of popular entertainments of 
 high order and little cost ; in short, it endeavors to lighten the burdens 
 of those in dependence or distress, and to make pleasanter the life of 
 those whose existence is a continuous struggle. It has the spending 
 of about three-quarters of the income of $100,000 left by James 
 Arnold for the aid of the worthy poor of the city of New Bedford. 
 Besides that it has accumulated a fund of about $30,000 by donation 
 and otherwise. This will not be touched, however, until it has 
 reached at least $50,000. It will then provide sufficient income to 
 meet the expenses of the Union. There are various branches of 
 work, including the relief committee, the sewing women's branch, 
 the fruit and flower committee, the prison committee, the hospitality 
 section, and others. The Union is the outgrowth of a sermon 
 preached by Rev. William J. Potter at his tenth anniversary, but it is 
 not sectarian in any sense. Its attractive rooms are on Purchase 
 street, in the second story of the building occupied by the Five Cents 
 Savings Bank. 
 
 The Young Men's Christian Association, whiclf was organized in 
 1867, has developed into a most prosperous and efficient institution. 
 While it has grown slowly into public favor, it has also grown surely, 
 and it now has a high place in popular esteem. In November of 
 1888, its membership had reached five hundred fifty. The rooms 
 of the Association are in the second and third stories of the build- 
 ing of the New Bedford Safe Deposit and Trust Company, at the 
 corner of William street and Acushnet avenue. A reading room and 
 library are open day and evening, and Sunday afternoon ; appropriate 
 religious work is conducted at stated periods ; two courses of lectures
 
 Il8 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 and entertainments are carried on, one for the members and one for 
 the public; educational classes of varied nature are maintained ; and 
 various other enterprises find a place in the work of the Association. 
 A movement is now on foot to erect for the Association a building of 
 its own. 
 
 Then there are two excellent hospitals : St. Luke's on Fourth 
 street, and St. Joseph's on Pleasant street. St. Luke's is compara- 
 tively a new institution. The organization was effected on the twelfth 
 of April, 1884, though several meetings of those interested had been 
 held previously. Soon after the organization, the lot No. 81 Fourth 
 street was purchased, with the commodious house located thereon, 
 and the hospital was placed in active operation. The following 
 physicians were appointed on the medical staff: Edward P. Abbe, 
 Wilham N. Swift, A. Martin Pierce, Charles D. Prescott, J. J. B. 
 Vermyne, and George T. Hough. A w^oman's board of management 
 has general charge of the hospital work, which has been thus far 
 exceedingly successful and satisfactory. The corporation has the 
 following officers: President, Horatio Hathav/a}' ; Vice-President, 
 Charles W. Clifford ; Secretary, Edward S. Taber ; Treasurer, Charles 
 W. Plummer ; with a long list of trustees. It is largely supported by 
 the contributions of the people of New Bedford, though an endowment 
 fund is in process of accumulation. 
 
 St. Joseph's Hospital is an enterprise of the Roman CathoHc 
 church, and was established in 1873, through the efforts of Rev. L. 
 S. McMahon, now bishop of Hartford. St. Lawrence parish has 
 the honor of its foundation, although it was, at the outset, assisted bv 
 many Protestants. The hospital building is admirably adapted to the 
 work for which it is used, and under the supervision of the Sisters of 
 Mere}', the institution has done a vast amount of good. Dr. Stephen 
 W. Hayes is the ph3'sician in charge, and he is assisted bv a medical 
 corps including Doctors Edward P. Abbe, John H. Mackie, F. H. 
 Hooper, George T. Hough, J. J. B. Vermyne, and William H. 
 Taylor. The officers of the corporation are : President, Rev. H. J. 
 Smyth; Treasurer, John McCullough ; Secretary, S. W. Hayes, 
 M. D. The hospital depends entirel}' upon contributions for its 
 support. 
 
 In both hospitals patients are admitted without regard to their 
 religious views. 
 
 Attention was also called to the electric and gas lighting systems ;
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 121 
 
 to the travelling facilities provided b}' the Old Colony railroad com- 
 panv, and to the comfortable and pleasant homes of the city, after the 
 best methods of New England life. Above all, the climate of New 
 Bedford is salubrious and renders it one of the most attractive resi- 
 dence cities in this part of the country. In summer the southwest 
 winds blowing athwart the bay, fan the heated city to a most 
 comfortable degree of temperature. The breeze gains strength at 
 nightfall and the nights are deliciously cool. Nor is the city subject 
 to extremes of cold, compared with places of the same latitude in the 
 interior. The temperature of the water in the bay is said to be ten 
 degrees warmer than that within Cape Cod ba}'. 
 
 In this connection, the following figures, furnished by Thomas R. 
 Rodman, a local meteorologist, will be found interesting : 
 
 AVERAGE TEMPERATURE. 
 
 Degrecis F. 
 
 •Tanuarx', fur seventy--^ix years 28.1.") 
 
 February. •' •• 28.89 
 
 March. ■• •• 34.88 
 
 April, •■ •' -W.7.5 
 
 May. •• " •14.64 
 
 .Imie. •' •• «4.0r) 
 
 .luly. ■' " 69.(>0 
 
 August, for sevpiity-five years G8.32 
 
 September. " " .59.2.5 
 
 October, for seventy-six years. .52.11 
 
 November. '• •• 41.79 
 
 December. " •• 31.89 
 
 A V K K A ( ; I<; K A I N V A L I- . 
 
 .laiiuary. for seventy-five years 3.88 
 
 Febrnary. •• '• 3.82 
 
 March. •• •• 4.1«i 
 
 April. •• •• 3.94 
 
 May. •• •• 3.96 
 
 June. " •' 3.15 
 
 .luiy. " '• 3.36 
 
 .Vugust, for seventy-four years 4.27 
 
 September. • " 3.53 
 
 October, for sevenly-tive years 3.81 
 
 November. •• '• 4.27 
 
 December. '• •' 1-12
 
 122 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 The record of the temperature commenced in October, 1812, and 
 that of rainfall in October, 1813. 
 
 "This street has a reputation for beauty which is national," said the 
 old resident, as he drove through County street, the driveway of which 
 is lift}' feet in width. ''Many strange processions have been seen on 
 this street. Late one September afternoon in 1775 between fourthou- 
 sand and five thousand British regulars landed at the foot ol this 
 avenue and the first military procession we hear of in New Bedford 
 marched up the road to the village, burning the houses and the ship- 
 ping at the wharves. Their approach was watched by the peaceful 
 inhabitants of the old town from the housetops, by the aid of spy 
 glasses, and as the military marched up the rough road the affrighted 
 people fled into the neighboring country. Imagine that procession 
 of red coated military men. 
 
 "Well, well! 
 
 ' The kuights ai'e dust, 
 Their swords are rust, 
 Their souls are with the saints we trust.' 
 
 "Then think of the old fashioned equestrian parties, starting on 
 a journey up the road, — the gentlemen with their three cornered hats, 
 Quaker dress, and top boots ; the ladies in simple travelling dress ; 
 behind each saddle the leathern bags containing their luggage. The 
 old street has undergone many transformations since. The dwellings 
 which are distributed over the beautiful hill are pleasing in archi- 
 tecture and proportion, but the overshadowing elms, green lawns, and 
 blooming gardens particularly arouse admiration. Among the hand- 
 somest of the older residences is the house on the east side of County 
 street, between Pearl and Willis streets, which was the palatial resi- 
 dence of John Avery Parker, a prominent merchant who was identi- 
 fied with the prosperity of the whale-fisher}-, and erected by him in 
 1834 ' t^^ mansion now occupied by Hon. William J. Rotch on the 
 west side of the street, between Union and Arnold streets ; the resi- 
 dence of the late Hon. Abraham H. Howland, an imposing structure of 
 granite ; and the home of the late Hon. Joseph Grinnell, for many 
 years the president and guiding spirit in the Wamsutta mills, and to 
 whom the honor and credit of this great industry is largely due. 
 There are many more modern residences, which you will notice. The 
 county court house, a building of brick, with wooden pillars, sets back 
 from the street. In this building the registry of deeds is located.
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 
 
 125 
 
 "If we drop in here for a call on the register, Hon. George B. 
 Richmond, he will give us some figures indicating a boom in real 
 estate hereabouts. The registry includes New Bedford and the towns 
 of Acushnet. Fairhaven, Dartmouth, and Westport. The first deed 
 here was recorded July i, 1837. The number of instruments recorded 
 in the office have been as follows: 1838, 648: 1870, 1123; 1875, 
 1265 ; 1880, 1482, and in 1887, 2396. 
 
 "At the southeast corner of County and William streets stands a 
 house now occupied by George F. Bartlett, which was the residence 
 of Svlvia Ann Rowland. It was built for Thomas Rotch, a son of 
 
 " IliiiTillWmil 
 
 lllillll'lillll«Wl"jl|lli,||||:i|iiJl||||,fnil' 
 
 SUMMER HOME OF GEN. PHILIP H. SHERIDAN AT NONQUITT. 
 
 William Rotch, Jr., and after his death his sister, who married Charles 
 I' leming, occupied it. They are said to have given the first dancing 
 part\- ever held in a private house in New Bedford. This was about 
 fifty years ago. 
 
 "And if we turn through Arnold or Orchard or Cottage streets, 
 and drive out on Hawthorn, \ou cannot help agreeing with me that 
 this part of our city constitutes a perfect park. The residences are 
 many of them of the popular Queen Anne order of architecture and 
 the surroundings are most picturesque. 
 
 "And now we will take the Point Road drive, which is so 
 famous I think \ou must have heard of it. Clark's point, you know.
 
 126 NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 is a strip of land projecting into the waters of the bay. Around this 
 point, Mayor Rodney French built a driveway eighty feet in width, 
 in 1853, at a very large expense and it has since been kept in the 
 best of repair, $20,000 having been expended upon it by the city gov- 
 ernment within five years. The road is three and one half miles in 
 length and about one third of it is macadamized. He who takes this 
 drive for the first time is sure to be enchanted by the scene, and it has 
 so much variety, such deliciousness in curve and winding, such 
 graciousness in the union of sea and shore, and such charm of color, 
 that increased acquaintance makes one more in love with it than ever. 
 The river is on the east and a cove makes up on the west, while the 
 bay opens before us. The sparkling water, the white sails, and the 
 breath of the field and shore, fill one with exaltation ; you not only 
 see the beauty of the place, you smell it and breathe it. At the junc- 
 tion of Cove street with French avenue is the Orphans' Home. The 
 name of the institution indicates its purpose and it is one of the most 
 worth}'- and blessed of our institutions. On summer evenings the 
 avenue is resorted to by the owners of fast horses, and exciting brushes 
 add to the interest of a drive around the point. The red roofed towers 
 which we see on the west shore of the bay mark Nonquitt. It was 
 here that Gen. Phil Sheridan spent the summers of his life and here 
 he died. Miss Louisa M. Alcott also spent several summers at Non- 
 quitt and Robert Swain Gifibrd, the artist, has a studio and summer 
 home overlooking the bay. At our left, as we drive down the west side 
 of the avenue, is Woodlawn grove, a remarkably pretty spot controlled 
 by the street railway company. There are bathing houses opposite, 
 and as the street cars run down to this point, the grove and beach are 
 much resorted to here. Here and there you will see a pretty cottage 
 among the trees, but for the most part there are simplv stretches of 
 green fields and grove." 
 
 "Why is it that so lovely a spot has not been bought up for 
 summer homes?" was asked. 
 
 "Couldn't say for the life of me. Land is cheap and nothing- 
 seems to be lacking to make this an ideal abiding place during the 
 heated term. Look at that bit of shore. Where can you find any- 
 thing more picturesque than that clump of gnarled oaks with their 
 background of blue sky and water and green landscape on the oppo_ 
 site shore? 
 
 "On the end of the point is a granite fort, commenced during
 
 SEEING THE SIGHTS. 1 29 
 
 the rebellion, but never quite completed. It was planned after Fort 
 Sumter and was garrisoned during the war. Now a sergeant and a 
 few men are in charge. The tower of a lighthouse remains, but the 
 light has been removed to the parapet of the fort. You may be 
 interested to know that the first lighthouse was built here about the 
 3^ear 1800. It was a wooden structure and at the raising a hundred- 
 gallon trypot of chowder was prepared. This house was destroyed 
 bv fire during a tempest one night. 
 
 "Buzzards bav is now before us. It was discovered by the 
 Northmen in the tenth century and by them named Straumfiord. which 
 means, when liberally translated. Bay of Currents. Subsequently it 
 was discovered by Gosnold in 1602 and named Gosnold's Hope, and 
 by the early settlers of Dartmouth it was named • Buzzards bay." 
 probably from the fish hawks which abounded. In the distance, 
 lying blue against the horizon, are the Elizabeth islands, sixteen in 
 number, the principal of vvhich are : 
 
 Nashawena, Pesquinese, 
 Cuttyhunk and Penekese, 
 Xaushon, Xonainesset. 
 Oiikatouka and Wepeeket. 
 
 "Driving back to the city along the east side of the point, the 
 Acushnet river is on our right. On the left the city almshouse is 
 located, a fine, large building of granite, surrounded b\ a fine farm of 
 many acres. Strangers invariably inquire who owns that imposing 
 residence. There are also a number of prett}' residences, but plenty 
 of available building sites. The view of the city and Fairhaven from 
 this point is very delightful." 
 
 Finally, the visitors were driven to Acushnet Heights, as tlie 
 northwest portion of the city is called. Here are some of the finest 
 private residences in the city, and the \'iew of the ri\er, the harbor, 
 the bay, and the adjoining shores, villages, and islands, is one ol 
 the most beautiful in the country. The view from this point is said to 
 have excited the admiration of Washington Irving when on a visit to 
 this city. 
 
 Acushnet is a little village usually known as the Head of the 
 River, about three and a half miles in a northerly direction from City 
 hall. The westerly ^art is on the New Bedford side of tlie river and 
 the easterW part is on the Fairhaven side. A short bridge connects
 
 T30 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 the two shores. The old mill dam at this point is very picturesque. 
 It was the first stopping place on tlie old post route to Boston. 
 East of the Long Plain road, in this town, stood the onl}- block house 
 ev^er built in this vicinity. It belonged to Thomas Wood, the father of 
 the late Henry T. Wood, and was built about two hundred and fifty 
 years ago. It was sketched b\- a local artist named Hitchings, and a 
 photograph of the drawing is preserved in the library building. 
 Other adjoining towns are Dartmouth, Westport, and Freetown, pleas- 
 ant villages, whose history is closely identified with that of this city. 
 In the former town, as well as in the north part of Fairhaven and 
 Acushnet, stood some of the first houses ever built by white men in 
 this vicinit^^ the ruins of which still remain. 
 
 At dinner that night the host apologized for doing so much talk- 
 ing, saying his excuse was that he wished them to use their eyes while 
 he poured his inadequate words of praise into their ears. Then he 
 hinted that he would like to hear their impressions. 
 
 The recital rewarded the old man for his trouble. The New 
 Yorker expressed the conviction that the city can not be rivalled b^' 
 an\- summer resort in the land, and said he proposed to have a cottage 
 bv the sea, somewhere on Clark's point, before another summer. 
 
 The business man spoke unreservedly of the favorable impres- 
 sion he had received of the facilities which New Bedford offers for 
 manufacturing. 
 
 Both commended his public spirit and expressed the opinion that 
 New Bedford people must have kept the advantages of their charm- 
 ing city very much to themselves or it would long ago have been 
 famous for something more than the bygone industry of whaling.
 
 ~?^
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 HEN John Loudon, a caulker, came 
 from Pembroke to the shores of the 
 Acushnet river, in 1760, to engage in 
 the building of ships, the Ibundation of 
 New Bedford's mechanical industries 
 was laid. Previous to that time an 
 occasional lonely farmhouse on the 
 County road, a "try-house" near the 
 shore, and a few small sloops in the 
 harbor were the only evidences of in- 
 dustrial activity. But this enterprising caulker, seeking a field for 
 the expansion of his energies and the bettering of his fortunes, set an 
 example which was closely and quickly followed by Benjamin Taber 
 and John Allen and Barzillai Myrick and Gideon Mosher and Elnathan 
 Sampson, every one of them mechanics, who at once were established 
 in their various branches of industry and who prospered with the 
 growth of the village. From that day to this, first Bedford and then 
 New Bedford has always been a place of busy and varied manufac- 
 tures. The course of events at first led its industries into channels 
 which were tributary to New Bedford's great enterprise, — the whale- 
 fishery. But those who have not closely studied the subject have no 
 adequate idea of the variety and extent of mechanical pursuits made 
 necessary by the first great business of the place. Of shipbuilders, 
 riggers, sailmakers, carpenters, blacksmiths, painters, boatbuilders, 
 caulkers, coopers, and blockmakers there was a mighty array, while 
 few towns could ever boast of so many superior skilled mechanics,
 
 134 M;N\' ISKDl'ORl). 
 
 — men who were princes in their calling and whose names were 
 known the world over as those of craftsmen without reproach. A 
 cordage factory was built here at a very early date. It was burned 
 by the British troops in 1778. But another must have taken its place 
 soon after the close of the Revolution. Oil refineries and candle 
 factories were numerous and thriving, and minor industries were 
 never lacking, even when the city was apparentlv engrossed in the 
 pursuit of whales in every ocean on the globe. It was not so difficult 
 to turn to manufacturing when the whale-tisherv found itself con- 
 fronted with well-equipped competition. The people of New Bed- 
 ford had been drilled to work with hand and with brain. They were 
 of an industrial race. They turned hopefullv to meet new conditions, 
 and attacked the problem of their future with faith and courage. 
 Thus out of the humble shops of those artisans of the long past have 
 grown the splendid factories of the present and the budding enter- 
 prises of the future. In the pages which follow the reader will lind 
 depicted the industrial New Bedford of 1888. 
 
 As a prelude to the detailed survey of New Bedford's business 
 interests, the reader is invited to a glance at the following interesting 
 tables, kindly furnished by the Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics of 
 Labor, in advance of their publication in an\' other form. The^• are 
 from the forthcoming report of the manufacturing census of 1885, 
 and are the latest available statistics of this character to be had. It 
 should be remembered that since thev were gathered, several new 
 cotton mills have been erected, and that other enterprises have been 
 established. 
 
 Number of establishmentis, 4-20 
 
 Capital invostpd in land, 8507,127 
 
 in buildings and fixture!!, 2,826,629 
 
 in niachinei y, .■),101,580 
 
 in implements and tools 369,351 
 
 in cash. 4.799,194 
 
 in credit : supplied by partners or stockbolders. . 92,084 
 
 in credit: notes on long- time, etc., 1,373,730 
 
 Total capital invested, .$15,069,695 
 
 Stock used : 
 
 Brick, stone, etc., 8V29 746 
 
 Coal and wood (fuel), 15g 997 
 
 Findings and trimmings, 18 914
 
 RESIDENCE OF JONATHAN BOURNE
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. I37 
 
 Stock used — Continued. 
 
 Food materials, $177,947 
 
 Leather, 300,935 
 
 Lumber, 230,296 
 
 frou and iron goods, 105,948 
 
 Other metals and metallic goods, ;{40,120 
 
 Paints, oils, colors, chemicals, etc 458.464 
 
 Paper and paper materials, 31,009 
 
 Wooden goods, 54,175 
 
 Cotton (raw). 2,248,554 
 
 Wool (raw), 180,000 
 
 AH other textile materials (raw). 470,700 
 
 Cotton goods, 43,820 
 
 Woollen and worsted goods, 01,835 
 
 All other textile goods, 30,411 
 
 Other articles specified 1,026,934 
 
 Total, $6,066,805 
 
 Goods made and work done : 
 
 Boots, shoes, and slippers, $751,240 
 
 Building, building materials, and stone work 887,508 
 
 <Jlothing and straw goods 292,324 
 
 Food preparations, . ' 390,783 
 
 Iron goods, 269,675 
 
 Other metallic goods 980.000 
 
 Leather, 50,870 
 
 Paints, colors, oils, chemicals, etc 911,880 
 
 Paper and paper goods, 33.500 
 
 Printing and publishing, 295.248 
 
 Textiles, 5.343,779 
 
 W^ooden goods, 333,718 
 
 Wood and metal goods, 280,213 
 
 Other goods sjiecified, 514.032 
 
 Total, $11,334,770 
 
 Persons emploj^ed (both sexes) : 
 Males : 
 
 Under 10 years of age 3 
 
 10 and over, under 14, 57 
 
 14 and over, under 21, 1105 
 
 21 and over, 4660 
 
 Total, . 5825 
 
 Females : 
 
 Under 10 years 
 
 10 and over, under 14, 44 
 
 14 and over, under 21, " 1195 
 
 21 and over, 1681 
 
 Total, 2920 
 
 Total number of persons Hmp]oy<'d ( both sexes i 8745
 
 138 NKW BEDP'ORD. 
 
 Salaries i)ai(l .*!2()o.408 
 
 Wages paid, .Sa.085.2f;8 
 
 Priucipal oci-upatiitiis : 
 Males : 
 
 United States postal department service, 21 
 
 Other national government service, 2(1 
 
 City police department service, 52 
 
 Cit}' street department service, 22 
 
 Other city government service, (jl 
 
 Clergymen, .i.") 
 
 Lawyers, -iA 
 
 Pliysicians and surgeons, 42 
 
 Boarding and lodging house keepers and employes ;{(i 
 
 Hotel keepers and employes, .""k) 
 
 Restaurant keepers and employes, 2*) 
 
 Saloon keepers and employes niquor) 25 
 
 Coachmen (in families), .S(> 
 
 Servants (in families), 47 
 
 Barbers and hairdressers, (17 
 
 Scrubbers and cleaners (in mills) IS 
 
 Stationary engineers and assistants, .{2 
 
 Watchmen. .{7 
 
 Merchants and dealers, 578 
 
 Salesmen. 126 
 
 Book-keepers and clerks, 585 
 
 Agents, 51 
 
 Bank officials and employes .'{9 
 
 Brokers, 20 
 
 Laborers and helpers (in stores), 21 
 
 Boarding and livery stable keepers and employes. 74 
 
 Carriage and hack drivers, 28 
 
 Drivers of delivery wagons, 21 
 
 Express company officials and employes 34 
 
 Horse railroad officials and employes, • (50 
 
 Teamsters, 20(i 
 
 Steam railroad officials and employes 143 
 
 Master mariners (sailing), 50 
 
 Mariners (sailing), 242 
 
 Steamboat officials and employes, 41 
 
 Stevedores, . . . . • 20 
 
 Farmers, 53 
 
 Farm laborers, 128 
 
 Florists, 25 
 
 Gardeners and assistants, 61 
 
 Fishermen, 45 
 
 Drill makers, 52 
 
 Boot and shoemakers, 322 
 
 Carpenters, 484 
 
 Ma.sons 184
 
 RESIDENCE OF SAMUEL IVERS.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. I4I 
 
 Principal occupations, males — Continued. 
 
 Painters, 185 
 
 Plumbers, 24 
 
 Carringe blacksmiths, 20 
 
 Carriage painters, 43 
 
 Carriage trimmers, 18 
 
 Carriage makers (not specified), 39 
 
 Tailors, 08 
 
 Cordage factory operatives, 154 
 
 Cotton mill operatives, 2126 
 
 Bakers (bread, cake, and pastry), 62 
 
 Upholsterers, 17 
 
 Glass works employes, 148 
 
 Harness makers, 22 
 
 Machinists, 156 
 
 Blacksmiths, 98 
 
 Britannia workers, 39 
 
 Copper workers, 58 
 
 Gold workers, 42 
 
 Iron workers, 51 
 
 Tin vvoi-kers, 28 
 
 Oil makers, 26 
 
 Photographers, 20 
 
 Compositors and printers, 51 
 
 Boat builders, 18 
 
 Calkers, 20 
 
 Sail makers, 27 
 
 Ship carpenters, 33 
 
 Stone workei's, 47 
 
 Cigar makers, 20 
 
 Coopers, 49 
 
 Picture-frame makers, I93 
 
 Woollen mill operatives, 64 
 
 Laborers, 800 
 
 Apprentices, 67 
 
 Scholars and students, 2340 
 
 Children at work and at sdiool, 88 
 
 Retired, 44I 
 
 Not given, 220 
 
 Dependents (private support), 24 
 
 At home, 1974 
 
 Other occupations, 1200 
 
 Total, 15,413 
 
 Females : 
 
 Music teachers, 32 
 
 Teachers, ". 145 
 
 Boarding and lodging house keepers and employes, 33 
 
 Hotel employes, 14 
 
 Restaurant keepers and employes. 18
 
 14.2 NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 PriiK'ipal occupatious, females — Continucil. 
 
 Housekeepers (in families), 68 
 
 Housewives, 6659 
 
 Housework, 1421 
 
 Servants (in families), S22 
 
 Laundry work !^7 
 
 Nurses, 66 
 
 Saleswou)en, 51 
 
 Book-keepers and clerks, .• 97 
 
 Boot and shoe makers, 67 
 
 Dressmakers, 353 
 
 Milliners, 48 
 
 Seamstresses, 44 
 
 Shirt makers. 28 
 
 Tailoresses, 06 
 
 Cotton mill operatives, 1898 
 
 Metal burnishers, 18 
 
 Picture-frame makers, 4-1 
 
 Woollen mill operatives 32 
 
 Scholars and students, 2466 
 
 Children at work and at school, 58 
 
 Retired, 115 
 
 Not given, 699 
 
 Dependents (private support) 75 
 
 At home, 2092 
 
 Other occupations, 364 
 
 Total. , 17.980 
 
 It may be of interest to compare the census reports of i88o and 
 1885, as a means of giving some idea of the progress of the citv. 
 The figures are tabulated for the purpose of easy comparison : 
 
 1880. 1S85. 
 
 Number of establishments 297 420 
 
 NTumber of employes, 5,507 8.745 
 
 Wages for the year §1,907,773 83,085.268 
 
 Capital invested 87,143,507 815,069,695 
 
 Stock used, .85,256,269 86.066,805 
 
 Value of product. 88,880,384 .$11,334,770 
 
 The pages following are devoted to histories and descriptions of 
 manufacturing and other enterprises which have a home in New- 
 Bedford.
 
 
 RESIDENCE OF MRb. tUWARU T, TABER.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. I45 
 
 COTTON MANUFACTURING. 
 
 New Bedford stands third in the number of spindles in operation 
 among the cotton manufacturing cities of the country, being exceeded 
 by Fall River and Lowell only. In the number of looms she is 
 fourth, Manchester, N. H., in addition to the cities just named, out- 
 ranking her. Her mills are among the best examples of their class 
 in architecture, construction, and equipment, while the quality of 
 their products has no superior in this country or in any other. 
 Labor troubles hav^e been infrequent and usually unimportant, and 
 the toilers in New Bedford's cotton mills are ranked as the best of 
 workers in the textile industries. It has not been the policy of New 
 Bedford's business men td confine their city's enterprises to one class 
 of industries, but the manufacture of cotton goods now holds the first 
 place in extent and importance. 
 
 Possibly not another cotton factory on the globe has sent the 
 renown of its name into so man}- homes in so many widely separated 
 regions as the Wamsutta mills. The policy of its management to 
 make the best goods and the best only, continued for almost half a 
 century and never for one moment relaxed, has placed its products 
 in the highest place among the textile manufactures of the world. 
 
 Yet, when this magnificent enterprise was first mooted, a noted cot- 
 ton manufacturer of another city, a very estimable gentleman, though 
 not altogether far-seeing, remarked in a semi-sarcastic way that he 
 "would write the history of the Wamsutta mills and put it in his vest 
 pocket." The complete history of the Wamsutta mills would fill 
 many printed pages. We can glance but hurriedly at its chief points 
 of interest. Back in the 40's, Dwight Perr}-, who was from Fair- 
 haven, had a small cotton mill in one of the southern states. Thomas 
 Bennett, Jr., a young man also from Fairhaven, who was employed 
 in the mill, perhaps foreseeing something of the stupendous future of 
 the cotton industry of America, became desirous of being at the head 
 of an enterprise of his own. Not having sufficient capital at his com- 
 mand, he came to New Bedford, where he hoped to raise the funds. 
 The late Joseph Grinnell of this city was at that time a member of 
 congress, and he was naturally appealed to for aid and influence. It 
 appears that Mr. Grinnell was at first somewhat fivorabl\- impressed 
 with the idea of establishing the factory at the south. But as he con- 
 sidered the subject he became satisfied that this was not the better plan.
 
 146 NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 Possibly he may have looked forward to a time — then unthought of 
 by most dwellers in New Bedford — when the whale-fishery must be 
 content to take a second place as an outlet of enterprise. Perhaps the 
 mutterings of the coming deadly struggle over the question of slavery 
 influenced him to look with disfavor on the south as a field for the 
 investment of northern capital. At all events, he finally asked : 
 "Why not locate this mill in New Bedford?" So far as he was con- 
 cerned, at least, he practically answered his own question by insisting 
 that it must be located in New Bedford, if he was to be expected to 
 aid it. Thus it came to pass that the Wamsutta cotton mill was estab- 
 lished in the city whose chief thought at the moment was the fitting of 
 whaleships and the capture of whales. But with the decision to 
 build a cotton mill in New Bedford, the work was only begun. It 
 was not easy to secure subscriptions to the capital stock, though its 
 total amount was fixed at only $160,000. Men did not understand it; 
 thev did not know about it : the}- cared nothing for it ; they did not 
 believe in it. Fall River was rising into prominence as a cotton man- 
 ufacturing city, but the idea was something strange to Xevv Bedford. 
 The original subscription list, short and formal as it is, reveals some- 
 thing of the doubt with which the plan was regarded. Most of the 
 subscriptions were for small amounts, — evidently to "help the thing 
 along" out of friendship for its projectors. Among the names on the 
 list for the largest amounts are those of Gideon Rowland. Sylvia Ann 
 Howland, Thomas Mandell, Ward M. Parker, David R. Greene. 
 Latham Cross, and Grinnell, Minturn & Co., of New York. The 
 only subscribers on that list who are now living are Jonathan Bourne, 
 John R. Thornton, Thomas Bennett. Jr., and William J. Rotch. 
 Most of the leading men of New Bedford were represented, but it 
 was rarely that one individual subscribed for over ten shares, and the 
 largest number for any one was one hundred fifty. In passing, it is 
 just to say that to the untiring labor of the late Edward L. Baker 
 in persistently seeking additions to that first list of subscribers, is 
 due in large measure the successful establishment of the enterprise. 
 He was indefatigable in the work and gave to it his best energies. 
 On the 8th of April, i8.f6, the Massachusetts legislature granted a 
 charter to the new corporation, Matthew Luce, Jireh Perry, and 
 Thomas S. Hathaway being named as the incorporators. Shortly 
 after, the organization was effected with officers as follows :
 
 ^
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 1 49 
 
 President — Joseph Grinnell. 
 Treasurer — Edward L. Baker. 
 
 Directors — Joseph Grinnell, David R. Greene, Thomas Mandell, 
 Joseph C. Delano, Pardon Tillinghast. 
 
 Thomas Bennett. Jr.. was elected superintendent. Under his 
 management, tirst for a few years under the title of superintendent 
 and then for many years as superintendent and agent, the factory 
 grew to include four great mills and earned its splendid reputation in 
 the markets of the world. Mr. Bennett gave to the work of building 
 up the enterprise, well-trained faculties, a marvellous executive ability, 
 and a determination to be excelled by nobody. He carried his mani- 
 fold burdens well and he is preeminently one of the men to whom the 
 Wamsutta corporation owes its immense success. Mr. Bennett con- 
 tinued as superintendent and agent until the spring of 1874, when he 
 was succeeded by Edward Kilburn, who continued in that posidon 
 until the summer of 1887. Mr. Kilburn was in turn succeeded by 
 Edward R. Milliken, who held the position for a few months only. 
 On the first of January, 1888, William J. Kent assumed the duties of 
 agent, which office he now holds. 
 
 Mill No. I, a stone structure, two hundred twelve feet by seventy 
 feet, with five floors, was commenced in 1847. Its architect was Seth 
 H. Ingalls of this city. Mr. Bennett assumed the acdve manage- 
 ment at once, with David Whitman of Rhode Island, a celebrated 
 mill engineer, as an adviser. These gentlemen recommended the 
 manufacture of the standard shirtings which have made the reputation 
 of the mills. In 1848, work was begun in the mill, and the first cloth 
 was made in February of 1849. At that dme there were fifteen 
 thousand spindles and two hundred looms. An extension of the mills 
 came to be demanded within six or seven years by the increase ol 
 business, and about 1854. another four-storied building, with attic. 
 two hundred forty feet long by seventy feet wide, was erected imme- 
 diately adjoining the original mill. It was equipped with sixteen 
 thousand spindles and three hundred looms. Soon, however, the 
 product of the two mills was absorbed by the market, and the demand 
 for more was urgent. Accordingly, in i860, a duplicate of mill No. 
 2, with sixteen thousand spindles and three hundred looms, was put 
 in operation. In those days the three stone mills, with their forty- 
 seven thousand spindles, seemed an enormous establishment, and 
 many men wondered if it were wise to attempt to carry on so immense
 
 I50 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 a business. But less than ten years later it was found necessary to 
 erect a mill which of itself almost doubled the capacity of manufac- 
 ture. This was mill No. 4, begun in 1868. It is of brick, with gran- 
 ite foundation, four hundred ninety-five feet long, seventy-five feet 
 wide, and four stories high, with attic. This mill contains thirty-eight 
 thousand spindles and eleven hundred looms. Seven more years 
 passed, and in 1875, No. 5 mill came into being. It stands on aline 
 with No. 4, with which it is substantially uniform, though its dimen- 
 sions differ somewhat. Its length is four hundred thirty-three feet 
 and its width ninety-three feet. In it were placed fifty thousand 
 spindles and one thousand looms. In 1874 fourteen thousand spindles 
 had been distributed among the various mills then existing, so that when 
 mill No. 5 was completed, the entire number of spindles set in motion 
 was one hundred fifty thousand. Yet even these failed to satisfy the 
 still increasing demand. In 18S1-82, No. 6 mill was built of brick, 
 three stories high, five hundred sixty-nine and one-half feet long, and 
 ninetv-five feet wide. It contains fifty-one thousand spindles and 
 one thousand seventy-two looms, and within its walls are employed 
 six hundred workers. With its completion the whole number of hands 
 employed by the corporation was brought up to twenty-six hundred. 
 Over two hundred three thousand spindles and nearly forty-five 
 hundred looms are in operation. 
 
 The magnitude of the motive power required to move the innu- 
 merable machines in the six great mills is almost be^'ond imagination. 
 even when aided by figures and descriptions. There is one single 
 upright beam Corliss engine of three hundred horse power, one pair 
 of engines of eight hundred horse power, one pair of eleven hundred, 
 and one monster pair of two thousand horse power. Visitors to the 
 centennial exposition at Philadelphia in 1876 will remember the great 
 engine which was among the marvels of that collection of wonders, 
 but though they could scarcely comprehend it, at that verv time a 
 larger engine was running in New Bedford. This enormous piece of 
 machinery has a stroke of ten feet ; the weight of its flv wheel is 
 about fifty tons, and other parts are in like proportion. 
 
 The products of the Wamsutta mills are some seventy or eighty 
 varieties, in all grades and widths, of fine shirtings, cambrics, muslins, 
 lawns, momie cloth, sateens, and cretonnes, and bleached and brown 
 sheetings, plain, twilled, and double warp, in all widths up to one 
 hundred twentv-four inches.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 153 
 
 Of the quality of Wamsutta shirtings and sheetings it is hardly 
 necessary to speak. Beginning with a high standard, it has been the 
 constant aim not only to maintain it but to elevate it. During the 
 war, when so many manufacturers sacrificed their good reputations 
 by abandoning their standards and trying to make the most cloth 
 possible with the least cotton, the Wamsutta scrupulously kept up the 
 qualit}' of its goods in every particular. These goods alone made 
 "Wamsutta" a household word in almost every quarter of the globe. 
 The mills consume weekly, when in full operation, four hundred fifty 
 bales of cotton, making an annual consumption of over twenty thou- 
 sand bales, out of which is manufactured twenty-four million vards 
 of cloth, — thousands upon thousands of miles ! 
 
 Great care is exercised in the selection of cotton from which this 
 cloth is made, especially with regard to the staple. Everv bale under- 
 goes a rigid inspection. Much of the cotton used by the Wamsutta 
 mills is what is known in the market as "benders," so named because it 
 is growm in the bends of the Mississippi river where the rich soil pro- 
 duces a particularly strong staple. The system of tests and inspec- 
 tions is very complete and thorough, making it impossible for a piece 
 of cloth from these mills to get into the market unless it is worth \- to 
 bear the name "Wamsutta." One-half of the cloth is sold directly to 
 the trade in the "gray" or "brown," as it is termed. The remainder 
 goes directly to the bleachery of W. F. & F. C. Sayles, of Pawtucket, 
 R. I., the largest establishment of the kind in the United States, 
 where all Wamsutta goods are bleached. At the bleacherv another 
 inspection of the cloth is made, furnishing one more safeguard to pro- 
 tect the good name of Wamsutta. 
 
 Of the operatives who make this cloth, as has already been said, 
 there are twenty-six hundred. They are principally English, Scotch, 
 Irish, and French Canadians, with a slight sprinkling of Americans 
 and a few of other nationalities. The corporation provides tor them 
 w^ell built, comfortable tenements of six and seven rooms each — o\er 
 three hundred in number — and rents them at from $6.50 to ^9 a month. 
 
 At the beginning, as has already been stated, the capital of the 
 Wamsutta mills was $160,000. It has been increased several times, 
 as follows: In 1849, to .$300,000: in 1855, to $600,000; in i860, to 
 $1,000,000: in 1868, to $2,000,000: in 1875, ^o $2,500,000: and in 
 1882, to $3,000,000. It now stands at the last-named figuie. 
 
 Joseph Grinnell, w ho was the fn^st president of the corporation.
 
 154 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 served it faithfiilly in that capacity, giving it daily and constant 
 thought, and exerting all his powers of mind and body in its behalf, 
 to the time of his death, February 7, 1885. He was succeeded by 
 Andrew G. Pierce, who had been treasurer since the resignation of 
 Edward L. Baker, on the 25th of August, 1855. Mr. Pierce now is 
 both president and treasurer. It is a suggestive fact, as showing 
 the rapid changes in human affairs, that of all who were in any way 
 connected with the management of the mills wiien first started, only 
 two — Thomas Bennett. Jr.. and Mr. Pierce — are now living. 
 
 The present board of directors of the Wamsutta mills is composed 
 of the following named gentlemen : William W. Crapo, William J. 
 Rotch, Edward D. Mandell, Horatio Hathaway, Francis Hathaway, 
 Francis B. Greene, and Andrew G. Pierce. 
 
 The selling agents of the corporation are Lewis Brothers & Co., 
 of New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and Francis A. Foster, 
 of Boston. 
 
 The Potomska mills are two in number, located on South Water 
 street, and manufacture fine lawns, sateens, print cloths, cretonnes, 
 jeans, etc. Potomska mill No. i was erected in 187 1 and went into 
 operation with a capital of $600,000. This mill is four hundred 
 twenty-seven by ninety-two feet in area and four stories high, with a 
 weaving shed one hundred eight by ninety-seven feet, one story high. 
 It is provided with tbrty-eight thousand spindles and one thousand six 
 looms. 
 
 Potomska mill No. 2 was built in 1877, when the capital stock 
 was increased to $1,200,000. The main building is three hundred 
 forty-eight by ninety-tw^o feet in area, four stories high, with an ell one 
 hundred eighty-four by ninety-two feet, two stories high, a w^eaving 
 shed one hundred eighty-four by ninety-two feet, one story high, and 
 a picker house seventy-one by forty-seven feet, two stories high, all 
 of brick. This mill has fifty-eight thousand three hundred twenty- 
 eight spindles and one thousand four hundred twenty-eight looms. 
 The total number of spindles in both mills is therefore one hundred 
 six thousand three hundred twenty-eight and the total number of 
 looms two thousand four hundred twenty-four. Both mills are driven 
 by Corliss double twenty-eight inch cylinder, five-foot stroke engines, 
 of eight hundred horse powder each. The two mills employ about 
 eleven hundred operatives. The company owns twenty-six four- 
 tenement houses, which are rented to the help.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 157 
 
 The first president was James Robinson, who was succeeded by 
 Edward Kilburn, who was in turn succeeded by Andrew G. Pierce. 
 Hiram Kilburn acted as superintendent and agent until January, 1884, 
 when Manly U. Adams succeeded him in the latter capacity. The 
 present officers are : 
 
 President — Andrew G. Pierce. 
 
 Treasurer and agent — Manl}^ U. Adams. 
 
 Directors — Horatio Hathaway, William J. Rotch, William W. 
 Crapo, Andrew G. Pierce, Edward Kilburn, William Watkins, and 
 Francis Hathaway. 
 
 The Grinnell Manutacturing Corporation was organized March 
 14, 1882, with a capital of $800,000 and the following officers : 
 
 President — Edward Kilburn. 
 
 Treasurer — Otis N. Pierce. 
 
 Directors — Edward Kilburn, New Bedford, Stephen A. Jenks, 
 Pawtucket, William F. Draper, Hopedale, Thomas M. Stetson, 
 Joseph A. Beauvais, Andrew G. Pierce, Thomas B. Wilcox, John W. 
 Macomber, Charles W. Plummer, and Otis N. Pierce, New Bedford. 
 
 There has been no change in officers, but upon the resignation of 
 William J. Kent, to accept the agency of the Wamsutta Mills, James 
 Brenand was chosen superintendent. Over one hundred different 
 stvles of plain and fancy weaves are manufactured here. The mill 
 has no standard, but manufactures entirely on contract. The mill 
 started January 29, 1883, and is eight hundred eighty feet long, 
 ninety-eight feet wide, and three stories high. It is equipped with 
 sixty-eight thousand spindles and eighteen hundred looms, and em- 
 ploys over eight hundred hands. The company owns twenty-seven 
 two tenement houses. 
 
 The Acushnet mills corporation was organized in November, 
 1882, vvitii a capital of $750,000, and early in the ibllowing year a four 
 story factory was erected east of Water street and south of Potomska 
 mills. Silesias, sateens, and goods for the printers are made here. 
 In 1887 a second mill was constructed and the capital stock was 
 increased to $1,000,000. In tiie first mill erected tiiere are sixty-eight 
 thousand spindles, and in the second mill thirty-two thousand spindles, 
 making a total of one hundred thousand spindles. The tcUal number 
 of operatives is about one thousand. The corporation owns twenty- 
 three tenement houses, which are rented to the heljt. The otiicers are 
 as follows :
 
 1^8 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 President — Horatio Hathaway. 
 
 Treasurer — Joseph F. Knowles. 
 
 Directors — Horatio Hathaway, Jonathan Bourne, WilHam W. 
 Crapo, Thomas H. Knowles, Francis Hathaway, William A. Robin- 
 son, Loum Snow, Jr., and Gilbert Allen, of this city, and Thomas E, 
 Bray ton, of Fall River. 
 
 About live years ago William D. Howland, who was at that time 
 employed in the office of the Wamsutta mills, became interested in 
 the manufacture of cotton yarns, and severing his connection with 
 that corporation, travelled for several months, making a careful study 
 of that specialty. On his return to this city he succeeded in inter- 
 esting a number of gentlemen, and in March, 1883, the New Bed- 
 ford Manufacturing Company was organized, with a capital stock of 
 $125,000 and with the following officers : 
 
 President — Charles W. Cliffi3rd. 
 
 Treasurer — William D. Howland. 
 
 Directors — Oliver P. Brightman, Charles W. Clifford, Edmund 
 Grinnell, Charles W. Plummer, Edward T. Pierce, William D. How- 
 land, and David Wood. 
 
 The original proposition was to fit the old flour mill in the north 
 part of the city as a factory, but an offer made for the property was 
 declined, and a piece of land on the south side of Hillman street, 
 between North Second and Water streets, was purchased and the foun- 
 dation of a mill was commenced in the following May. This mill 
 is two hundred twenty-six by fifty-two feet in area and four stories 
 high. The mill started with eleven thousand spindles and the first 
 yarn was shipped in January, 1884. Since that time additions have 
 been made, so that the mill now has twelve thousand mule and eight 
 thousand frame spindles, and two thousand nine hundred eighty 
 twister spindles. John M. Conway & Co., the oldest established yarn 
 house in New York City, were the agents of the corporation and took 
 the entire product. 
 
 From the outset every effort was made to manufacture the best 
 yarn in the market and improved machinery was constantly added in 
 order to produce an article which would give satisfaction to the trade. 
 Byron F. Card, who had acquired a large knowledge of yarns, was 
 engaged as superintendent, and to his knowledge of the details of the 
 manufacture the reputation of the company's yarns in the market is 
 due, in a measure. Soon after the industry was fairly under way,
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. l6l 
 
 John H. Hines, another experienced man, was employed to take 
 charge of the spinning, spooling, reeling, twisting, and warping 
 departments. 
 
 The sales of the first year aggregated over $90,000 in value, the 
 earnings being about 10 per cent, of this sum. This showing was 
 very gratifying to the stockholders and encouraged them to persevere 
 in the enterprise. No dividend was declared, but the facilities were 
 improved and the twisting equipments increased. 
 
 At the end of two years the capital was increased to $150,000, 
 by issuing $25,000 in certificates, representing the earnings of the 
 corporation during this period. For the year following the earnings 
 continued satisfactory, and dividends amounting to eight per cent, 
 were paid. 
 
 During the next year plans were made for doubling the capacity 
 of the mill. Real estate immediately south of the original purchase 
 was secured, and the corporation thus acquired the land v/ithin the 
 square bounded by Hillmaii, North Second, North, and Water streets. 
 In the spring of 1886, the building of a second mill commenced, with 
 a capacity thirty per cent, larger than that of No. i mill. The dimen- 
 sions of this second factory are two hundred eighteen by one hundred 
 feet, and it is three stories high. It started in the autumn, with ten 
 thousand frame spindles and five thousand twister spindles, and the 
 capital was increased to $500,000, the present figure. The machin- 
 ery has since been increased to seventeen tliousand fifty-six trame 
 spindles and seven thousand twister spindles. 
 
 Even then the corporation was forced to buy yarn to meet tiie 
 demands of its customers. The capacity of both mills has since been 
 increased for the manufacture ot" finer grades of yarns. To do this 
 it has been necessar}- to add to the other processes a combing depart- 
 ment. The entire number of hands employed at present is three 
 hundred. 
 
 After the mills were fairly organized, Charles W. Clifiord re- 
 signed as president and Edmund Grinnell served in that capacity for 
 about a year, when he also resigned and Morgan Rotch was elected 
 and to-day holds that ofiice. The other changes in the ofiicers of 
 the original corporation have been the election of Morgan Rotch as 
 a director, in place of David Wood, and of George F. Kingman as a 
 director, in place of Mr. Grinnell. 
 
 The knowledge and experience gained in establishing and carry-
 
 l62 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 ing on the business of the New Bedford Manufacturing Company, 
 and the demand for finer grades of yarn, suggested a wider field. 
 The idea of additional mills had been constantly discussed by the 
 directors of the old company and it began to appear that the business 
 was capable of much greater development than was at first thought 
 possible. These and 
 other considerations 
 led Messrs. How- 
 land, Rotch, Plum- 
 mer, and Clifford, 
 with some others not 
 identified with the 
 New Bedford Manu- 
 facturing Compan}', 
 to purchase a large 
 tract of land as the 
 first step toward the 
 establishment of the 
 most extensive and 
 best equipped cotton 
 yarn manufacturing 
 enterprise in the 
 country. 
 
 Negotiations for ^'^"^n^* 
 the purchase of a 
 large tract of land in 
 the southwest part 
 of the cit}'^^ were com- 
 menced, but inas- 
 much as the owners 
 were widely scat- 
 tered over the globe, 
 they were in progress 
 nearly a year and a 
 half before the mat- 
 ter was first broached 
 to the public. At 
 length the tide to 
 about one hundred
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 165 
 
 c^f 
 
 fift}' acres of land, including the old Crapo and Ashley farms 
 and a part of the real estate of the Cornelius Howland estate, was 
 secured. This land is favorably situated for manufacturing and for 
 the houses of the help. A part of the property is finely wooded, 
 extending from the northwest corner of Clark's cove and skirting the 
 salt marsh to County street. 
 
 The idea of the purchase of so large a tract of land was that the 
 
 company might profit from the cer- 
 tain advance in the value of real es- 
 tate in the vicinity of the mill. The 
 territory has been laid out in accord- 
 ance with modern ideas. It will be 
 intersected by streets fifty and sixty 
 feet wide, and breathing places, 
 which may one day be fitted as 
 parks, are provided for in the plans. 
 When the land was finally se- 
 cured, the plans for the first mill 
 having been perfected, the contracts 
 for building and machinery were at 
 A HOWLAND MILL COTTAGE. ouce issucd and the company organ- 
 
 ized with a capital of $350,000 and the following officers : 
 
 President — William J. Rotch. 
 
 Treasurer — William D. Howland. 
 
 Clerk — Charles W. Plummer. 
 
 Directors — William J. Rotch, Horatio Hathaway. Thomas B. 
 Tripp, Charles W. Cliflxjrd, Morgan Rotch, William' J. Rotch, and 
 Charles W. Plummer. 
 
 The corporation is named for William D. Howland, who so suc- 
 cessfully managed the New Bedford Manufacturing Company, and its 
 title is the Howland Manufacturing Company. 
 
 The mill is two hundred seventeen by one hundred feet in area 
 and four stories in height, with a two-story picker house, sixty-two 
 by one hundred feet, and an engine and boiler house ninety-nine by 
 forty feet. Work was commenced May i , 1888, and the main building 
 was completed August i, a period of seven weeks only having been 
 required for the brickwork. The mill started with twelve thousand 
 nine hundred fifty-two mule spindles, twelve thousand two hundred 
 eighty-eight frame spindles, and six thousand one hundred forty-four 
 twister spindles. About one hundred fifty hands are employed.
 
 l66 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 The company is building forty cottages for its operatives, and the 
 dwellings are models. They are designed for single families and are 
 of attractive and varied architecture. They are intended to provide 
 comtbrtable, prettv, substantial, and convenient homes, adapted to the 
 manner of life of the best class of cotton mill operatives; 
 
 The City Manufacturing Company, which commenced in Decem- 
 ber, 1888, the manufacture of fine medium cotton yarns in chains, 
 skeins, and warps, and on spools and beams, was incorporated April 
 23, 1888, with a capital stock of $250,000 and the following officers : 
 
 President — Otis N. Pierce. 
 
 Clerk and treasurer — Benjamin Wilcox. 
 
 Directors — Otis N. Pierce, Thomas B. Wilcox, Cyrenius W. 
 Haskins, Thomas H. Knowles, Edward Kilburn, J. P. Knowles, Jr., 
 and Rufus A. Soule, of New Bedford, S. A. Jenks, of Pawtucket, 
 William H. Parker, of Lowell, and Charles Tucker, of Dartmouth. 
 
 The mill is located at the foot of Grinnell street and is of brick, 
 one hundred twelve bv two hundred six feet in area and three stories 
 high. It is provided with twenty thousand four hundred eight}^ spin- 
 dles and seven thousand twister spindles, and wall employ, when in full 
 operation, one hundred fifty hands. The experience of the manage- 
 ment assures a successful enterprise. 
 
 The cotton manufacturing enterprises of this city, as they now 
 exist, may be grouped in a tabular statement as follows : 
 
 Capital. ! 
 
 Wam?utta, $3,000,000 . 
 
 Potoniska, 1,200,000 . 
 
 Acushnet, 1,000,000 . 
 
 Grinnell, 800,000 . 
 
 New Bedford Manufacturing Company, 500,000 . 
 Cit}'- Manufacturing Company, .... 250,000 . 
 Howland, 350,000 . 
 
 87,100,000 15 560,104 6100 
 
 On the 22d of December, 1888, after the foregoing pages had 
 been completed, the Hathaway Manufacturing Company was organ- 
 ized for the manufacture of cotton cloths, with a capital of $400,000 
 and the following officers : 
 
 President — Horatio Hathawav. 
 
 Clerk and treasurer — Joseph F. Knowles. 
 
 Directors — Horatio Hathaway, Jonathan Bourne, Sidney W. 
 Knowles, Francis Hathaway, William W. Crapo, of New Bedford, 
 Thomas E. Brayton, of Fall River, and Joseph F. Knowles, of New 
 Bedford. 
 
 f Mills. 
 6 . . 
 
 Spindles. 
 . 203.000 . 
 
 Employes. 
 . 2600 
 
 2 . . 
 2 . . 
 1 . . 
 
 . 106,328 . 
 . 100,000 . 
 . 68,000 . 
 
 . 1100 
 . 1000 
 . 800 
 
 2 . . 
 
 . 37,056 . 
 
 . 300 
 
 1 . . 
 1 . . 
 
 20,480 . 
 25,240 . 
 
 . 1.50 
 . 150
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 169 
 
 A mill of thirty thousand spindles, to employ about four hun- 
 dred fift}' hands, will be erected east of Water street and south of the 
 Acushnet mills. 
 
 Two other important manu- 
 tacturinf^ enterprises, somewhat 
 akin to the cotton industry, may 
 properl}- be mentioned in this con- 
 nection. 
 
 The New Bedford Cordage 
 Company was established in 1842 
 by Joseph Ricketson, William J. 
 Rotch. and Benjamin S. Rotch, 
 and in January, four years later, 
 it was incorporated by a special 
 charter from the Commonwealth, 
 with a capital of $60,000. This z 
 amount was increased in 1849 ^^ ^ 
 $75 ,000. The officers at the time S 
 were Joseph Ricketson, president, g 
 William J. Rotch, clerk and treas- § 
 urer, and Joseph Ricketson, g 
 William T. Rotch, Benjamin S. § 
 Rotch,and Leander A. Plummer, ^ 
 directors. In March, 1857, 5 
 William T. Rotch was chosen -\ 
 
 president and Leander A. Plum- ^ 
 mertreasurer and clerk. The for- 
 mer continues in that capacity, but 
 on the death of Mr. Plummer, in 
 September, 1884, Isaac W. Ben- 
 jamin became treasurer. John 
 W. Macomber is general manager 
 of the enterprise. 
 
 The industry has been very 
 profitable and the product is many 
 times larger than when the com- 
 pany was organized. It makes 
 a s|-)ecialty of the manufacture of 
 patent cordage employed in boring artesian wl 
 
 No superior arti-
 
 170 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 cle is made in the world, and the cordage rigging used on the Puritan 
 and other fast racing yachts is made here. The buildings, nine in 
 number, cover an area of four acres, located within the square bounded 
 by Court, Park, Ash, and Kempton streets, and about two hundred 
 fifty hands are employed. The machinery is operated by a superior 
 steam engine of five hundred horse power and the company has 
 adopted all tiie latest improvements which give promise of pertecting 
 the product. 
 
 The Oneko mill is situated at the head of Purchase street and 
 ladies' all wool dress goods, broadcloths, tricots, cheviots, and fancies 
 are manufactured here. 
 
 The corporation was organized in 1882, with a capital of $210,000 
 and the mill was started the following year. The main building is 
 one story high, with a monitor roof, and four hundred by one hundred 
 fifty feet in area, while the picker and dye house is two hundred thirty 
 by fifty -two feet in area. 
 
 The mill is provided with five thousand spindles, sixty-threti 
 broad looms ninety-five and one hundred ten inches in width, and 
 twelve sets of cards. The machinery is operated by a two hundred 
 fifty-two horse power Harris-Corliss engine, with three six-foot boilers, 
 made by Cunningham, of Boston. 
 
 Between seven hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand 
 pounds of wool are worked annually, and the cloth is made here and 
 colored in the wool and piece. The annual product is about eight 
 hundred thousand yards of cloth, and one hundred sixtv-five hands 
 are employed. 
 
 The officers of the corporation are as follows : 
 
 President — Loum Snow, Jr. 
 
 Treasurer — Robert Snow. 
 
 Directors — Edward D. Mandell, Charles W. Plummer, Frederick 
 S. Allen, Charles W. Clifford, George S. Homer, Thomas H. Knowles, 
 and Loum Snow, Jr.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 173 
 
 THE MANUFACTURE OF OIL. 
 
 To mention New Bedford without devoting some space to her oil 
 manufactories would be to neglect the genius of the lamp, and too 
 much credit cannot be given this industry for the present position of 
 this city. 
 
 William A. Wall's interesting picture of "The Origin of the Whale- 
 fishery," which now hangs in the parlors of the home of the late Mrs. 
 Charles W. Morgan, contains an illustration of the first oil factory in 
 New Bedford. It consisted merely of a trypot under an old shed by 
 the shore. Near by stands a man pouring oil from a long handled 
 dipper into a wooden -hooped barrel. Another is handling over the 
 blubber, while a third is coopering a barrel. The latter is encraired 
 in conversation with an Indian who is seated upon a broken mast. 
 On the shore, keeled over on her side, is one of the small sloops 
 employed in whaling at that time, and the river lies outstretched in 
 the background. 
 
 Seated upon the frame of a grindstone, and giving directions to 
 a colored servant who holds his horse, is seen in his broad brimmed 
 hat and Quaker coat, the founder of New Bedford and the father of 
 her whale-fishery, Joseph Russell. 
 
 The blubber taken by the little vessels, on their return from the 
 voyages, which were of but a few weeks' duration, was brought as 
 near the shore in the vessels as possible, when the butts containing the 
 blubber were drawn to Mr. Russell's trNhouse by ox teams. This was 
 as early as 1765. 
 
 Previous to the Revolution a candlehouse was built b_\- Mr. Rus- 
 sell, and Capt. Chafee, who had been engaged in manufacturing 
 spermaceti in Lisbon, was employed by Mr. Russell at a salary of 
 $500 per annum. This building stood near the corner of Centre and 
 Front streets and was burned by the British. Fift\- years after, or 
 thereabouts, a number of factories were in operation. Among the 
 first of these factories was that of Samuel Rodman. The building 
 occupied by him is now standing on Water street, at the corner of 
 Rodman street. It was built of stone and covered with plaster, and is 
 at present unoccupied. Then there was the factory of Humphrey 
 Hathaway, on the north side of School street, west of Fourth, and
 
 ijr "ll'l 
 
 y, Wfk'.i 
 
 M 
 

 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 1 75 
 
 west of this stood the factory of Isaac Rowland, Jr. From the best 
 information obtainable, the old "marsh candle-works" were built by 
 William Rotch & Sons, but this may not be a fact. These works 
 occupied the site on which the gas works now stand, and the business 
 here was subsequently conducted by Francis Rotch and Charles W. 
 Morgan. At each of these factories sperm oil and candles were man- 
 ufactured and whale oil was refined. 
 
 Then John James Rowland built candle works at the corner 
 of Second and Middle streets, the building now occupied as a soap 
 factory, and soon after James Henry Howland, a son of the above- 
 named gentleman, and George Hussey established the factory at the 
 Smoking Rocks. William W. Swain built a factory on the north 
 side of Middle street and the vat house of this building is now occu- 
 pied as a storehouse by Charles S. Paisler & Co. Andrew Robeson 
 built a factory on Ray street which subsequently came into the pos- 
 session of Edward Mott Robinson. George Howland had a factor}- 
 on Howland's wharf and William T. Russell engaged in the manufac- 
 ture at 86 Third street. Charles W. Morgan carried on oil works 
 at 82 South Water street, and one of the older factories was at 96 
 First street, having been established by David Coffin. There was 
 also a factory on Fish Island. 
 
 Samuel Leonard was at one time the largest oil refiner in the 
 country. He established the factory on the north side of Leonard 
 street, east of Water, and he bought and sold oil in very large 
 quantities. Some time in the 50's Samuel Leonard & Son erected the 
 stone building on Acushnet avenue, now the carriage factory of 
 George L. Brownell, occupying all that part of the present structure 
 which is of stone. Nehemiah Leonard also operated a factory near 
 that of Samuel, very successfully. At a later date Sanford & How- 
 land, liie latter, Sydney Howland, being a grandson of John Avery 
 Parker, took the oil refinery of William W. Swain. While he owned 
 it, it was burned, making a great fire for those days. It was rebuilt 
 and was subsequently taken by Milliken Bros., of Boston, and then 
 passed into the hands of Eben Milliken, of this city. George T. 
 Baker established the factory on South street, which subsequently 
 passed into the hands of Oliver and George O. Crocker and then to 
 Charles H. Leonard. The business here is now carried on by George 
 Delano's sons, who succeeded their father. Mr. Baker afterwards 
 built the factory at the corner of Water and Madison streets, now occu-
 
 176 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 pied by William A. Robinson & Co. Cornelius Grinnell built a 
 factory on First street, at the northwest corner of South, and Joseph 
 Ricketson built a factory at the northwest corner of Grinnell and First 
 streets. The two latter were subsequently burned. The Hastings 
 
 CUSTOM HOUSE AND POST OFFICE, 
 built the factory at the foot of Grinnell street, which is still in opera- 
 tion, and S. Thomas & Co. established the factory on Prospect street, 
 now occupied by Homer Bros., about the year 1855. 
 
 The above histor}^ is perhaps not absolutely accurate and no 
 attempt has been made to give a list of the firms which succeeded
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. I77 
 
 the founders of the various works. Such a list would include mem- 
 bers of nearly all of our oldest representative families. 
 
 The decline of the oil factories here dates from the advent of 
 petroleum, but the discovery was not felt to any extent until after the 
 war. When the war broke out the prices of sperm oil and bone 
 advanced very materially and our merchants made large profits, pro- 
 portionate to the risks, and as the owners of ships were subsequently 
 reimbursed for the destruction of their vessels, our oil merchants and 
 manufacturers were greatly enriched. 
 
 About the year 1857 Abraham H. Howland purchased the 
 Joseph Ricketson works and commenced experimenting in the distil- 
 lation of oil from coal. A company was formed consisting of Abraham 
 H. Howland, William C. Taber, Joseph C. Delano, William P. 
 Howland, John Hicks, Weston Howland, Henry T. Wood, and B. 
 Franklin Howland, which established and successfully operated a 
 coal oil factor}^. 
 
 Weston Howland, the present collector of the port, claims, and 
 so far as the writer knows the claim is not disputed, that he was the 
 first person to successfully refine petroleum oil. There is no doubt 
 but Mr. Howland was the first to place refined petroleum on the mar- 
 ket and the stor}' of this discovery, which effected a revolution in the 
 oil business of the world, is very interesting. 
 
 In i860 Mr, Howland was the secretary of the New Bedford 
 Coal Oil Company. While in New York on business, he was told 
 at the office of Josiah Macy & Sons, the New York agents for his 
 company, that Schieftelin Bros., the well-known chemists, wished 
 to see him. At the office of the latter he met their leading chemist, 
 who introduced the subject of petroleum. 
 
 Petroleum had not yet been refined. It had been known tor 
 years and formerly had been collected by the Indians, who had taken 
 it from the Alleghany river and Oil creek by spreading blankets upon 
 the water, and wringing them when saturated. It was called Seneca 
 oil and was used as a medicine. 
 
 At that time there were a lew wells in Pennsylvania and Schieffelin 
 Bros, had about two thousand barrels of the oil on hand. Mr. How- 
 land consented to make an attempt at refining the oil and a barrel 
 was shipped to him. Then Mr. Howland commenced his experi- 
 ments. He procured a large kettle from his kitchen and fashioned 
 a crude condenser, and after a few trials his attempts at distillation
 
 178 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 were successful. But the oil procured was thick and muddy, with a 
 vile odor, and had yet to be refined. Mr. Rowland accordingly filled 
 a milkpan with the oil and experimented with alkalies and water, but 
 the result was a foggy mixture of oil and water. Mr. Rowland was 
 discouraged and, placing the pan in his barn, left it. 
 
 When he returned he looked at his oil and found the problem 
 solveil. Mr. Rowland had left the door of his barn ajar and as the 
 sun wore around its beams had reached the oil, and the process was 
 completed. 
 
 That evening Mr. Rowland filled three clean lamps, one with 
 coal oil manufactured at the works of the New Bedford Oil Company, 
 another with Downer's coal oil, and a third with petroleum. Then 
 he lighted the lamps and called in his brother William to judge 
 which was the best. The latter at once selected the petroleum lamp 
 as giving the largest and brightest flame, wMth the least smoke. 
 
 Mr. Rowland was convinced that petroleum was a success and 
 that coal oil could not compete with it. Re at once purchased the 
 oil works at Fish Island, procured stills and commenced the manu- 
 facture of petroleum for the market. Re purchased fifteen hundred 
 barrels of oil of Schieft'elin Bros, at twenty-five cents a galk)n and 
 sold the refined oil for seventy-five cents as rapidly as it could be 
 manufactured. 
 
 One day Mr. Rowland learned that the Downers had purchased 
 all the oil in the market and had commenced the manufacture of the 
 oil. Mr. Rowland sent an agent to the oil wells in November, i860, 
 who contracted for the entire product. In the Januar}' following the 
 works were destroyed by an explosion and two men were killed. 
 The machinery was covered with sails that it might not be copied and 
 the following day rebuilding commenced. A great deal of oil was 
 sent to California. It w^as purchased at the refinery by William P. 
 Rowland, shipped across the isthmus and over the mountains on 
 jackasses and sold readily at $2 a gallon. The oil was shipped in 
 tin cans, and the making of them became quite an important industry 
 here at one time. Most of the cans were made by Stephen A. Tripp 
 and Wood & Brightman. 
 
 Subsequently the Seneca Oil Works were built at Willis Point 
 and two small refineries were built in Fairhaven. Mr. Rowland was 
 the last to abandon the manufacture in this vicinity. Re retired from 
 the oil business eight or ten j^ears ago.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. l8l 
 
 Nearly all of the sperm oil taken is rertned here, and in round 
 numbers fifteen thousand barrels of sperm, twelve thousand barrels 
 of whale, and eight thousand barrels of fish oil are refined in New 
 Bedford annually. 
 
 The factory of George Delano's Sons, on South street, is the 
 largest grease oil refiner}' in the world. The buildings cover nearly 
 iwo acres of land and in the busy season forty-five men are employed. 
 The individual members of the firm are Stephen C. L. and James 
 Delano, who succeeded the firm at the head of which was their father, 
 in 1884. George Delano entered the employ of Charles H. Leonard 
 in 1855, '^^^ took the business January i, 1869. The New York 
 office of the firm is at 140 Front street, in a building which the 
 various firms that have operated the works have occupied since 
 1850. 
 
 The company manufactures sperm, whale, sea elephant, fish, 
 and cotton seed oils, patent and parafflne wax candles, spermaceti, 
 whale and fish oil pressings, and sperm and whale oil soap. All 
 crude oils are worked out to definite results at the factor}' and the 
 product is shipped to every part of the world. 
 
 As this is a representative factory, it will not be out of place to 
 tell briefly of the processes to which the oils are subjected. 
 
 The crude oils as they are landed in casks from our whaleships 
 are a thick, dirty brown in color. The quality is determined by the 
 appearance and by tasting, and the buyers become very expert in 
 their judgment. 
 
 The products of sperm oil are the winter sperm, which is the first 
 running from the crude oil after it has granulated, the spring sperm, 
 the summer sperm, the taut pressed, which leaves the unrefined 
 sperm, and finally spermaceti, with a melt test of one hundred fifteen 
 degrees Fahrenheit. The sperm oil is not sold in its natural color, 
 however, but is half bleached by a process which leaves s{)erm oil 
 soap as a product. 
 
 The product of the whale and other heavy oils, such as sea ele- 
 phant, fish, and cotton seed, are the winter, spring, and summer 
 pressings, which leave stearine. This latter product has the con- 
 sistency of tallow. Soaps are made from all of these oils in the 
 bleaching process. 
 
 The sperm oil is largely used for oiling machinery, although it is 
 usually compounded with cheaper oils before it can be used for this
 
 1 82 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 purpose. It was formerly used for burning in lighthouses, and up to 
 i860 the works held a contract to supply the entire lighthouse system 
 of the United States. The whale oil is used for illuminating pur- 
 poses. A vast quantity is consumed in engine headlights, being com- 
 bined with the hydro-carbon oils. Considerable fish oil is used for 
 burning in mines. Large quantities of the soap are shipped to Cali- 
 fornia, Florida, and other fruit growing sections, where it is employed 
 in washing orange and other trees to protect them from the ravages 
 of insects, and acts as a fertilizer. 
 
 The stearine is used in large quantities by the mills, where it is 
 used as sizing for yarns, and much of it is exported for smearing sheep 
 before shearing the wool. It is also used in making the better grades 
 of soap, as filling for leather, and in oleomargarine to some extent. 
 
 When the sperm oil is brought tVom the wharves to the works, 
 it is turned into deck tanks, with a capacity of six hundred gallons 
 each, and from here it is pumped into the bleaching tanks. There 
 are three of these, the largest having a capacity of five thousand gal- 
 lons, and two others with a capacity of thirty-one hundred gallons 
 each. Within these tanks are coils of steam pipes and the oil is 
 boiled with a soda lye. The sediment which precipitates to the bottom 
 is drawn oft' and manufactured into soap. 
 
 The oil is then drawn off' and placed in barrels. These barrels 
 of oil are then placed in the pits and are put under ice. The "pits" 
 are, in reality, a huge ice chest, with a capacity for holding one thou- 
 sand barrels. As much as thirty tons of ice are often used in a single 
 day, and the barrels remain here for about ten days, until the oil 
 freezes. The product, after the pressings, is the virgin winter oil, 
 which runs limpid at a temperature ranging as low as twenty-eight 
 degrees below zero. In the coldest weather the oil is sometimes placed 
 out of doors where the cold atmosphere effects the same results as if 
 the oil were placed in the pits. 
 
 After the first pressing, the sperm is again placed in hempen bags 
 and in the spring it is subjected to another pressing. The product is 
 the spring oil. In the summer, when the sperm has become dryer 
 yet, it is again subjected to hydraulic pressure, and the result is a thin 
 oil known as the summer oil. 
 
 After the oil has been removed by repeated pressings, the sperm 
 is boiled with an alkaline lye, washed with water and moulded into 
 blocks, which are in appearance as white and lustrous as alabaster.

 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 185 
 
 On splitting these blocks, crystallized surfaces appear, resembling pure 
 quartz. 
 
 From these blocks the candles are moulded. The wicks are 
 adjusted by hand, and the candles are the best in use. Coloring mat- 
 ter is introduced, in so small a quantity, however, as not to destroy 
 their beautiful transparency. Gamboge gives them a yellow tint, car- 
 mine a red, and Prussian blue is used to produce the blue color. 
 Very many paraffine wax candles are made at this factory, but the 
 paraffine wax, being a hydro-carbon product, is purchased. The can- 
 dles made here range in size from those so small that it requires 
 twelve to a pound, to single candles two pounds in weight. Between 
 five hundred thousand and six hundred thousand pounds of spermaceti 
 and parafHne wax are made into candles every year. The candles are 
 made in machines and are cooled by water. Most of the paraffine 
 wax candles are made in the winter, owing to the length ot time 
 required for them to cool in the summer. 
 
 The whale, fish, and other heavy oil processes are somewhat 
 different. After the oil comes from the pits it is run through flannel 
 strainers. The foots which remain are then subjected to repeated 
 pressings and require bleaching by the alkaline process before they 
 are marketable. The stearine from whale oil is very white and hand- 
 some. That from the menhaden oil is darker. 
 
 All of the oil is finally sun bleached, and under the glass roofs 
 there are eight tanks with a capacity of fifteen hundred gallons each, 
 seven tanks with a capacity of twelve hundred gallons each, and three 
 tanks with a capacity of eighteen hundred gallons each. The fish 
 oil is refined by a patent process at these works and is rendered ver}- 
 white and handsome, although, of course, it is more gummy than the 
 sperm. 
 
 A cooper shop is connected with the establishment, and the works 
 are provided with every modern impiovemeiU in the way of pumps, 
 presses, and other machinery. 
 
 The reputation of the works is the best. No gallon of oil ever 
 went out of the works which was not strictly pure and the tirm jioints 
 with pride to the fact that its oldest customers, in sending in their 
 orders, never trouble themselves to specify that the oil shall be "pure," 
 knowing that no adulterated oils are ever sent out from this establish- 
 ment.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 187 
 
 About three years ago the firm of Swan & Finch, No. 151 
 Maiden Lane, New York, leased the extensive oil works of Hastings 
 & Co., at the foot of Grinnell street, having an area of five and 
 one-half acres. This firm is the largest manufacturer of fish oil in 
 the country and the refinery here is used for this purpose. About a 
 dozen men are employed and Frank Corey is the local manager. The 
 firm also has factories at Brooklyn and New York city, and has facil- 
 ities here for refining whale and sperm oil. 
 
 William A. Robinson & Co. are among the largest refiners of 
 sperm and whale oil in the country. This firm was established in 
 Rhode Island in 1829, transferring its business to this city in 1853, 
 when a factory was occupied on the site of the present passenger 
 station of the Old Colony railroad. In 1863 the firm moved to the 
 factory it now occupies, No. 50 South Water street. The main build- 
 ing is two stories high, with a frontage of forty feet on Water street. 
 It is connected with smaller buildings of brick and stone, extending 
 through to Front street, a distance of two hundred forty feet. There 
 are large sheds for storing oil on Walnut street, south of the factory 
 buildings. The buildings are lighted by gas and heated by steam, 
 and employment is given to fifteen or twenty hands. The manufac- 
 ture and sale of sperm and whale oils and their products is the prin- 
 cipal business in this city, although the firm deals largely in other 
 oils. The Providence house handles potato, wheat, and corn starch, 
 lard, olive, paraffine, and kerosene oils. 
 
 The oil and candle manufactory of George S. Homer was estab- 
 lished about the year 1850, and in 1857 the firm of S. Thomas & Co. 
 was formed. Ten years later Mr. Homer succeeded to the business, 
 as surviving partner. The buildings, with sheds, occupy an area of 
 one and one-half acres and are located on Front, South, and Pros- 
 pect streets. The factory comprises two main buildings, one hundred 
 twenty-five by forty-five and seventy-five by forty -five feet, respect- 
 ively, containing pits, vats, cisterns, kettles, strainers, and hydraulic 
 presses. There is a boiler house with a boiler of fifty horse power, a 
 cooperage for repairing casks and barrels, with a room above for 
 moulding candles and preparing the spermaceti of commerce. Sev- 
 enteen hands are employed and the reputation of the factory ranks 
 with the best. In the year 18S8 there were manufactured on the 
 premises live thousand barrels of crude sperm oil, seven thousand 
 barrels of crude whale oil, and a quantity of blackfish, menhaden, 
 and other oils.
 
 l88 NRW BEDFORD. 
 
 William F. Nye is the largest manufacturer of sewing machine 
 and watch and clock oils in the world. His factories are on Fish 
 island and are surrounded on three sides hy wharves. Mr. Nye com- 
 menced the manufacture of lubricating oils in 1844, ^^ Fairhaven, on 
 a small scale, and afterwards carried on the business at the foot of 
 Walnut street in this city. In 1877 he purchased the large stone 
 factory on Fish Island and has since erected several large buildings. 
 The old factory is of stone, three stories high, and about ninety by 
 fortv feet in area. Subsequently a factory of wood and stone, three 
 stories high and fifty- five by sixty feet in area, was built, and a two story 
 building of stone, about fifty by fifty feet in area. About one hundred 
 fifty thousand gallons of sewing machine, watch, and clock oils are 
 disposed of annually and in addition to the oil shipped in bulk, over 
 two million one hundred fift}' thousand bottles of various sizes are 
 filled and sold each year. 
 
 The processes are simple, but the best of stock and the greatest 
 care and honesty were necessary to earn the reputation which Mr. 
 Nye holds. Wherever sewing machines, watches, or clocks are made 
 Mr. Nye's oils are known. He supplies large quantities to the 
 Waltham, Elgin, and other celebrated companies in this country and 
 Switzerland, and the famous cathedral clock at Strasburg is lubricated 
 with oil made at this factory. 
 
 Sewing machine oil is a mixture of sperm oil and bone-filtered 
 petroleum. It is landed on Mr. Nye's wharves in barrels and is 
 placed in wells. From here it passes into standpipes, where it is 
 agitated and thoroughly mixed by air blasts. In this process the 
 lighter gases pass away. There are three of these standpipes, each 
 having a capacity of one hundred fifty barrels. After agitation the 
 oil becomes white and is left sixty days to settle. Then a Worthing- 
 ton duplex steam pump forces the oil into distributing tanks in the 
 attic. A filler, patented by Joseph K. Nye, a son of the proprietor, 
 is used here and with it a gross of bottles can be filled in one minute. 
 The bottling rooms are very complete. After washing, the bottles are 
 placed in a drying room where the mercury stands at two hundred 
 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to the fillers, a corking machine, 
 invented by Mr. Nye, is used. 
 
 The watch, chronometer, and clock oil is composed of porpoise 
 jaw and blackfish head oil. Several years ago an unparalleled school 
 of blackfish appeared on the coast of Massachusetts and twenty-two
 
 190 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 hiindrcd of these monster fish were driven into inlets and bayous, 
 where the receding tide left them an easy prey. The entire catch was 
 secured by Mr. Nye, ensuring a supply of oil which will last many 
 years. The process of refining these oils for watches and clocks 
 requires about two years. 
 
 Recently jj^lr. Nye has established a refinery at St. Albans, Vt., 
 and the oil passes through the processes with the temperature thirty- 
 five degrees below zero. By this means the oil is freed from all 
 impurities that corrode and blacken the pivots of a watch and it is 
 perfectly unatiected by heat or cold. It is much whiter than oil re- 
 fined in these latitudes. 
 
 The oil is strained through strainers of cotton flannel and is then 
 placed in tubes, where it stands for about eighteen months. These 
 tubes, or tanks, are kept in a fire proof vault, and fine watch and clock 
 oil to the value of ten thousand dollars is stored here, in forty tanks, 
 each with a capacity of about fifty-five gallons. 
 
 Although less than half a drop of oil is used on a single watch, 
 some watch manufacturers order this valuable lubricator by the barrel. 
 Large quantities of the oil are also used on type writing machines. 
 
 When the writer called -at Mr. Nye's factory, he had stored on 
 one floor one hundred tons of empty bottles, constituting four or five 
 months' supply, and twelve thousand empty boxes. 
 
 The factory is well arranged, being supplied with hoisting engines 
 and steam elevators. There is also apparatus for refining heavy oils 
 and Mr. N\'e does something in this line, besides doing a jobbing 
 business in all lubricating oils. 
 
 Mr. Nye has recently commenced the manufacture of an oleo- 
 tannatine compound, which is a leather preserver and a softener and 
 cleaner for harnesses. He also makes shoe dressings and edge 
 blacking. 
 
 About twenty-two hands are employed at the factory. 
 
 The Ezra Kelley famous chronometer, w^atch, and clock oils are 
 manufactured at Mount Pleasant. These oils are used in the watch 
 and clock factories of the world and the sales now aggregate six 
 hundred gross per year. About three hundred fifty gallons of crude 
 stock are required for a year's supply. Mr. Kelley is now in the ninety- 
 first year of his age and has manufactured his celebrated oils for the 
 past sixty-two years. He was the first to apply fish oils for the lubri- 
 cation of clock machinery. Mr. Kelley was born in Dennis, Mass.,
 
 mi: •] 
 
 »',* ■■■•MP,.' 
 
 
 
 -0 . , 
 
 ^ 'i^kf .-■.■,'■. 
 
 a /r:J- h 
 
 i I." 
 
 Il: ^ 
 
 Mi: 

 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 193 
 
 in 1798 and came to this city in 1818 and engaged in the manufacture 
 of clocks. At this time nut oils were used exclusively, here and 
 abroad, in clocks and watches. Mr. Kelley experimented with the 
 oil of the porpoise and finally succeeded in producing a lubricator for 
 light bearings which was unsurpassed at that time. When the man- 
 ufacture of clocks b}' machinery commenced, Mr. Kelley abandoned 
 his trade and started for New York with a Httle case of bottles and 
 commenced the introduction of his now celebrated oils. Tiieir superi- 
 ority was quickly recognized. His market grew until it now includes 
 the entire civilized world, and the manufacturer has crossed the ocean 
 ten times, taking large orders from the leading factories in England, 
 France, Germany, and Switzerland. Wherever exhibited, these oils 
 have received first-class awards and among them are a diploma given 
 at the Geneva exhibition in 1880 and a diploma and medal awarded 
 by the judges at the centennial exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. 
 The proposals for chronometer and clock oils issued by the govern- 
 ment last year specified that Kelley's oil alone should be supplied. 
 About the jear 1850 Mr. Kelley commenced the manufacture of his 
 superfine oils from the head and melon of the blackfish. Much of 
 the latter oil used by Mi'- Kelley is taken from fish captured on the 
 coast of Africa, and this grade is superior for lighter bearings, having 
 less body than the oils taken from the fish captured in local waters. 
 The difference is presumed to be caused by the food which the deep sea 
 fish consume. John Wing, a son-in-law of the manufacturer, now 
 conducts the business for Mr. Kelley. The agents for these oils are 
 Henry Grinnell & Co., 31 Maiden Lane, New York, and Grimshaw 
 & Baxter, 35 Goswell road, London, Eng. 
 
 ART INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Possibly it may be a surprise to most readers of this book to learn 
 that New Bedford is the home of manifold and varied art industries, 
 employing many skilled artisans and producing thousands of objects 
 of beauty. 
 
 The firm of Charles Taber & Co. was the pioneer in the indus- 
 try of art manufacturing in this country. Today it is the largest 
 industry of its kind, the annual product aggregating nearly a half 
 million dollars in value. In the busy season about three hundred
 
 194 
 
 NEW bp:dford. 
 
 fifty hands are employed and goods are shipped to every part of the 
 world. 
 
 The business of the firm dates back nearh- to the beginnini^ of 
 the century. William C. Taber, the father of the present senior 
 member of the firm, early in life became a partner with Abraham 
 Sherman, Jr., in the book business at the northeast corner of Union 
 and ^^'^ater streets. This partnership was dissolved about the year 
 1835, ^vhen Mr. Taber conducted the business alone for a time. In 
 1843 Charles Taber, a son, who had that year attained his majorit}', 
 was admitted as a partner. Soon after, the firm opened a store at No. 
 6 Purchase street, and about the year 1849, the father having retired, 
 Charles and his brother Augustus carried on the business ai the cor- 
 ner of Union and Purchase streets. Then the firm of Charles Taber 
 & Co. was established and there has been a firm of Charles Taber 
 & Co. ever since. The business at this time included the sale of 
 books, engravings, and charts, many of which were imported from 
 abroad by the firm. Upon the withdrawal of Augustus, Charles took 
 as partners Abraham Taber and Asa C. Peirce, and, still later, William 
 C. Taber, Jr. In 1861 the store on the corner was given up and the 
 firm moved to No. 47 Purchase street, in the then new Cummings 
 building, and the next year the brothers Abraham and William C^ 
 Taber, Jr., took the two book and stationery stores, and Charles, 
 with Asa C. Peirce, started as manufacturing photographers at No. 6 
 North Water street. This last firm continued until about 1871, when 
 Charles Taber assumed and continued the sole management until 
 188 1. Then he took as partners his brother, William C. Taber, Jr., 
 and his sons, Charles M. and Frederic. Charles Taber died in 1887 
 and the firm now comprises the three latter gentlemen. 
 
 In the twenty-three years since the business of manufacturing 
 photographs began, the modest enterprise has grown to huge propor- 
 tions, not only keeping pace with the growth of photography, but 
 adding to itself other branches of decorative art. Gradually the sta- 
 tionery business in the old Union street store was crowded out by the 
 needs of the thriving trade in the works of art. The old buildings 
 on the corner were swarming with working men and women and new 
 hives were bought or built and quickly filled. At present the firm 
 occupies five buildings : the three story building of brick and stone 
 at the northwest corner of Union and Water streets ; most of the 
 two stor}' building on Water street, next north ; the three stor}- build-
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. I97 
 
 ing on the northeast corner of Union and Water streets ; the large 
 wooden building next east, which, by the way, was occupied by the 
 present senior proprietor's great grandfather as a dwelling as far 
 back as 1763 ; and the three story wooden building on the south side 
 of Spring street, extending from Water to First streets. Roughly 
 estimated, the workshops of the firm occupy fifty thousand square 
 feet of area. 
 
 On the lower floor of the building on the northwest corner of 
 Union and Water streets the office is located and here is the stock 
 room in which the various styles of artotypes are kept. On the 
 upper floors are studios where photographs are colored and pastels 
 are executed. The sample and store rooms are in the building next 
 north. In the building on the opposite corner photographs are made 
 and mounted, artotypes are printed, frames are put together with 
 mats, holiday goods are made up, and picture framing is done. The 
 building at the corner of Water and Spring streets is entirely given 
 up to the manufacture of picture frames and mouldings. 
 
 The art business of the firm commenced with the manufacture of 
 ambrotypes, and the vast industry now carried on was probably the 
 result of an incident which happened about the year i860. Among 
 the engravings on sale at the store on the corner of Union and Pur- 
 chase streets was one of Elizabeth Fry, the English philanthropist. 
 It was an imported picture and the copies were quickly sold. 
 Charles Taber was a member of the society of Friends and he 
 greatly admired the beautiful face of the good woman. These were 
 the days of ambrotypes, which were photographs on glass. They 
 were very beautiful and compare favorably in point of attractiveness 
 with the photographs of today. Mr. Taber conceived the idea of 
 reproducing the engraving by this process and, as an experiment, 
 sent the picture to an ambrotype saloon. The result was successful 
 and Mr. Taber framed it with the intention of hanging it in his own 
 home. It was left in the store for a few days and excited much 
 admiration. Several persons who saw the portrait desired copies, 
 and they were furnished. Subsequently Mr. Taber successfully 
 repeated the experiment with a Landseer, and finally the reproduc- 
 tions became recognized as a legitimate branch of the art business 
 and the firm commenced the manufacture of ambrt)typcs. The pho- 
 tograph of the face of Elizabeth Fry was the first reproduction ot an 
 engraving which was ever put on the market.
 
 [98 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 This branch of art manufacuire led to the importation and finally 
 to the manufacture of passepartouts. These are frames of glass, 
 with a pasteboard backing and paper binding. This, in turn, led to 
 the manufacture of frames, and the next natural step to the production 
 of ambrotypes was photographs. About six years ago the firm first 
 commenced the manufacture of artotype engravings and etchings, 
 and in this department their productions are recognized as the stand- 
 ard, dealers willingly paying much more for artotypes from this 
 establishment than they will pay for the same reproductions from 
 other factories. The artotypes of this firm ^exactly reproduce the 
 finest engravings and etchings and it requires a close inspection from 
 the connoisseur to detect them from the original proofs, and they are 
 equally permanent. The superiority of the artot3'pes of Charles 
 Taber & Co. lies in the fact that while other firms have sought to 
 reduce the expense of production, this firm has stood ready to make 
 any expenditure which would tend to improve the artistic value of the 
 work. The ink used is imported and is the same as that used for steel 
 engravings, while the plate paper is made expressly for this pur- 
 pose. They excel in the clean lines, the tones, and general artistic 
 efi^ect and character. Eighteen printers are employed, nearly all of 
 whom came from abroad. About eight hundred subjects are kept 
 in stock. Artotypes are printed, or "pulled," as the technical phrase 
 is, from gelatine plates prepared by the process discovered and 
 patented by Obernetter of Munich. A description of this process can- 
 not tail to be interesting. 
 
 In commencing, we have a sheet of thick plate glass which is 
 designed for a printing block. The glass is cleansed and is then ready 
 to receive the preliminary coating, which is a solution prepared of 
 soluble glass, the white of eggs, and water. The mixture is applied 
 to the glass as evenly as possible and the film dried and then rinsed 
 with water. The second stage of the process is the application of a 
 film of bichromated gelatine to the plate, after which the glass is 
 put into the drying chamber. The object to be attained is a fine 
 grain throughout the surt'ace of the gelatine, and unless this surface 
 is satisfactor}-, the printing block will never be. If the gelatine is 
 too thick, the grain will be coarse ; or if the temperature in drying 
 is too high, there will be no grain. The drying is completed in half 
 an hour, when the film is ready for printing under a negative, and this 
 is done in an ordinary' printing frame. The exposure is very rapid
 
 N. P. HAYES HARDWARE STORE.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 20I 
 
 and here the judgment of the photographer is brought into play. 
 The impression is taken from the pressure frame and put into cold 
 water, where it remains a half hour or more, until the soluble bichro- 
 mate is washed out. Then judgment is passed and the experienced 
 eye can tell at once what it is fit for. The washed and dried plate 
 should appear like a design of ground and polished glass. A yellow 
 tint means that it will take up too much ink when the roller is passed 
 over it. The appearance of ground glass is given by the grain. If 
 there are pure lights (almost transparent) and opalescent shadows, 
 the plate is a good one. 
 
 After moistening in glycerine and water the printing block is 
 ready for the press. The inking and printing are done very much as 
 in lithography. To appreciate how skillful a printer must be it is onl\' 
 necessary to see the imperfect proofs that first result and then watch 
 how these are gradually improved by rolling, rubbing, etching, and 
 cleaning. 
 
 After the plate is put on the press a moist sponge is first rubbed 
 over the surface and the plate is then rolled with a soft wash-leallier 
 roller, to remove surplus moisture. The ink rollers, which are made 
 of glue composition, are now applied, and two inks, a thick and ihin. 
 The thick is first put on and the roller is passed over tiie plate. Then 
 another roller charged with thin ink is applied in the same manner. 
 A sheet of paper is now laid on the plate, the tympan of the press is 
 lowered, the scraper is adjusted, and a revolution of the wheel com- 
 pletes the printing. The copies then undergo another impression, 
 when an India tint and border and engraved titles are printed. In 
 some factories the titles are printed from type, but at this establish- 
 ment all titles are printed on a lithographic press from engraved 
 stones. 
 
 The superintendent of the photographic and artotype depart- 
 ments is Joseph G. Tirrell, who lias been in the employ of the firm 
 twenty-seven years. 
 
 The plain and colored photographs made by this tinn are the 
 best photographic reproductions made in this country. Tin- lunnber 
 of subjects reaches thousands. The establishment also turns out 
 an exquisite line of glace photograph panels, medallion photographs, 
 photogravure etchings on satin, window transparencies, sterc(vscopic 
 views, art souvenirs, consisting of cabinet photographs from tin- most 
 popular pictures, mounted on plate paper and enclosed in covers fast-
 
 202 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 ened In' ribbons, art folios, and pastel drawings. Their Easter, 
 Christmas, and New Year's cards and books are always among the 
 handsomest and most original in the market and skilled artists are 
 constantly engaged in getting up new designs. 
 
 The tVame factory at the corner of Water and Spring streets is 
 also an interesting place to visit. The firm calculates to keep ahead 
 of their competitors in this branch of art manufacture and the fact 
 that their designs are imitated everywhere is a species of flattery, 
 even though it may afford only a grim sort of satisfaction. The 
 company buys the plain moulding but it is ornamented at the factory. 
 New styles are constantl}- demanded. A few years ago plush and 
 velvet frames were the rage. Now the demand is for wooden frames, 
 and the company has in stock three hundred fifty styles of cabinet 
 frames, while about two hundred new styles of ornamented moulding 
 are turned out annually. The average reader may not know that 
 the ornamentation on the familiar gilt and other frames is a compo- 
 sition made of glue, whiting, and other materials, which is affixed to 
 the wooden moulding. This composition resembles putt}' in appear- 
 ance and is turned through moulds on which the designs are cut. 
 Some of the ornaments are hand moulded. The cost of the origi- 
 nal patterns is considerable and an idea of the magnitude of the 
 business done in the frame department of this establishment ma}' be 
 learned from the tact that fifty tons of composition were used last year. 
 Frames are made of gold, oxidized, bronze, ivorv, and natural wood 
 mouldings. The ivory moulding was originated at this factory, and 
 when combined with gold the result is verv lovely. Recentlv an 
 imitation whale's tooth was made as an experiment and it will defy 
 detection. Imitation ivory paper weights are among the novelties 
 recently put upon the market. 
 
 The firm employs four travelling salesmen and maintains a sales- 
 room at No. 28 Bond street. New York city. 
 
 There are but two 
 larger manufactories of 
 silver plated ware in this 
 country than that of the 
 Pairpoint Manufacturing 
 Company, located on the 
 east side of Prospect street, south of Rowland street, and the ware 
 has no superior in the American or European market. The stock is
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 203 
 
 of the best, possessing all the elements of real silver and beauty, 
 
 finish, elegance, and grace of form, and the product is in a style con- 
 forming to the highest rules of art. 
 The company manufactures all 
 varieties of useful and ornamental 
 household goods in great variety, 
 including knives, forks, spoons, 
 cake baskets, and an almost end- 
 less variety of table ware, hat, 
 hair, clothes, and crumb brushes, 
 candlesticks, casters, card receiv- 
 ers, communion ware, ice pitcher 
 sets, epergnes, jewel, cigar, and 
 cigarette cases, wine coolers, ash 
 receivers, match safes, etc., etc. 
 
 The company organized in 
 1880 with Edward D. Mandell as 
 president, Alexander H. Seabury 
 as treasurer, and T. J. Pairpoint, 
 
 superintendent. The capital stock was originally $100,000, but in 
 
 July, 1887, it was increased to $400,000, at which point it now stands, 
 
 nearly the entire amount being held in New Bedford. 
 
 In the spring of 1880, the first building was erected. It was of 
 
 brick, one hundred twenty by forty feet in area and three stories high. 
 
 In 1881 a second building was added. This was of wood, three stories 
 
 high, and one hundred twenty by thirty feet in area, and, finally, the 
 
 following year, a four story brick building was erected, one hundred 
 
 fifty by forty feet in area, so that 
 
 the area of the workshops is nearly 
 
 fifty thousand square feet. The 
 
 company has a branch store at the 
 
 corner of Maiden lane and Liberty 
 
 place. New York city, established in 
 
 June, 1881 ; a store at the corner of 
 
 Wabash avenue and Washington 
 
 street, Chicago, estabHshed in 1882 ; 
 
 and a San Francisco store at No. 220 Sutter street, established in 1S87. 
 T. J. Pairpoint resigned as superintendent, April i, 1885, and 
 
 he was succeeded by Thomas A. Tripp. Mr. Seabury resigned as
 
 204 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 treasurer in the following May, and Mr. Tripp succeeded him also. 
 The present officers are : 
 
 President — Edward D. Man- 
 dell. 
 
 Treasurer and general man- 
 ager — Thomas A. Tripp. 
 
 Directors — Edward D. Man- 
 dell, William J. Rotch, William 
 Baylies, Wendell H. Cobb, and 
 Capt. William Lewis, of New Bedford, and John A. Brown, of Prov- 
 idence. 
 
 The company employs about three hundred hands in the factory 
 and nine salesmen travelling in different parts of the countr}'. It has 
 a large export trade, many goods being shipped as far as Australia. 
 Nearly all the men are skilled mechanics, and it is estimated that two 
 hundred young men from the schools of New Bedford have learned 
 trades in this factory and become proficient workmen, many of them 
 now having charge of departments. 
 
 The details of the manufacture are so varied that they cannot be 
 described intelligently in a brief article. Britannia is the base of 
 most of the ware and this alloy is composed of tin, copper, antimony, 
 and zinc. It is mixed and made on the premises and cast into ingots, 
 after which it is rolled into sheets. These sheets are then pressed 
 into blanks or bowls of various sizes, from whence they go to the 
 spinning room. Here the blanks are placed on wooden moulds 
 and spun into the desired form. These forms are embossed or 
 stamped with designs, a hydraulic press, with a pressure of six hun- 
 dred sixty-three tons, being employed for this purpose. The patterns 
 are designed by skilled artists and cut on steel dies, many of which 
 represent weeks of patient labor. These dies form an expensive 
 stock, their value ranging from $50 to $500 each. Every ornament 
 employed on a piece of silver ware must first be moulded in wax. A 
 mould of plaster of paris is made from this and finally a mould of 
 brass is made. The britannia metal is poured into these moulds and 
 is quickly turned out again, leaving the inside of the moulded 
 handles and ornaments hollow. 
 
 It will be seen that a long time is consumed in making moulds 
 and dies for the various articles manufactured, and workmen were 
 employed nearly a year before even a limited variety of styles was 
 put on the market.
 
 2o6 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Next the various parts are soldered together and are submitted to 
 various processes of cleaning. Then the articles go into the plating 
 
 vats, where a deposit of silver is 
 placed upon them from a solution of 
 the cyanide of the metal, through 
 which a current of electricity passes. 
 Parts of many articles are further 
 ornamented by gold plating or oxi- 
 dizing by a chemical process. 
 
 Finally the articles are burn- 
 ished. Some parts are burnished 
 by machinery, while others are hand 
 burnished. The satin finish, which is very popular, is executed by 
 means of a wire brush, constructed by a patented process. It nicks 
 or scratches the polished surface, producing a frosted effect. 
 
 There are many other processes which the article must undergo 
 before completion, which are not named here. Many of the designs 
 are engraved by hand instead of being stamped. 
 
 The firm also manufactures ware from German silver. This metal 
 is much harder to work than britannia and the process is materially 
 different. It is in favor at hotels and on railroad and steamboat lines, 
 where the ware is likely to receive rough usage. 
 
 Most of the knives, forks, and spoons are made from German 
 silver. The blanks are first cut and afterwards rolled by machine. 
 In this process they become so hard that it is necessary to anneal them 
 in a furnace. Then the}^ are formed and the designs are stamped 
 upon them. They are polished on wheels of walrus leather costing 
 two dollars a pound, and are hand burnished after plating. 
 
 An idea of the expense and risk of manufacture may be gained 
 from the fact that ever}- new design of knife, fork, and spoon placed 
 on the market represents an expenditure of several thousand dollars. 
 A one hundred horse power steam engine is employed and there 
 is a fire pump on the premises with a capacitv tor 
 pumping five hundred gallons per minute. 
 
 The company owns an extensive wharf prop- 
 
 ertv. 
 
 A great deal of fancy glass ware is employed and 
 many articles of rare beauty are displayed in the show rooms, includ- 
 ing the largest epergne in the world. The plush boxes used tor
 
 WAM.SUTT/- 
 
 
 WING BUILDING.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 209 
 
 fancy ware are made at the factory. An idea of the variety of articles 
 manufactured may be gained from the fact that the various cuts illus- 
 trating the catalogues of the company represent an expenditure of at 
 least ten thousand dollars. 
 
 One of the most interesting of the industries of the city is carried 
 on at the Mount Washington Glass Works, in some respects the most 
 notable glass factory in the world. It is here that the beautiful and 
 celebrated Burmese ware was discovered, which, with several other 
 novelties in glass, is exclusively controlled by this establishment. 
 Here also is made a variety of cut and art glass ware which has 
 made the factory's fame for the production of the finest goods as 
 wide as the world. 
 
 The business of the Mount Washington Glass Company was 
 brought to this city in the year 1869. It was originally started in 
 1837 at a factory built by Deming Jarves, then agent of the Boston 
 & Sandwich Glass Company. The original factory was located in 
 South Boston, the business being conducted by Capt. Russell. In 
 1839 ^'^^ business reverted to George D. Jarves and was carried on 
 by him, with Mr. Labree at first, and later with Henry Comerais 
 under the firm name of Jarves & Comerais. This firm greatl\" in- 
 creased the facilities of the factory by building new furnaces. In 
 1S60, however, they closed the business, and subsequently the factory 
 was hired by Timothy Howe, who proved a most energetic manager. 
 He was joined by W. L. Libbey and a most successful business was 
 carried on. On the death of Mr. Howe, in 1866, his interest was 
 purchased by Mr. Libbey, but in 1869, as the old factory had be- 
 come dilapidated, he purchased the present works on Prospect street, 
 in this city, which had been built by the New Bedford Glass Com- 
 pany. This latter company had but a short existence, owing to 
 financial difficulties. 
 
 The factory was designed by a practical glass maker and is one 
 of the most substantial and complete in the country. It was erected 
 in 1861, and comprises a commodious glass house with a ten pot fur- 
 nace and an extensive water frontage for landing supplies and the 
 shipment of goods. On the first floor are well arranged annealing 
 kilns, selecting room, mould room, and office. On the second floor 
 is a large machine shop and cutting shop, and on the third floor are 
 the stock and chandelier rooms. On the basement floor are the 
 mixing, packing, and engine rooms, and carpenter shop. There 
 are two elevators, one for light and the other for heavy goods.
 
 2IO 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Outside the main factory are several other commodious build- 
 ings, one. thr(>e stories in height, being occupied as a decorating 
 
 shop. This building is provided with 
 all the necessary adjuncts for this part 
 of the work, including three large 
 kilns for firing the ware. 
 
 There is a cooper shop, all pack- 
 ages for goods being made on the 
 premises ; a large storage building 
 for packed goods, also clay and pot 
 rooms, a blacksmith shop, and boiler 
 house. The company's stables are 
 on an adjacent lot. 
 After being transferred to this cit}' the business was conducted 
 under its original name of the Mount Washington Glass Works. 
 Soon the increase of business called for more capital and Capt. 
 Henry Libbey became associated with the business, the firm name 
 being W. L. Libbe}' & Co. In 187 1 a «tock company was formed, 
 named the Mount Washington Glass Company, with a capital of 
 $100,000, which was afterwards increased to $150,000. W. L. 
 Libbe\^ was appointed agent and Capt. Henry Libbey, superin- 
 tendent. 
 
 In 1872 W. L. Libbe}^ resigned to accept the agency of the 
 New England Glass Company and the management devolved on 
 Capt. Libbe}^. The business of the company was widely spread, 
 but in the general depression in 1873 the shrinkages impaired the 
 company's capital. Capt. Libbey re- 
 signed in 1874 ^"^ the factory was 
 closed. 
 
 In the fall of the same year the 
 company resumed business, and the 
 management was placed in the hands 
 of the present agent, Frederick S. 
 Shirley, with Robert G. Tobey as 
 treasurer, and Robert King, glass 
 house manager. A. H. Seabury acting 
 as president. The company was re- 
 organized in 1876, since which time it has worked continuously. 
 In 1881 the facilities of the factory were increased by the
 
 212 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 erection of an additional glass house on the south, provided with an 
 eight pot furnace. 
 
 The late A. H. Seabury was president of the company until his 
 death, July 17, 1887, when he was succeeded by Hon. William 
 J. Rotch. Andrew Snow, Jr., who has grown up in the business, 
 was elected treasurer, and has taken an active part in the manage- 
 ment of the business. 
 
 This is briefly the histor}' of the enterprise. 
 
 No glass factory in the world produces a greater variety of fine 
 work. The specialties include opal globes, shades for electric and 
 gas lights and lamps, also fine blown goods. Some of the richest 
 cut glass ware is turned out here and this is the only factory in the 
 country where crystal chandeliers are made complete. The factory 
 also produces a line of decorated lamps and vases of the finest 
 grades, as well as art glass ware. The lovely Burmese ware met 
 with such success as to attract the patronage of royalty and the 
 company was recently favored with a special order from Her Majesty 
 Qiieen Victoria. The productions of the company are widely known 
 and are in good demand. 
 
 The writer was recently shown over the factory. The first stage 
 of the manufacture is to be witnessed in the basement, where the 
 ingredients of the glass are mixed in a large trough. Silica or sand 
 is its principal element and that used here is from the Berkshire mines. 
 It is very white and fine. The silicic acid, or silica, combines with 
 potash, soda, oxide of lead, alumina, lime, and other substances that 
 may be added to produce silicates of these bases, which are classed 
 by the manufacturer as fluxes. Waste glass forms a considerable 
 proportion of the raw material, promoting the fusion and the chemi- 
 cal union of the silica and the bases mixed with it. 
 
 The main stock contains ten pots, and the furnace in which they 
 rest is twenty-two feet in diameter. The coal is fed through a flume 
 and five tons of coal are consumed every twenty-four hours. By an 
 arrangement of the draughts, the heat becomes most intense, the 
 flame being heated to incandescence. These fires are seldom al- 
 lowed to go out, as the pots would crack, rendering the operation 
 expensive. The present fire at the Mt. Washington works has 
 burned continuously for four years. Previous to this time it had not 
 been out during eight years. The nose holes in the furnace bear 
 the suggestive name of "glory holes."
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 213 
 
 There is also another furnace for reheating the glass at different 
 stages of its manufacture. Oil is used in this furnace and the heat 
 is intensified by the use of a super-heated steam blast. 
 
 The melting pots are made of clay, and in order that they may 
 withstand the excessive heat and the action of the various melted 
 
 ingredients, their construction is an 
 object of special solicitude. The 
 material used at these works is the 
 Stourbridge fire clay, which comes 
 from England. Missouri clay is 
 also used to some extent. It is first 
 carefully trod by baretbot men, 
 until it is prepared for moulding. The average pot is about four feet 
 high and four feet in diameter at the top and somewhat smaller at 
 the bottom. It holds about a ton of glass. The pot is built entirely 
 by hand, and only a small part is constructed each day. When a 
 few inches of the walls are built up, cloths are placed over the fresh 
 clay and the moisture is thus absorbed. The top of the pot is made 
 in the form of a hood, with a small opening near the top correspond- 
 ing with the nose hole of the furnace, and from which the workman 
 withdraws the melted glass. The life of these pots varies from a few 
 weeks to six or even eight months. Sometimes they crack and 
 sometimes the action of the glass ingredients eats a hole through the 
 clay where an impertect stratum exists. These leaks are detected as 
 the glass runs out through the grating of the furnace underneath. 
 When the leak is in front of the pot, a part of the setting is some- 
 times torn away and a blast of cold air is allowed to strike the pot. 
 The glass in the crack hardens and the leak is thus permanently 
 stopped. This is called "concaving"' a pot. Usually, however, as 
 much of the glass is bailed out and saved as is possible, and new 
 pots, which are kept in a furnace in preparation, are substituted. 
 When the glass is being bailed, great clouds of steam arise, and, 
 condensing on the iron roof, it falls to the floor like a shower of rain. 
 The ingredients of the glass are heated to a white heat and then 
 the heat is raised as rapidly as possible. The contents of the pot are 
 kept in a state of perfect fluidity for from ten to thirtv lu)urs, or until 
 the bubbles disappear and the insoluble matters settle, when the fur- 
 nace is allowed to cool until the metal has become viscid, when it can 
 
 be taken out and worked.
 
 214 
 
 NEW BEDFORi:). 
 
 Work commences in the glass making department at i o'clock 
 on Monday morning and the men are divided into two gangs.. The 
 gang which commences work at this hour works until 6 o'clock in 
 the morning, then recommences work at i p. m. and continues work 
 until 6 o'clock in the evening. The second gang works between the 
 hours of 7 and I2 o'clock a. m. and p. m. These periods of work 
 are called "moves" in the vernacular. The workmen are divided 
 into gangs of four. There is the "gatherer," who takes the requisite 
 amount of glass from the pots on the end of a blow pipe, the "sticker 
 up," who reheats it, the "servitor," who does the preliminary work, 
 preparing it for the "gaffer," who does the finishing. 
 
 It is a singular fact that the tools employed have not changed for 
 two hundred years or more. The first in importance is the blowing 
 tube, which is of wrought iron, four or five feet in length, with a 
 bore one quarter inch and diameter one inch. Tongs are exclusively 
 employed to shape the various articles, and the most beautiful vases 
 are made b}' the use of these. Purcellas are heavy tongs, some- 
 times furnished with broad, blunt blades of wood, and these are 
 principally used in forming the articles. The vessel in process of 
 manufacture is frequently applied to the furnace opening to soften it. 
 
 When completed, the articles are removed to the annealing oven, 
 in which they are left to be tempered. This removes the quality of 
 brittleness, exhibited by the familiar Prince Rupert's drops. The 
 glass ware is moved along in the annealing ovens, through a con- 
 stantly decreasing temperature, until it emerges into cold air. 
 Some of the ware becomes annealed in twenty-four hours, but the 
 nicest heavy glass, intended to stand the friction of the cutting 
 wheels, is a week in passing through the ovens. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this article to go into the interesting details 
 of glass manufacture, but rather to allude to the peculiar work done 
 at this factory. 
 
 Formerly the company was engaged extensively in the manu- 
 facture of lamp chimneys and pressed work, but it has now almost 
 entirely abandoned these branches of the business to the western 
 factories. 
 
 The introduction of electric lighting has created a demand for 
 a new line of goods. This company has a contract with the mana- 
 gers of a prominent arc lighting system for furnishing all the globes 
 used by them. About ten thousand of these globes are kept continu-
 
 SANDERS &. BARROWS CLOTHING STORE.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 217 
 
 ally in stock and some weeks as many as five thousand are shipped 
 to the plants controlled by the company. These globes are shipped 
 to tbreign lands, even as far as Australia and Egypt. It is interesting 
 to think of shipping glass from New Bedford to the latter country, 
 where the manufacture of glass was certainly practiced as long ago 
 as three thousand years before Christ. The bulbs for Edison lamps 
 are also blown here and the company makes one hundred fifty varie- 
 ties of incandescent lighting shades. 
 
 Amberina, or rose amber ware, which is a transparent and effect- 
 ive combination of glass, shading from ruby to the most delicate 
 amber tint, in which the popular optical and hammered effects are 
 produced, is made here, and the circupistances of its introduction on 
 the market are interesting. When ruby glass, which, by the way, 
 receives its coloring from an oxide of gold, comes from the pot, it is 
 amber in color. In making red glass the articles were reheated, when 
 the red color developed. It was the practice to reheat first one end 
 of the vessel and then the other. When one end of the article was 
 reheated the result was the ware now known as amberina, but in this 
 state it was considered as unfinished. At length two companies, of 
 which the Mount Washington was one, conceived the idea of trving 
 the public with this variegated ware. It caught the popular fancv and 
 was all the rage for about two years. The amount of gold used in 
 the glass is indicated by the fact that the residuum in the bottom of 
 the old pots in which this glass is made is carefully chipped off, and 
 globules of gold are found precipitated, sometimes to the value of 
 thirty or forty dollars. 
 
 The success of amberina suggested to F. S. Shirlev, the agent 
 of the works, that an opaque shaded ware would be a novelty. The 
 introduction of Burmese ware opened a new era in glass making 
 and created a sensation at once. Its loveliness is due to its translu- 
 cenc}^ and blending tones of color, from a flesh pink to a vellow. 
 It has been graphically described in an English journal as "the 
 dawn of another day," which term aptly designates the roseate tints 
 of color blending into each other. 
 
 Mr. Shirley developed the pink shade with oxide of uranium, 
 the price of which has advanced from four dollars to six dollars since 
 Burmese ware was put on the market. He judged that a combina- 
 tion with yellow glass would be most effective, and patented his dis- 
 covery in 1883. The glass is finishetl with either a glazed or plush
 
 2l8 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 finish, but the hitter is most popular. This ware is now manu- 
 factured by only two 'factories in the world : the Mt. Washington 
 Glass Company and by Thomas Webb & Sons, England, who are 
 licensed under the former's patents. 
 
 The following letters explain themselves : 
 
 Balmoral, 8th September, 1886. 
 Major Edwards presents his compliments to Mr. F. S. Shirley : 
 
 He has been commanded to convey to him the Queen's thanks 
 for the beautiful specimen of the ware of the Mt. Washington Glass 
 Co., which he has been good enough to forward for Her Majesty's 
 acceptance. And Princess Beatrice has also at the same time desired 
 Major Edwards to express her sincere thanks for the very pretty 
 vases Mr. Shirley has presented to her Royal Highness. 
 
 Balmoral, 17th September, 1886. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 I have to thank you for your telegram and was not aware you 
 had left England. 
 
 1 am commanded by the Queen to ask you to supply, on Her 
 Majesty's account, the following articles, in similar ware to that 
 recently presented to her : 
 
 1. A tea set of the same description, but not necessarily of 
 precisely the same pattern as that presented. 
 
 2. Two pairs of vases, something similar to those presented to 
 Princess Beatrice, but the two pairs might be slightly different. 
 
 When ready, would you please forward them to Buckingham 
 Palace, London? Yours faithfully, F. Edwards. 
 
 To F. Stagey Shirley. 
 
 Sir Henry Ponsonby has to acknowledge the receipt of the arti- 
 cles in glass which Mr. Shirley has forwarded to the Queen, and 
 begs to say that Messrs. Drexel, Morgan & Co., of New York, have 
 been instructed to pay £250 to Mr. Shirley lor these articles. 
 
 Sir H. Ponsonby is also commanded to convey to Mr. Shirley 
 the expression of the Queen's thanks for the objects, which, as he 
 intimates in his letter of the 8th December (addressed to Major 
 Edwards), he has offered for Her Majesty's acceptance. 
 
 yanuary ijt/i, iSSy, Privy Purse Office, 
 Bfickinghani Palace, S. W., London, Eng. 
 
 Four vases were also sent as a present to President Cleveland's 
 bride, which were acknowledged in a letter from the president, who 
 wrote, "They are highly prized as evidencing the kind consideration 
 of the company, while they illustrate the perfection and excellence 
 of its manufactures."
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 221 
 
 The pearl satin ware is also made at the works and a patent has 
 been granted to the company for the same. The pearl satin ware is 
 blown into a mould provided with projecting points, bands, or other 
 ornamental designs, so as to form depressions in the article so blown. 
 The interior body is then dipped and covered in a shell of sensitive 
 glass which seals or protects the air in the cavities. The article 
 is then finished in any desired manner. This ware has a novel and 
 lovely effect, the surface being finished in a lustreless, velvet}' skin. 
 
 Cameo ware is also made here. This involves the process 
 known as "casing." By this process articles, when partially blown, 
 are inserted into a thin shell of glass of another color prepared for 
 their reception. 
 
 These are but a few of the varieties of glass ware manufactured. 
 Each variety involves many interesting and curious details and 
 processes. 
 
 Cut glass is a specialty with the company and their patrons 
 include some of the most celebrated dealers in the world. About 
 fifty men are employed in the cutting room, and in addition to the 
 more common patterns, the company has copyrighted a number 
 of special designs, including the "Electric, ""Thurber," and "Daunt- 
 less" patterns. These designs are copyrighted that the company may 
 be protected from the pressed glass makers, who crib the popular 
 patterns for the cheaper moulded ware. This latter can be easily 
 detected, as it never exhibits the lustre or clearly cut configurations 
 of the cut or ground glass. The cutting is executed by the use 
 of three wheels. The surface is first applied to the face of revolving 
 disks of iron, fed with fine sand and water. The marks of the 
 rough grinding are then removed bv a smooth grindstone, and the 
 polishing is completed by wooden or brusii wheels, to which a putty 
 powder of tin and lead is applied. This powder and also the brush 
 wheels are made on the premises. At their show rooms the com- 
 pany now exhibits a toilet table made almost entirely of cut glass. 
 This displa3^s remarkable skill and beauty. It is piped for gas or 
 can be wired for electric lights, and its value is i\y<.' hundred dollars. 
 
 The decorating is done in a three story building on the premises, 
 which is entirely given up to this department. Albert Stellin is the 
 superintendent in this department and designed the elegant decorated 
 Burmese sent to the queen. This pattern has now become famous 
 and is knowm as the "queen's" design. It conventionalizes a number
 
 222 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 of flowers and is in raised enamel. Much of the decorating is done 
 with pure gold, reduced with acids, and the effect of the rich gold 
 with the mellow shades of the Burmese is very lovely. The maiden 
 hair fern design on lamps and shades of lustreless white glass 
 is one of the most tasteful pieces of glass ware ever put on the mar- 
 ket. Some others of the latest designs are the "tapestry," the "Per- 
 sian," the latter giving the effect of inlaid enamel, the new lace 
 pattern, and the "Egyptian" design, in which the pyramids and palms 
 are conspicuous. There is also a design of fish swimming in a net 
 of gold which is very attractive. The colors are of mineral compo- 
 sition and are fused into the material by baking in the kilns. At the 
 same time they undergo a chemical change which develops the bril- 
 liancy and transparency. The salt, pepper, and sugar sifters, in the 
 form of decorated eggs of glass, originated here and have proved a 
 very successful Easter specialt}'. The decorated ware turned out here 
 is of the highest grade, prepared for the finest trade. 
 
 The company's employes number two hundred fifty and the 
 annual pay roll aggregates over one hundred thousand dollars. 
 The company employs two travelling salesmen and maintains a fine 
 store at No. 46 Murray street. New York city. 
 
 During the year there are consumed at the factory about fifteen 
 hundred tons of coal, two thousand barrels of crude petroleum, two 
 hundred tons of coke, one hundred tons of packing hay, and five 
 thousand packages, such as casks and barrels for shipping. These, 
 with the lumber, clay, and brick used, require the presence of a ves- 
 sel at the wharf almost continually through the year. 
 
 The present officers of the company are : 
 
 President — William J. Rotch. 
 Agent — Frederick S. Shirley. 
 Treasurer — Andrew Snow, Jr. 
 
 Directors — William J. Rotch, William W. Crapo, Jonathan 
 Bourne, Edward D. Mandell, Oliver Prescott, and George R. Phillips. 
 
 Not long ago a gentleman went into one of the largest stores in 
 New York where art pottery and glass ware are sold, and, approach- 
 ing a counter upon which some ver}- beautiful lamps were displaved, 
 tapped one of the decorated shades and asked the salesman if he 
 wanted to purchase a stock of those goods. 
 
 "Those goods ai^ imported, sir," was the reply. "They are from 
 the Royal Worcester works."
 
 224 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 "I beg pardon," said the gentleman. "The vase of the lamp is 
 Royal Worcester, but the shade was decorated in this country." 
 
 The salesman denied this and said he would call the buyer for 
 the firm, who happened to be present. 
 
 The latter was called and substantiated the statement that the 
 article was imported. 
 
 THOMPSON STREET SCHOOL HOUSE. 
 
 "That shade was made in New Bedford, at my shop," said the gen- 
 tleman. 
 
 "Well, who are you, then?" was asked. 
 
 "I am one of the firm of Smith Brothers," was the reply. 
 
 The buyer expressed much surprise, and having purchased the 
 goods of an importer, said he had alwavs supposed the shade was 
 made across the water. That such work was executed in this coun- 
 trv was a revelation to him.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 225 
 
 It is a fact that the glass decoration done in New Bedford cannot 
 be excelled anywhere in the world, and the tirin of Smith Brothers is 
 
 intimately connected 
 j^..,-_j»- ZI^^^ ""^^ .SmS^ with the development 
 
 of the indnstr}' in this 
 country. The father 
 of Messrs. Alfred E. 
 and Harry A. Smith, 
 who constitute the firm, 
 was the pioneer in the 
 glass decorating busi- 
 ness in this country. 
 He came here from 
 England about the year 
 185 1, at whicli time the 
 art was in its infancy, 
 under contract with the 
 Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, and encountered many dis- 
 couraging obstacles. In the first place, the taste of the people had 
 not been educated to an appreciation of the work. When Mr. Smith 
 left England, the excavations at Nineveh and Pompeii had created 
 a demand for reproductions of ancient pottery on which Grecian and 
 Roman borders and figures were painted in black. The demand 
 for such goods had reached the proportions of "a rage." The first 
 difficulty in reproducing these articles here was encountered in the 
 effort to obtain suitable ware to decorate. The workmen couldn't 
 make the vases. There were hardly two blanks alike and it was a 
 good deal of trouble to match the vases into pairs. When tlie goods 
 were put on the market, the dealers sent word that "■ they didn't want 
 any more of those niggers." Alfred was in the emplov of his father 
 at this time and was the first artist in this countrv to put enamel 
 colors on a cone shade. The experiment was not a success. The 
 colors which the decorator had at his disposal were manutactured in 
 a crude way, being simply glass ground to an impalpable powder. 
 But the glass of which the shades were made was so easily fusible 
 that they would not stand the ordeal of fire in the kilns. 
 
 Nearl}^ discouraged, Mr. Smitii looked about to see in what 
 direction his art could be utili/.cd and rendered profitable. At that 
 time fluid lamps were in common use. and the experiment of gilding
 
 226 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 designs on the lamps and pedestals was tried. It was found that the 
 glass would stand fairly well a "gold" fire, or the temperature required 
 
 4 to make the gold unite with the glass, and the new 
 idea was an instantaneous and brilliant success. 
 Everybod}' wanted decorated lamps and hundreds of 
 thousands were made. Occasionally enamel colors 
 were tried, but the glass was unsuitable. 
 Still the decorators yearned for a broader field 
 i. .- -- ■ and the Smiths commenced reducing the colors with 
 
 I ■ ' 'ii^ flux, causing them to fuse at a lower temperature, but 
 ww^mif^W this, of course, affected the quality of the color. 
 ^Mu^^'' The problem was solved years after by the Messrs. 
 ^^gSL Smith. It was another phase of the story of the 
 Wr^^9 mountain which would not come to Mohammed. 
 The blank shades were imported and Smith Brothers were the first 
 decorating firm to order shades from abroad, prepared for their pur- 
 poses. Subsequently all the decorators followed their example. 
 
 In addition to gilding lamps, Mr. Smith introduced a new style 
 of apothecary's ware, which was afterwards driven out of the market 
 by the invention of the recessed labels. 
 
 After a few years, the elder Smith severed his connection with 
 the Boston & Sandwich Company and established the Boston China 
 Decorating Works, now managed by Levi Coole}^ who formerly 
 fired kilns for Mr. Smith. 
 
 In the spring of 1871, Messrs. Alfred E. and Harry A. Smith 
 came to this city under contract with William L. Libbey and estab- 
 lished a decorating department at the Mount Washington Glass 
 Works, starting with eight or ten workmen. Two years previously, 
 decorated ring cone shades were introduced and they were now in 
 good demand. The decorating department here was a success from 
 the outset. At the expiration of three years the Messrs. Smith hired 
 the department, bought the stock, and have since conducted the business. 
 The reputation of the firm of Smith Brothers is now world-wide and 
 the brothers rank first in their particular line. They have graduated 
 some of the best workmen in the country and in addition to the 
 young men under their instruction, employ some of the best artists 
 from abroad. 
 
 About four years ago the firm removed to the building Nos. 28 
 and 30 William street, w-hich it now occupies. The building is three
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 229 
 
 Stories high, fifty by eighty feet in area, and is completely equipped 
 in every respect. There are four kilns, and about thirty workmen 
 are emplo3'ed. 
 
 The firm has kept pace with the rapid advance in the education 
 of the taste of the people. At first only ordinary work was required, 
 but now there is a demand for a line of artistic work which was never 
 dreamed of a few years ago. After the rage for ring cone shades 
 had subsided, the firm turned its attention to the decoration of vases, 
 and produced thousands. These vases w-ere nearly all sent to the 
 silver plating works for mounting, a great many being decorated 
 for Reed & Barton and the Meriden Britannia Company. What is 
 everywhere known as the "Smith vase" was first made here, and 
 no vase ever had so great a run of popularity. Finally the pattern 
 was copied. Horace Partridge placed it in the dollar stores and the 
 country is now flooded with reproductions. 
 
 Berry and similar dishes were also made. Then dome shades 
 became the fashion, but at first they were made almost exclusively for 
 the chandelier companies. The decoration of lamps has lent a new 
 impetus to the business and the firm is now decorating a great many 
 lamps and jars. 
 
 The lamp vases and shades painted here are exquisitely beau- 
 tiful and artistic. Some of the best effects are obtained on shades of 
 white with a bisque finish. Oriental scenes are painted in the most 
 delicate colors and are of dreamy beauty. When lighted, the effects 
 are lovely, and the details of the work will bear the most careful 
 inspection. Conventional designs in enamel and gold, with Etruscan 
 or burnished finish, are very popular and artistic. The firm also 
 decorates shades on special orders and local landscapes are frequently 
 utilized. While imported porcelains yet hold sway, but little if an)- 
 decorated glass ware is now sent to this country. Baccara, of Paris, 
 once sent the finest decorated shades to this country, but such work 
 as that done at the establishment of Smith Brothers has driven foreign 
 manufacturers from the market. 
 
 When the people are read}' to pay tlie price for domestic deco- 
 rated porcelains that they will pa\' for Royal Worcester and other 
 imported ware. Smith Brothers can undoubtedly produce goods which 
 will equal and excel them in artistic beauty and elfect. The prices 
 paid for decorated glass ware are very low for the standard of work 
 required. A ten-inch shade, for instance, calls for a painting thirtv
 
 230 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 inches in length, which must equal in excellence that of a painting 
 by an artist on canvas. But greater skill and judgment are required 
 by the painter on glass. None of the clear, bright colors are per- 
 ceived until the work is completed and the paint is fused into the 
 material. The artist consequently labors under great disadvantage 
 in applying the materials that are to produce the colors. A difference 
 of ten or twelve degrees in the temperature of the kiln makes or mars 
 his work. Every article must be tried by fire. If the kiln is too hot 
 the article is warped and ruined. When it is taken into consideration 
 that in some instances the variety of colors requires an article to pass 
 through the kiln three times before it is completed, the reasonable 
 price of decorated glass ware is to be marvelled at. 
 
 Within a few months the firm has engaged in glass cutting. A 
 number of fine workmen are employed and some beautiful specimens 
 of the cutters' art are turned out at the factor}^ 
 
 This firm made a display at the centennial exposition which was 
 a revelation to the country, and it received diplomas over every other 
 competitor for the special excellence of its work. 
 
 The King Manufacturing Company manufactures frames and 
 artistic novelties at No. 147 North Water street. This company was 
 incorporated in 1883 and its capital is $20,000. The following are 
 the officers of the company : 
 
 President — George S. Homer. 
 Treasurer — Charles E. Barney. 
 
 Directors — The above, with William H. Washburn, Frank C. 
 Smith, and Henry P. Jenney. 
 
 A factory of brick, thirty-five by one hundred sixty feet in 
 area, two stories high, was erected by the company, and equipped 
 with the most modern machinery and appliances. The firm makes a 
 specialty of pastel or crayon drawings and of fancy frames for origi- 
 nal pictures. Such is the demand for pastels made by this establish- 
 ment that the firm is usually five or six weeks behind on its orders. 
 The pastels are made in sizes ranging from eight by ten inches to 
 large pictures, thirty by forty inches. This firm is the only manu- 
 facturer of permanent pastels on porcelain panels, the process of 
 fixing the colors so that they will not rub being a secret. The effect 
 of the drawings on white panels of etched glass is verv dainty and 
 charming. The company also manufactures toilet mirrors, cabinet 
 frames, toilet novelties, broom cases, mouldings, mats, wall pockets,
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 23 1 
 
 brackets, towel racks, parlor screens, hat racks, wall cabinets, clock 
 and book shelves, artotype cases, parlor, album, and table easels, 
 and photograph and water color panels. It has a branch factory at 
 Newport, where photographs are made and artotype photographs 
 and etchings are printed, and about ten thousand of these prints are 
 kept constantly in stock. 
 
 The firm makes many nice frames to order for etchings, upon 
 which "remarks," as they are technically called, are carved. These 
 "remarks" are designs suggested by the subject of the pictures. 
 
 About one thousand designs of bronze, gold, ivory, and natural 
 wood mouldings are kept in stock, and the ornaments are made here. 
 The moulds emplo}ed in their manufacture are sunk on the premises 
 as well. This firm makes a larger variety of turned circular frames 
 than any other company. It keeps in stock about four hundred styles 
 of cabinet and wall brackets, as many styles of fancy frames, and 
 about two hundred styles of parlor easels. 
 
 The firm employs about one hundred twenty operatives in the 
 busy season and keeps four travelling salesmen on the road. 
 
 The firm of Peirce & Bushnell, manufacturers of picture frames, 
 photographs, and art novelties, was formed in 1870, Mr. Peirce sever- 
 ing his connection at about that time with the firm of Charles Taber 
 & Co. Mr. Bushnell died in 1882, and in the spring of 1887 the 
 business passed into the control of a new corporation, known as the 
 Peirce & Bushnell Manufacturing Company, which organized with 
 a capital stock of $30,000 and with the following officers : 
 
 President — William D. Howland. 
 Treasurer and clerk — Arthur G. Grinnell. 
 
 Directors — The above, with Walter Clifford, Charles W. Plum- 
 mer, and George H. H. Allen. 
 
 The building occupied by the firm is on the east side of North 
 Water street, numbered 72 and 76. It is three stories high, with ells 
 at the south and east. The offices, sample and stock rooms, and the 
 photographic department are located in the main building. In the 
 south ell are the polishing and packing rooms and in the east ell are 
 the bronzing, mat, and gilding rooms and the frame shop. In the 
 busy season about one hundred fifty hands are employed at this 
 establishment. The space occupied by the various departments is 
 about one hundred thousand square feet. 
 
 Photographs, picture frames, mouldings, brackets, cabinets.
 
 232 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 easels, wall pockets, and holiday novelties are made here, and the 
 firm will not yield the claim for first place in the manufacture and 
 coloring of photographs. As at the two other factories in the city 
 the frame mouldings are ornamented and carved on the premises. 
 from original designs, and the goods stand well in point of artistic 
 excellence with any made in the country. The company has a New 
 York office on Great Jones street, and employs three travelling sales- 
 men. 
 
 L. A. Littlefield, manufacturer of trimmings for glass ware and 
 electroplater, has built up a thrifty and constantly increasing busi- 
 ness at No. 134 Union street. At the present time he is principally 
 engaged in the manufacture of caps for pepper, salt, and mustard 
 bottles. He employs four men, and electric motors furnish power for 
 his lathes. Mr. Littlefield also does a large business in silver and 
 nickel plating. He commenced business here with George Needham, 
 under the firm name of Needham & Littlefield. in 1884. Mr. Need- 
 ham withdrew from the firm in April, 1888. 
 
 Fred H. Sargent is engaged in gold, silver, and nickel plating 
 at the corner of Pleasant street and Mechanics lane. He employs 
 the "close plating" process, plating carriage trimmings and other 
 new goods, as well as replating articles. 
 
 Charles F. Folger, manufacturer of cabinets, easels, brackets, and 
 screens, started business in 1884 and occupies the entire three story 
 factor}-, Nos. 133, 135, and 137 South Water street. He employs 
 between fifteen and twenty skillful workmen and makes wood mantels 
 and sideboards to order. He is also prepared to fit offices and do 
 general inside finishing for stores and halls, and w^ood turning and 
 jig sawing as well. Mr. Folger has a salesroom at No. 264 Canal 
 street. New York city, and J. P. Howatt acts as his general agent. 
 
 F. Bertram Aulich carries on glass decorating in the three story 
 brick building Nos. 23 and 25 Union street, and makes a specialty of 
 the decoration of lamp goods, vases, plaques, and alabaster tiles. 
 He has been established in business about six vears and employ's 
 thirteen men.
 
 INDUSTRIAI. AND FINANCIAL. 233 
 
 BANKS AND BANKING. 
 
 The banking facilities of New Bedford are unusual for a city of 
 its size, the capital and surplus of our national and savings banks 
 aggregating considerably over twenty million dollars and exceeding 
 by several million dollars the entire valuation of the citv fortv vears 
 ago. 
 
 The First Nadonal Bank, at the southeast corner of Union and 
 Second streets, was formerly the Marine Bank, which was organized 
 April 3, 1832, with a capital of $200,000. The first board of direct- 
 ors comprised Joseph Grinnell, Nathaniel Hathaway, Kimball Perrv, 
 Joseph S. Tillinghast, Alexander H. Campbell, Ephraim Kempton, 
 Benjamin Russell, Joseph R. Anthony, and William W. Swain. In 
 1833 the capital was increased to $300,000, in 185 1 to $500,000, and 
 in 1855 to $600,000. Joseph Grinnell was its first and only president, 
 and John E. Williams, William M. Sisson, and John P. Barker were 
 the cashiers. This bank was the first national bank in the city and 
 was among the first in the state to adopt the national svstem. This 
 was in 1864, when its name was changed to that which it now bears. 
 The directors were Joseph Grinnell, Ward M. Parker, William 
 Gifford, Edward W. Rowland, Edward C. Jones, Lemuel Kollock, 
 George F. Barker, Otis Seabury, and Ivory H. Bartlett. Jr. Joseph 
 Grinnell continued to act as president of the bank until January, 1878. 
 when he was succeeded by Edward W. Howland, and finallv bv 
 William Watkins. In i860 the capital was increased to $1,000,000, 
 at which amount it now stands, and the surplus aggregates $200,000. 
 The bank has been since its organization a designated depositorv of 
 the United States. In 1874, Walter P. Winsor succeeded Mr. Barker 
 as cashier, a position which he now holds. George B. Hathaway is 
 the teller. 
 
 The directors since the organization as the Marine Bank, with 
 the years in which their terms of service began and ended, have been 
 as follows : Joseph Grinnell, 1832 to 1885 : William W. Swain, 1832 
 to 1845; Nathaniel Hathaway, 1832 to 1837: Joseph S. Tillinghast, 
 1832 to 1835: Joseph R. Anthony, 1832 to 1840: Kimball Perry, 
 1832, six months; Alexander II. Campbell, 1832 to 1834; Benjamin 
 Russell, 1832 to 1833 ; Ephraim Kempton, 1832 to 1863 ; Stephen
 
 234 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Merrihew, 1832 to 1837; William C. Taber, 1833 to 1857; James 
 Ilovvland, 2d, 1834 ^^ ^^^^ ' Atkins Adams, 1835 to 1850 ; Alexander 
 II. Seabury, 1837 to 1840, and 1867 to 1887 ; Edward C. Jones, 1837 
 to 1880; Ward M. Parker, 1840 to 1881 ; Lemuel Kollock, 1840 to 
 1888; Edward W. Howland, 1845 to 1879; William Gifford, 1851 to 
 1866 ; George F. Barker. 1857 to 1865 ; Otis Seabury, i860 to 1875 ' 
 Ivory H. Bartlett, Jr., 1862 to 1865 ; James Henry Howland, 1865 to 
 1884: Joseph C. Delano, 1865 to 1886: Charles H. Gitford, 1866 to 
 1881 : John P. Knowles, 2d, 1867 to 1887 ; Samuel P. Burt, 187 1 to 
 1875; Abram T. Eddy, 1876: Walter P. Winsor, 1879; William 
 Watkins, 1879; Thomas M. Stetson, 1880; Edward S. Taber, 1881 ; 
 Edmund Grinnell, 1882 to 1888 ; William Baylies, 1885 ; Edward T. 
 Pierce, 1886 ; Humphrey W. Seabur}-, 1887 ; Savory C. Hathaway. 
 1887: Matthew Luce, 1888; Sidney W. Knowles, 1888. 
 
 The present officers are as follows : 
 
 President — William Watkins. 
 
 Cashier — Walter P. Winsor. 
 
 Directors — Abram T. Eddy, Walter P. Winsor, William Watkins. 
 Thomas M. Stetson, Edw^ard S. Taber, William Baylies, Humphrey 
 W. Seabury, Savory C. Hathaway, Edward T. Pierce, Matthew Luce, 
 and Sidney W. Knowles. 
 
 The history of the National Bank of Commerce is of peculiar 
 interest. In 1803, we read that the business of the town had increased 
 sufficiently to warrant the establishment of a bank and The Bedford 
 Bank was incorporated with a capital of $60,000. At the outset it was 
 thought this amount would be more than could be loaned, but in 
 1804 it became necessary to increase the capital to the enormous sum 
 of $150,000. In 1812, the old charter expired and as the countrv was 
 then at war with England, the state of business was deemed so preca- 
 rious that the affairs of the institution were concluded. Thomas 
 Hazard was the tirst president and John Pickens w'as the cashier. 
 Among the first directors were John Howland, Cornelius Grinnell, 
 William Rotch, Jr., and Thomas Nye. 
 
 There was no bank in New^ Bedford for an interval of four years, 
 but in 1816 the Bedford Commercial Bank w^as established with a 
 capital of $100,000, which was increased in 1821 to $150,000 ; in 1825 
 to $250,000: in 1831 to $400,000, and in 1851 to $600,000. Joseph 
 Ricketson w-as elected cashier at a salary of $500 per annum, and
 
 o
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 237 
 
 John Avery Parker, Cornelius Grinnell, Gideon Hovvland, George 
 Howland, Seth Russell, Jr. , James Arnold, Joseph Ricketson, Thomas 
 Nye, and Samuel Rodman, Jr., were chosen directors, with George 
 Howland as president. The old bank building was a quaint affair 
 and the subterranean vaults were calculated to defy the efforts of 
 thieves who might be disposed to break through and steal. George 
 Howland was president of the institution until his death in 185 1, when 
 Edward Mott Robinson was elected to the position. He filled the 
 position until i860, when Thomas Nye, Jr., succeeded him. Thomas 
 S. Hathaway held the office from 1869 until 1878, and Francis Hath- 
 away, the present incumbent, was elected in 1878. 
 
 The Bedford Commercial Bank was organized as tiie National 
 Bank of Commerce, December 19, 1864, and Thomas Nye, Jr., 
 William J. Rotch, Thomas S. Hathaway, George Hussev, Matthew 
 Hovvland, Charles L. Wood, William Hathaway, Jr. , Thomas Knowles, 
 Henry Taber, and William C. N. Swift were elected directoi's. In 
 1874 ^^^^ capital stock was increased to $1,000,000. which is its pres- 
 ent capital. The surplus is now $200,000. 
 
 The directors of the bank since its organization in 1816, with the 
 years of their term of service, have been as follows : John Avery 
 Parker, 1816 to 1825 ; Cornelius Grinnell, 1816 to 183 1 ; Gideon 
 Howland, Jr., 1816 to 1825; George Howland, 1816 to 1852; Seth 
 Russell, Jr., 1816 to 1834; James Arnold, 1816 to 1836, 1837 to 
 1838, 1840 to 1854; Joseph Ricketson, 1816 to 1842 ; Thomas Nye, 
 1816 to 1831 ; Samuel Rodman, Jr., 1816 to 1849; Nathaniel Hatha- 
 way, 1825 to 1832; Thomas Rotch, 1825 to 1826; Charles W. 
 Morgan, 1826 to 1848 ; Joseph Grinnell, 1831 to 1832; William T. 
 Russell, 1831 to 1837; Thomas S. Hathaway, 1832 to 1878; Jireh 
 Perry, 1832 to 1849; Thomas Nye, Jr., 1834 to 1869, 1871 to 1883 ; 
 Edward Mott Robinson, 1836 to 1840. 1848 to i860; William Hatha- 
 way, Jr., 1838 to 1886; Abraham H. Howland, 1842 to 1847; 
 Charles L. Wood, 1847 to 1882; William C. Nye, 1849 to 1850; 
 William C. N. Swift, 1849; George Hussey, 1849 to 1866; William 
 J. Rotch. 1852 ; Matthew Howland, 1852 to 1885 ; Frederick Parker, 
 1859 to 1862 ; John Hunt, i860 to 1862 ; Henry Taber, 1862 
 Thomas Knowles, 1862 to 1878; John H. Clifford, 1866 to 1872 
 Leander A. Plummer, 1867 to 1885 ; James Robinson, 1872 to 1875 
 Benjamin T. Cummings, 1877 to 1882 ; Charles W. Clifford, 1878 
 Francis Hathaway, 1878; Frederick Swift. 1880; Morgan Rotch,
 
 238 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 1882; William A. Robinson, 1882; Oliver Prescott, 1883; Otis N. 
 Pierce, 1883 ; Charles W. Plummer, 1883 ; Joseph F. Knowles, 1883 ; 
 Walter Clifford, 1885 ; Manly U. Adams, 1885 ; William D. How- 
 land, 1886. 
 
 The cashiers have been as follows : Joseph Ricketson, 1816-34, 
 James H. Crocker, 1834-38 ; Thomas B. White, 1838-73 ; Benjamin 
 F. Coombs, 1873-76 ; and James H. Tallman, 1877 to the present time. 
 The teller is Horace Wood. 
 
 The present officers of the bank are as follows : 
 
 President — Francis Hathawa}-. 
 
 Vice president — William C. N. Swift. 
 
 Cashier — James H. Tallman. 
 
 Directors — Francis Hathaway, William C. N. Swift, Henry 
 Taber, William J. Rotch, Charles W. Clifford, William A. Robinson. 
 Frederick Swift, Oliver Prescott, Charles W. Plummer, Walter Clif- 
 ford, Morgan Rotch, Otis N. Pierce, Joseph F. Knowles, William D. 
 Howland, and Manly U. Adams. 
 
 In 1883 the imposing bank building of brick and brownstone, on 
 North Water street, now occupied b}^ the bank, was erected, and it is 
 regarded as one of the ornaments of the cit\'. 
 
 The Merchants National Bank has elegantly fitted quarters in the 
 stately building on Water street, at the foot of William. It is the 
 offspring of the Merchants Bank, which was organized July 13, 1825, 
 with a capital of $150,000. This was increased while the bank was 
 doing business under the state law in 1828, to $250,000; in 1831 to 
 $400,000; and in 1851 to $600,000. The first board of directors 
 consisted of John Avery Parker, Samuel Borden, Job Eddy, Abraham 
 Barker, Joseph Bourne, William H. Allen, David R. Greene, John 
 Coggeshall, Jr., and AllVed Gibbs. Mr. Parker was the president of 
 the bank until his death, December 23, 1853. Charles R. Tucker 
 succeeded him, holding the office until his death, December 21, 1876, 
 when Jonathan Bourne succeeded him, and is now president. James 
 B. Congdon was the first cashier. He resigned January i, 1858, and 
 was succeeded by Peleg C. Howland, to whose untiring zeal is due 
 in a great measure the bank's present standing of excellence. On 
 the death of Mr. Howland, October 26, 1885, Henry C. W. Mosher 
 was elected to the position and is now cashier. Gideon B. Wright 
 and Lloyd S. Swain are the tellers. The bank was reorganized as 
 The Merchants National Bank of New Bedford, February 14, 1865,
 
 240 NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 with the following board of directors : Charles R. Tucker, Abra- 
 ham Barker, David R. Greene, Gideon Allen, Thomas Bradley, 
 Dennis Wood, Jonathan Bourne, William P. Rowland, and Andrew 
 Hicks. The capital stock at that time was $600,000, with a surplus 
 of $166,050.58. In 1869 the capital was increased to $1,000,000, 
 at which figure it now stands, with a surplus of $500,000. 
 
 The directors of this bank since the beginning, with the years of 
 their term of service, have been as follows : John Avery Parker, 
 1825 to 1854; William H. Allen, 1825 to 1829; Abraham Barker, 
 1825 to 1871 : John Coggeshall, Jr., 1825 to 1844; Joseph Bourne, 
 1825 to 1828 ; Alfred Gibbs, 1825 to 1842 ; Job Eddy, 1825 to 1853 ; 
 David R. Greene, 1825 to 1880; Samuel Borden, 1825 to 1849; 
 William C. Nye, 1829 to 1831 ; Gideon Allen, 1832 to 1878 ; Nehe- 
 miah Leonard, 1832 to 1843 ; Edward L. Baker, 1843 to 1864 
 Charles R. Tucker, 1844 to 1876; Dennis Wood, 1850 to 1878 
 William Penn Rowland, 1850 to 1869; Jonathan Bourne, 1854 
 Andrew Hicks, 1854; Thomas Bradley, 1855 to 1873: George F 
 Bardett. 1866; William R. Wing, 1866; George R. Phillips, 1866 
 Joseph Arthur Beauvais, 1872 to 1875 ? George F. Kingman, 1876 
 Stephen G. Driscol, 1876 to 1881 ; Lewis S. Judd, 1877 to 1886 
 Samuel C. Hart, 1878; Thomas H. Knowles, 1878: Gilbert Allen, 
 1879; Abraham H. Rowland, Jr., 1879 to 1887 : Francis B. Greene. 
 1880; WilHam N. Church, 1882; George S. Homer, 1887: James 
 Delano, 1888. 
 
 The officers, as they now stand, are as follows : 
 
 President — Jonathan Bourne. 
 
 Cashier — Henry C. W. Mosher. 
 
 Dn-ectors — Jonathan Bourne, Andrew Hicks, George F. Bartlett, 
 William R. Wing, George F. Kingman, William N. Church, Thomas 
 H. Knowles, Samuel C. Hart, Gilbert Allen, Francis B. Greene, James 
 Delano, and George S. Homer. 
 
 The Mechanics National Bank occupies handsome quarters in 
 the same building. This was originally a state bank and was incor- 
 porated October 3, 183 1, under the name of "The President, Direct- 
 ors, and Company of the Mechanics Bank in New Bedford." In 
 March, 1849, the legislature was petitioned for a renewal of the origi- 
 nal charter, which would expire October i, 185 1, by limitation. The 
 bank did not cease business as a state bank until March 31, 1865, 
 although the bank was reorganized as a national bank, June 3, 1864.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 24I 
 
 The original capital was $200,000, which was increased to 
 $400,000 April 12, 1854, and to $600,000, the present capital of the 
 Mechanics National Bank, in June, 1857. The present surplus is 
 $225,000. 
 
 The original board of directors comprised William R. Rodman, 
 Thomas Mandell, George T. Baker, Joseph R. Shiverick, John Per- 
 kins, Edmund Gardner, Pardon Tillinghast, Andrew Robeson, and 
 Dudley Davenport. Following are given the names of all who have 
 served the bank as directors, with the years in which their service 
 began and ended : William R. Rodman, 183 1 to 185 1 ; Thomas 
 Mandell, 1831 to 1870; George T. Baker, 1831 to 1843 : Joseph R. 
 Shiverick, 1831 to i860; John Perkins, 1831 to 1849; Edmund 
 Gardner, 1831 to 1872 ; Pardon Tillinghast, 1831 to 1872 ; Andrew 
 Robeson, 1831 to 1848; Dudley Davenport, 1831 to 1848; James H. 
 Collins, 1843 to 1861 ; William Cummings. 1848 to 1849; Jonathan 
 Rowland, 1848 to 1849; John R. Thornton. 1849: Jireh Swift, Jr., 
 1849; Edmund Taber, 1849 to 1861 ; Henry Taber, 1851 to 1852: 
 William Watkins. 1852 to 1880 : Loum Snow, i860 to 1872 ; William 
 W. Crapo, 1861 ; Thomas Wilcox, 1861 ; Sylvanus Thomas, 1866 to 
 1867 ; Andrew G. Pierce, 1867 ; Edward D. Mandell, 1871 ; Horatio 
 Hathaway, 1872 ; Henry F. Thomas, 1872 to 1880 ; Loum Snow, Jr., 
 1876; E. Williams Hervey, 1883 ; Edward Kilburn. 1883 5 Henry C. 
 Denison, 1887. 
 
 William R. Rodman was the first president. He held the office 
 for twenty years, resigning in October, 185 1. Thomas Mandell suc- 
 ceeded him, being elected president October 11, 185 1, and holding 
 the office until his death, February 13, 1870. William W. Crapo was 
 chosen president June i, 1870, and still retains that position. 
 
 Joseph Congdon was the first cashier and he held the position 
 until October 7, 1857, a period of twenty-six years, when he resigned 
 on account of ill health. E. Williams Hervey succeeded Mr. Cong- 
 don as cashier, being elected October 7, 1857. He held the position 
 until August 9, 1882, when he also resigned on account of ill health, 
 after havinir been for twentv-nine vears in the service of the bank, 
 and cashier for a period of nearly Iwenly-live years. James W. Her- 
 vey succeeded him and is the present cashier. Lenniel T. Terry is 
 the assistant cashier, and the present officers ol the bank are as 
 follows :
 
 242 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 President — William W. Crapo. 
 
 Vice president — Andrew G. Pierce. 
 
 Cashier — James W. Hervey. 
 
 Directors — William W. Crapo, Andrew G. Pierce, John R. 
 Thornton, Jireh Swift, Thomas Wilcox, Edward D. Mandell, Horatio 
 Hathaway, E. Williams Hervey, Loum Snow, Jr., Edward Kilburn, 
 and Henry C. Denison. 
 
 The Citizens National Bank, 36 North Water street, was incorpo- 
 rated May 17, 1875, with the following board of directors : J. Arthur 
 Beauvais, John P. Knowles, William J. Kilburn, Joseph H. Cornell, 
 Lewis S. Judd, and John F. Tucker. Mr. Beauvais, who was at that 
 time engaged in a successful private banking enterprise, transferred 
 his business to the new bank and was elected president, a position 
 which lie still holds. The bank was organized with a capital of 
 $250,000, which was subsequently increased to $500,000, and this 
 latter amount is now supplemented by a surplus of $52,500. Thomas 
 B. Fuller was the first cashier, and on his death in 1886, Edward S. 
 Brown was elected to the position. George M. Kingman is teller. 
 Its directors, with the years of their service, have been as follows : 
 J. Arthur Beauvais, 1875 ' John P. Knowles, 1875 ; William J. Kil- 
 burn, 1875 5 Charles Tucker, 1875 ^ Joseph H. Cornell, 1875 ^^ 
 1884: Lewis S. Judd, 1875 to 1876; John F. Tucker, 1875 to 1886; 
 Henry T. Wood, 1876 to 1883 ? George Marston, 1880 to 1883 ; 
 Fred S. Potter, 1881 ; Oliver P. Brightman, 1884; Wendell H. 
 Cobb, 1884 to 1888; Thomas B. Fuller, 1885 to 1886; David B. 
 Kempton, 1886; Cyrenius W. Haskins, 1887. 
 
 The present officers are as follows : 
 
 President — J. Arthur Beauvais. 
 
 Cashier — Edward S. Brown. 
 
 Directors — J. Arthur Beauvais, John P. Knowles, William J. 
 Kilburn, Charles Tucker, Fred S. Potter, Oliver P. Brightman, David 
 B. Kempton, Cyrenius W. Haskins, Hosea M. Knowlton, and Benja- 
 min Wilcox. 
 
 Recently the national banks organized an association known as 
 the New Bedford Clearing House, with James W. Herve}' as presi- 
 dent and Edward S. Brown, secretary. All clearings are made at 
 the National Bank of Commerce, under the management of James 
 H. Tallman. 
 
 The national banks have each several hundred small safes 
 within their vaults for the gratuitous use of their depositors.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 245 
 
 The New Bedford Institution for Savings enjoys the distinction of 
 having the largest aggregate of deposits of any savings bank in New 
 England, outside of Boston, with one exception. It occupies the 
 neat and convenient building at the northeast corner of William and 
 Second streets. 
 
 The institution was incorporated in 1825, by the following gentle- 
 men : William Rotch, Jr., Gilbert Russell, Cornelius Grinnell, 
 
 NEW BEDFORD INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS. 
 
 Andrew Robeson, Haydon Coggeshall, Benjamin Rodman, John 
 Averv Parker, Eli Haskell, Richard Williams, George I lowland, 
 Joseph Bourne, Abraham Shearman, Jr., William W. Swain, Thomas 
 Rotch, Thomas A. Greene, Charles W. Morgan, Samuel Rodman, 
 Jr., John B. Smith, William C. Nye, Thomas S. Swain, William H. 
 Allen, Lemuel Williams, Jr., John Howland, Jr., Charles H. Warren, 
 William P. Grinnell, Joseph Ricketson, Charles Grinnell, Nathan
 
 246 
 
 NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 Bates, John Coggeshall, Jr., James Rowland, 2d, and Gideon How- 
 land. Every one of these men is now dead. 
 The first officers were as follows : 
 
 President — William Rotch, Jr. 
 
 Treasurer — Abraham Shearman, Jr. 
 
 Secretary — John B. Smith. 
 
 Trustees — William Rotch, Jr., Gilbert Russell, Cornelius Grin- 
 nell, Haydon Coggeshall, John A. Parker, Eli Haskell, Joseph 
 Bourne, Abraham Shearman, Jr., Thomas Rotch, Thomas A. Green, 
 Charles W. Morgan, Samuel Rodman, Jr., William C. Nye, Thomas 
 S. Swain, John Howland, Jr., William P. Grinnell, Nathaniel Bates, 
 John Coggeshall, Jr., and Gideon Howland. 
 
 Following is a list of officers from 1825 until the present time : 
 
 Presidents — William Rotch, Jr., Abraham Barker, Thomas 
 Mandell, Pardon Tillihghast, William C. Taber, and William 
 Watkins. 
 
 Secretaries — John B. Smith, Abraham Shearman, Jr., Thomas A. 
 Green, Joseph Ricketson, George Howland, Jr., James B. Congdon. 
 Charles R. Tucker, William C. Taber, Edmund Taber, Henry T. 
 Wood, and William G. Wood. 
 
 Treasurers — Abraham Shearman, Jr., William C. Taber, George 
 W. Baker, William C. Taber (treasurer, ^r^;* /rw. ), Reuben Nye, 
 William C. Coffin, and Charles H. Peirce. 
 
 The present officers are as follows : 
 
 President — William Watkins. 
 
 Vice presidents — William J. Rotch, Edward D. Mandell. 
 
 Treasurer — Charles H. Peirce. 
 
 Clerk — William G. Wood. 
 
 Auditors — Benjamin Irish, Robert B. Giffiord. 
 
 Auditor of depositors' accounts — Benjamin Irish. 
 
 Trustees — Benjamin T. Ricketson, John R. Thornton, George 
 A. Bourne, William'j. Rotch, William Watkins, Edward D. Mandell, 
 Gilbert Allen, Andrew G. Pierce, Charles H. Giffiard, Asa C. Peirce, 
 William G. Wood, William C. Taber, Jr.. Joshua C. Hitch, Abram T. 
 Eddy, Horatio Hathaway, Edward S. Taber, Thomas M. Hart, 
 Charles W. Cliffiard, Isaac W. Benjamin, Francis Hathawav, William 
 A. Robinson, Charles W. Plummer. Isaac B. Tompkins, Jr., George 
 D. Watkins, William D. Howland, Jonathan Handy, Morgan Rotch, 
 Lemuel T. Terry, Edmund Wood, Charles P. Rugg. Walter Clifford, 
 Gideon Allen, Jr., Edward T. Pierce. 
 
 The first deposit, fifty dollars, was made by Rhoda E. Wood, of 
 Fairhaven, August 15, 1825. The amount of deposits, January 5,
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 247 
 
 1889, was $10,683,053.13; guaranty fund, $360,000; undivided 
 earnings, $119,390.51. The number of accounts was 20,626. 
 
 The New Bedford Five Cents Savings Bank was incorporated 
 May 5, 1855, and its banking rooms are now at No. 71 Purchase 
 street, at the corner of Mechanics lane. The original incorporators 
 were : Thomas B. White, William H. Taylor, Lemuel Kollock, 
 Ivory H. Bardett, Alexander H. Seabury, Charles Almy, Henry H. 
 Crapo, George Rowland, Jr., and Asa R. Nye. Of these, George 
 Rowland, Jr., is the only survivor. 
 
 The first officers were as follows : 
 
 President — George Rowland, Jr. 
 
 Vice presidents — Renry R. Crapo, Alexander R. Seabury. 
 
 Treasurer — John P. Barker. 
 
 Secretary — Charles Almy. 
 
 Trustees — George Rowland, Jr., Ilenrv R. Crapo, Alexander 
 R. Seabury, John P. Barker, Charles Almy, Thomas B. White, 
 Ivorv R. Bartlett, Nehemiah Leonard, Andrew Robeson, Edward W. 
 Rowland, Moses Rowe, Joshua Richmond, George F. Baker, Dennis 
 Wood, Charles Ritch, James Durfee, Lemuel Kollock, Asa R. Nye, 
 Edward D. Mandell, William P. Rowland, Alden G. Ellis, J. Arthur 
 Beauvais, Moses G. Thomas, Samuel Ivers, Simpson Rart, Abner J. 
 Phipps, William R. Taylor, James Taylor, William R. Rodman, 
 Roratio Leonard, and John Wood. 
 
 The officers of the organization to the present time have been : 
 
 President — George Rowland, Jr. 
 
 Secretaries — Charles Almy, James Taylor. 
 
 Vice presidents — Alexander R. Seabury, Dennis Wood, Fred- 
 erick S. Allen, Lemuel Kollock, and Walter Clifford. 
 
 Treasurers— John P. Barker, from May, 1855, to October, 1855 ; 
 James C. Ricketson, from October, 1855, to April 6, 1861 : Barton 
 Ricketson, Jr., from April, 1861, until the present time. 
 
 The present officers are : 
 
 President — George Rowland, Jr. 
 
 Vice presidents — Frederick S. Allen, Walter Clifford. 
 
 Treasurer — Barton Ricketson, Jr. 
 
 Clerk — James Taylor. 
 
 Trustees — George" Rowland, Jr., Frederick S. Allen, Edward 
 B. Whiting, William Baylies, Samuel Ivers, Thomas Wilcox, Will- 
 iam G. Taber, John P. Knowles, 2d, E. Williams Ilervey. Warren 
 Ladd, James Taylor, Ilenrv J. Taylor, William J. Kilburn. Edwin 
 Dews, Frederick S. Potter, William R. Wing, James P. Macomber,
 
 248 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 J. Augustus Brownell, Loum Snow, Frederick S. Giffbrd, Thomas 
 H. Knowles, Henry C. Denison, Samuel H. Cook, Samuel C. Hart, 
 Otis N. Pierce, C. B. H. Fessenden, George N. Alden, Benjamin 
 T. Cummings, Oliver F. Brown, Edward H. Allen, George F. King- 
 man, Parkman M. Lund, John F. Swift, Horace Wood, Frederick 
 H. Hooper, Walter Clifford, George H. H. Allen, J. Arthur Beau- 
 vais, Sidney W. Knowles, Gilbert D. Kingman. 
 
 The first deposit, $25, was made by Horace W. Barker, May 26, 
 1855. The deposits in December, 1888, had reached $4,156,669.86; 
 earnings, $39,218.92; reserve fund, $100,320.13; surplus fund, 
 $38,765.99. The number of accounts open was 15,835. 
 
 Money goes on interest the second Wednesday of January, April, 
 JuW, and October. Dividends are payable on the second Wednesday 
 of April and October. 
 
 The New Bedford Safe Deposit and Trust Company was incor- 
 porated by the legislature of 1887, with a capital stock of $100,000, 
 and authority to increase to $500,000. Business was commenced in 
 June, 1888. In November of the same year the stockholders voted 
 to increase the capital stock to $200,000. At that date the number of 
 depositors was one hundred eighty-tw^o and the deposits amounted to 
 $150,000. The banking rooms are on the northeast corner of William 
 street and Acushnet avenue and the quarters are sumptuous and ele- 
 gant in every respect. It provides means for the safe deposit of any 
 valuable article, it may be appointed trustee under any will or instru- 
 ment creating a trust for the care and management of property, under 
 the same circumstances, in the same manner, and subject to the same 
 control by the court having jurisdiction of the same, as in the case of 
 a legally qualified person. 
 
 The company acts as agent for any corporation, city, or town in 
 issuing certificates of stock, bonds, or other evidences of indebtedness, 
 and for the payment of dividends and interest thereon. It also acts 
 as agent in collecting and disbursing the income on any property 
 which may be placed in its charge. 
 
 In addition to the various departments of activit}' which have been 
 enumerated, the company also does a general banking business, pre- 
 cisely like that of a national bank, except that it issues no bank notes. 
 Deposits of money are received payable by check on presentation, 
 and interest is allow^ed on dailv balances and credited monthlv.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 249 
 
 Special rates of interest are allowed on time deposits. Notes are 
 discounted and collections made the same as at any bank. 
 
 The distinctive feature of this institution is its fme vault, which 
 was built by the Hall Safe and Lock Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 It contains four hundred eighty-nine small safes of various sizes, 
 ranging from two and one-half by four and three-quarters inches 
 to twenty by twenty-four inches. They are uniformh' twenty-three 
 inches deep. There are also storage rooms for pictures, silver ware, 
 and jewelry. 
 
 The directors of the institution are Charles E. Hendrickson, 
 William D. Howland, Abbott P. Smith, Benjamin F. Brownell, 
 Savory C. Hathaway, Lot B. Bates, Stephen A. Brownell, Standish 
 Bourne, Frederic Taber, John W. Macomber, Lemuel LeBaron 
 Holmes, and George C. Hatch. 
 
 The officers are as follows : 
 
 President — Charles E. Hendrickson. 
 
 Vice presidents — William D. Howland, Abbott P. Smith. 
 Cashier — Edmund W. Bourne. 
 Secretar}' — Edward T. Tucker. 
 
 Executive committee — William D. Howland, John W. Macom- 
 ber, Lemuel LeBaron Holmes. Standish Bourne, Abbott P. Smith. 
 
 The New Bedford Cooperative Bank, or loan association, was 
 organized July 8, 1881, chartered three days later, and commenced 
 business August 19. On the first night $374 was paid in. The 
 membership has increased from ibrt}^ or fifty to six hundred eight and 
 the total amount paid in has been $190,479.45. The authorized cap- 
 ital is $1,000,000. Over twehe hundred books ha\ e been issued and 
 five hundred three loans have been placed in sums ranging from 
 twenty dollars to five thousand dollars. The bank has paid an 
 average profit of 6.V per cent. There are now one hundred forty- 
 three real estate loans, aggregating in amount $167,148.90, and the 
 value of the first series of shares is now $1 1 1.02. The by-laws have 
 been amended from time to time so that shares in the first five series 
 may be withdrawn without loss of profits. The present officers are 
 as follows : 
 
 President — Isaac W. Benjamin. 
 Vice president — George R. Stetson. 
 Secretary — Charles R. Price. 
 Treasurer — Gideon B. Wright.
 
 250 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Directors — -Benjamin Anthony, Oliver P. Brightman, Jasper W. 
 Braley, Jethro C. Brock, John L. Gibbs, Henry Howard, Samuel 
 Jones, Samuel S. Paine, Rufus A. Soule, John A. Bates, Benjamin 
 F. Brovvnell, Charles S. Paisler, David W. Holmes. Andrew R. 
 Palmer, Stephen x\. Brownell. 
 
 Auditors — Isaac B. Tompkins, Jr.. Frederic Taber. Daniel W. 
 Cory. 
 
 Attorney — Hosea M. Knowlton. 
 
 METAL WORKERS. 
 
 The metal working industries of the city are varied and inter- 
 esting, while some of them are exceptional in their character. 
 
 The New Bedford Copper Company was one of the first, as it is 
 one of our representative, branches of industrial enterprise. The 
 company w^as incorporated in i860 with a paid up capital of $250,000 
 and it manufactures copper and yellow metal sheathing, copper roll- 
 ers for calico printers, yellow metal bolts, and cut nails, braziers', 
 dimension, and bolt copper, etc. The works are situated on the east 
 side of North Front street and the main rolling mill is two hundred 
 fifty by one hundred feet. There is also a building one hundred 
 seventy-five b}^ sixty feet for mixing metals and refining copper, and 
 office, store rooms, carpenter and blacksmith shops, and a brick yard, 
 covering an area of three hundred bv twenty-five feet. The front- 
 age of the property is three hundred feet and it extends easterly to the 
 river, a distance of about three hundred fift}' feet. It is proposed 
 to fill in to the channel, a distance of about one hundred fifty feet 
 farther. The mill is equipped with an engine of three hundred 
 horse powder, one boiler twenty-six feet long and seven feet in diameter, 
 and eight smaller boilers placed over the reheating furnaces. 
 
 Lake Superior copper is used exclusively in the manufacture of 
 sheet copper and print rollers, and only the best materials are 
 employed in the manufacture of all goods. This copper is regarded 
 as the best produced in the world, and it reaches the factory in cakes 
 weighing about two hundred pounds each. Yellow metal is a mix- 
 ture of sixty parts copper and forty parts zinc spelter and in its man- 
 ufacture five melting and nine refining furnaces are used. There are 
 huge rollers of tremendous strength, through which the metal is 
 rolled, and the print rollers are turned in lathes, built expressly for the
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 253 
 
 purpose. There are onl}^ two manufactories in the country where 
 print rollers are manufactured and the works in this city take the lead 
 in this industry. The company makes a specialty of Muntz yellow 
 metal bolts for piston rods for marine engines, and has lately gone 
 into the manufacture of solder irons, with most satisfactory results. 
 
 The number of hands employed is about one hundred, and the 
 officers of the company are as follows : 
 
 President — Gilbert Allen. 
 
 Treasurer and general manager — William H. Mathews. 
 
 Directors — Gilbert Allen, William J. Rotch, Edward D. Man- 
 dell, Charles W. Clifford, George R. Phillips, Humphrey W. Seabury, 
 and Frederick S. Allen. 
 
 To the Morse Twist Drill & Machine Company belongs the 
 unusual distinction of having founded an entirely new industry. It 
 was in 1861 that Samuel A. Morse conceived the idea of the manu- 
 facture of his famous drill, and he started an experimental shop at 
 East Bridgewater. The old fashioned drill pierced a piece of iron 
 about as one would bore a bit of pine with the point of a pen knife. 
 Twist drills for boring metals had been occasionally made by filing or 
 milling spiral channels around a piece of steel wire, or more com- 
 monly by twisting a flattened piece of steel, but the cutting lip of such 
 drills was generally on a concave line and the outer point was quite 
 likely to break. Mr. Morse employed a milling tool which produced 
 a straight lip, which cut its way through metal like an auger, doing 
 better work, with less expenditure of power. The liability to injury 
 was also less. 
 
 Mr. Morse had so far perfected his idea in 1863 as to secure a 
 patent in that 3^ear. As he was unable to secure sufficient capital in 
 East Bridgewater to meet the orders for his drills, in June of 1864, 
 having interested capital in this city, he moved here and a shop thirty 
 by sixty feet in area, two stories high, was constructed for his occu- 
 pancy. 
 
 The company of stockholders organized with Nathan Chase as 
 president. Mr. Chase had been a successful merchant, and was then 
 considered, as now, a shrewd business man. He worked devotedly 
 in the interest of the company, and without his correct management at 
 the inception, it is doubtful whether the undertaking would have been 
 so complete a success. The board of directors elected twent}-four 
 years ago still supervises the enterprise. The original members were
 
 254 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Thomas M. Stetson, Gilbert Allen, Frederick S. Allen, Nathan 
 Chase, and Andrew G. Pierce. Mr. Chase continued as president 
 and manager for three years, and Mr. Pierce occupied the former 
 position for a short period. In 1868 Mr. Chase retired and Edward 
 S. Taber was chosen president and treasurer and added to the board 
 of directors. The original capital was $30,000. This was subse- 
 quently increased to $60,000, again to $90,000, and in 1871 to$i5o,ooo. 
 In the latter year the company absorbed the Standard Tool Company, 
 of Newark, N. J., after a year or two of patent litigation. 
 
 The large success of the corporation commenced about the years 
 1872 and 1873. The artisans of the country had been educated to 
 the use of their tools, and a large foreign as well as home trade had 
 been built up, regular agencies being maintained in London and Paris. 
 This was due to the superiority of the manufacture. All of the tools 
 made here were manufactured upon a uniform and absolutely accurate 
 system of gauges. Every variety of drill, even when as fine as a 
 sewing machine needle, was, and is, made exactly alike, differing not 
 the breadth of the finest hair in any of its dimensions. 
 
 New buildings were added. About the year 1876, the capital 
 was made $600,000. The original wooden shop was removed and a 
 handsome and substantial brick structure was erected in its place. 
 The buildings of the corporation now occupy the larger part of the 
 square bounded by Bedford, Fourth, Wing, and Fifth streets. The 
 main factory on Fourth street is nearly four hundred feet long and 
 three stories high. This is backed by a blacksmith shop, hardening 
 and tempering, annealing, stock, and store rooms. The area of the 
 entire floor space is over sixty-eight thousand square feet. 
 
 The corporation employs about two hundred fifty operatives 
 and the annual product aggregates about $400,000 in value. About 
 two hundred fifty tons of steel stock are annually consumed. 
 
 The tools of the company are used throughout the world and are 
 now considered indispensable in all modern metal working shops. 
 The original catalogue, a card about two and one-half by three inches 
 in size, modestly mentioned the entire product, but it has now grown 
 to a book of thirty pages. 
 
 To the manufacture of drills has been added the making of 
 chucks, which hold such tools as a drill, and connect them with the 
 spindle of a lathe ; reamers, which are used for enlarging drill boles 
 and making a "true" bore, that is, making its calibre precisely the
 
 256 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 same in every part ; taps, which are tools used in cutting the thread 
 of nuts; milling cutters, dies, drill grinding machinery, and, in fact, 
 all the tools required in machine making establishments. 
 
 The superintendent of the factory is George R. Stetson. The 
 operatives employed by the company are largely men who were born 
 in this city and educated in the public schools. They are well paid 
 and • constitute an exceptionally intelligent and etfective body of 
 workmen. The corporation is remarkable for keeping its men in its 
 employ a long time. There are now employed in the factory men 
 who were hired at the start, while a large proportion of the workmen 
 have had terms of service exceeding ten years. 
 
 Although the works of the American Tack Company are located 
 in Fairhaven, yet it is essentially a New Bedford industry, being 
 owned almost entirely, and controlled, by residents of this city. The 
 company was organized April 3, 1867, with J. A. Beauvais, of this 
 city, as treasurer, and Charles E. Brigham, who was president, Lewis 
 Rice, and L. L. Tower, of Boston, Oliver P. Brightman, of New Bed- 
 ford, and George F. Tripp, of Fairhaven, as directors. The company 
 succeeded to the property and trade of the American Nail Machine 
 Company, a corporation organized in Boston three years previously. 
 The corporation had bought the patent rights of an automatic feeding 
 nail machine, intending to build machines for sale, and also to operate 
 them in making cut nails. But the west was at that time just enter- 
 ing largely into the manufacture of cut nails, and as it could obtain 
 coal and iron at cheaper prices than they could be procured in the east. 
 it was evident that the eastern manufacturers could not successfully 
 compete in this industry. 
 
 It was therefore decided to engage in the manufacture ot tacks 
 and small nails, which would not require the outlay for a rolling mill 
 and tor which the plate could be obtained as cheaplv in the east as in 
 the west. 
 
 The company bought the Rodman propert}- at Fairiiaven. and 
 its machinery was moved from Boston in 1865, under the supervision 
 of Cyrus D. Hunt, the present superintendent of the works. In 1866 
 the works went into operation, and in May of the following year, the 
 American Nail Machine Company sold its propertv to the new cor- 
 poration, the American Tack Company. The latter company also 
 bought the business, trade, and good will of Jude Field, of New^ York, 
 who had succeeded Arby Field, who started in business in New York 
 in 1824.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 257 
 
 This purchase made the American Tack Company the successor 
 of one of the oldest tack manufacturers in this countr}-, and secured 
 to it a good export trade, which had been built up by the Fields. 
 In 1870 the company bought of M. G. Williams, of Raynham, the 
 inventor and original manufacturer of chisel-pointed boat nails, his 
 machinery and trade, and in 1875 the company purchased the machin- 
 ery and business of M. M. Rhodes & Sons, of Taunton, manufac- 
 turers of lining and saddle nails and tufting buttons. Finally, in 1880, 
 the machinery and business of the Star Tack Company, of New York, 
 was purchased and removed to Fairhaven. 
 
 The company employs one hundred tu enty hands, operating one 
 hundred forty tack and nail machines, and consumes from twelve 
 hundred to fifteen hundred tons of metal per year, making more than 
 four thousand kinds and varieties of tacks and nails, and producing 
 goods each j-ear to the value of two hundred thousand dollars. 
 
 Within two 3'ears, soft steel has supplanted iron in ihe manufac- 
 ture of tacks and nails. This metal, being stii^er and stouter than 
 iron, is destined to supersede it entirely. To work it, however, 
 heavier and stouter machinery is required, and the company has 
 renewed its plant in this respect to enable it to profit by the change 
 and supply its customers with the best of goods. 
 
 The capital stock of the company was originally $50,000, but 
 has been increased to $125,000. The board of directors at present 
 consists of J. Arthur Beauvais, Oliver P. Brightman, Loum Snow, 
 Jr., and E. W. Hervey, of New Bedford, and Cyrus D. Hunt, of 
 Fairhaven. J. Arthur Beauvais is the president. 
 
 The business of Bowker & Tripp, machinists and manufacturers 
 of steam engines, shafting, and their appurtenances, was established 
 in the brick block at the corner of North and North Water streets, in 
 1874, ^^^^ ^''"^ '^t t^^'*'^ time being composed of Edward \i. Bowker 
 and Robert R. Sherman. In 1878, Mr. Sherman retired, and Frank 
 S. Tripp took his place. They are the patentees and sole manu- 
 facturers of the Matchless steam and fire regulator, and Matchless 
 double action damper, also of the single duigonal and the oval 
 diagonal dampers for all kinds of flues and chimne\s. Over one 
 thousand are now in use. This firm also manulactures Mitchell's 
 adjustable socket wrench, speed lathes, and machine screws lor 
 special work, and does repairing {>t all kinds. They are manulac- 
 turers' agents for restarting injectors, engine and speed indicators,
 
 258 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Steam and pressure gauges, pop safety valves, chime whistles, 
 asbestos valves, plug cocks, return traps, and a full line of the most 
 approved steam appliances. The works are supplied throughout 
 with the best machinery, tools, and appliances, propelled by a thirty 
 horse power steam engine, and a large force of skilled workmen is 
 constantly employed. The members of the firm, Messrs. Edward 
 E. Bowker and Frank S. Tripp, are both practical machinists of 
 large experience. 
 
 The Acushnet Iron Company, Augustus Swift, agent, estab- 
 lished the foundry, pattern and machine shop in the rear of Bowker 
 & Tripp's building, about eight years ago. Twelve men are em- 
 ployed. 
 
 The New Bedford Boiler & Machine Company was established 
 by H. A. Holcomb and Joseph S. Lewis in 1874. "The buildings at 
 24 Front street cover an area of a quarter of an acre and from 
 tw-enty to fifty men are employed. The works are supplied with a 
 thirty-five horse power steam engine and the firm manufactures boil- 
 ers of every size and description, including stationary, portable, 
 marine, and locomotive boilers, also machinery of all kinds. The 
 firm has made the boilers used in several of our largest mills and 
 makes a specialty of a patented steam heating apparatus, which is in 
 successful operation in many of our public buildings and finest private 
 residences. 
 
 Babbitt & Wood, 32 Commercial street, are the successors to 
 the business of the Union Boiler Company. Thev manufacture 
 boilers of all kinds and a patent steam heater, and are also engaged 
 in steam fitting and the mill supply business. The firm emploj^s 
 from ten to thirty men, and first engaged in business in 1880, at 27 
 Front street. Their business proved so successful that the present 
 building occupied by them was erected. 
 
 The New Bedford Iron Foundry, located at the corner of Water 
 and Coffin streets, was founded by F. & I. C. Taber & Co., who 
 were then located at the corner of Fourth and Bedford streets. The 
 firm of Taber & Grinnell succeeded to the business in 1847 and in 
 1859 Joseph G. Grinnell became the sole proprietor. Edmund Grin- 
 nell, who now conducts the business, assumed control in 1873. The 
 capacity of the works is twenty tons of castings per day, and ninety 
 men are employed. The works make a specialty of light and heavy 
 machinery and building castings. Among other work the past year,
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 261 
 
 two columns weighing ten tons each have been cast for the Hemmen- 
 way building, School street, Boston, and building casts for the Lon- 
 don Manufacturing Company, Ludlow, Mass., the Pacific mills, 
 Lawrence, Hargrave, Sagamore, Border City, and King Philip mills, 
 Fall River, Suffolk county court house, Boston, Walter Hastings 
 Hall and Mutual Fire Insurance Company's buildings, Davoll Rubber 
 Company, and Billings Brothers' bleachery. Providence, and man}' 
 other buildings. 
 
 The Strange Forged Drill Company has been organized for the 
 purpose of manufacturing twist drills under the patents of John F. 
 Strange, who has already manufactured them to some extent. The 
 officers of the company are as follows : 
 
 President — Edwin Dews. 
 
 Clerk and treasurer — Henry M. Knowles. 
 
 Directors — Thomas M. Hart, Moses C. Swift, William M. Bates, 
 Joseph C. Knowles, John P. Knowles, Jr., Edwin Dews, Henry M. 
 Knowles. 
 
 The firm of Luscomb & Corey, comprising Frederick W. Lus- 
 comb and David A. Core}', is engaged in the manufacture of special 
 machinery at No. 13 Rodman street and now employs seven hands. 
 Business was commenced in October, 1885. The firm is interested, 
 with George D. Brown and James F. Hammond, in the Mechanics 
 Manufacturing Company, which manufactures novelties, prominent 
 among which is the "Electric" patent pruner. and a shawl strap and 
 bundle carrier. 
 
 Giftbrd's brass foundry, on Front street, was founded in 1S60 and 
 is now managed by Capt. James E. Stanton. A two-story building, 
 fifty by sixty feet in area, is occupied, equipped with modern mechani- 
 cal appliances and machinery operated by steam. The concern man- 
 ufactures to order all kinds of work in brass and copper, and is also 
 engaged in the plumbing business. Ten men are empk)\-ed. 
 
 Gardner & Southwick (Reuben M. Gardner and Arnold W. 
 Southwick) succeeded to the business of Andrew Craigie in 1872. 
 They are engaged in brass moulding and founding and carrving on 
 the business of coppersmiths at No. 58 Middle street. Five men are 
 employed. 
 
 The New Bedford Machine Shop is located in the foundrv build- 
 ing at the. corner of Collin and South Water streets. Ten men are 
 employed and a general jobbing business is done. Jonathan Bourne 
 has been the owner of the shop since 1864.
 
 262 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 SHOE MANUFACTURERS. 
 
 Hathaway, Soule & Harrington, whose large factory is on North 
 Second street, at the corner of North street, are the largest manu- 
 facturers of men's, boys', and youths' fine shoes in New England 
 selling direct to the retail trade. They manufacture hand sewed, 
 Goodyear welt, and machine sewed goods, making a specialty of 
 Goodyear welt, and claim in this line to lead all competitors. They 
 have branch factories at Middleboro and Campello, where they man- 
 ufacture medium grades of shoes. Their business has gradually 
 increased and in 1888 their sales exceeded eight hundred thousand 
 dollars. Like manv of our most important industries the business 
 was started in a very small way. Savory C. Hathaway began manu- 
 facturing shoes in July, 1865, on Hillman street, with two employes. 
 Three months later Rufus A. Soule became a partner and the firm 
 was known as Hathaway. & Soule. In December, 1865, they moved 
 to the brick building on Pleasant street, corner of Mechanics lane. 
 At first the firm occupied one floor only, but soon leased the entire 
 building and finallv a wooden addition at the north was built and 
 occupied. Then the industry outgrew this building and in 1874 ^ 
 four story brick building, thirty-two b}' one hundred feet in area, was 
 erected b\' the firm at the corner of North Second and North streets. 
 In 1876, Herbert A. Harrington was admitted into partnership and 
 the firm name became Hathaway, Soule & Harrington. They have 
 from time to time added to their factory until their present floor surface 
 exceeds twenty-five thousand square teet. The firm now employs in 
 the New^ Bedford factory two hundred eightv hands and it is one of 
 the best equipped factories in the countr\-. Their product is one 
 hundred seventy-five thousand pairs annuallv. The capacitv of the 
 Middleboro and Campello factories is two hundred fifty thousand pairs. 
 
 The firm employs twelve travelling salesmen and has customers 
 in nearly every city and town in the United States and Canada. It 
 has salesrooms and offices at No. 280 Devonshire street. Boston, and 
 at No. 128 Duane street. New York city. 
 
 The firm is very proud of the class of workmen it emplovs and 
 many men have gone out from this factorv to accept positictfis of high 
 responsibility in shoe manufactories elsewhere.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 263 
 
 The firm of Tinkham, Reed & Gifford, boot and shoe manufac- 
 turers, occupies the three story brick block numbered 19 and 21 North 
 Second street. Fifty hands are employed in this factory. The pres- 
 ent partnership of Elisha B. Tinkham, Gustavus L. Reed, and Jesse 
 Gifford was formed fourteen years ago. The members of the firm 
 all followed the shoemaker's trade in New Bedford and their practi- 
 cal experience thus gained, coupled with their businesslike and pro- 
 gressive management of their factory, have given their manufactures 
 an enviable name. Ladies', misses', and children's shoes are made. 
 The firm turns out the McKay sewed shoe and has lately introduced 
 the Goodyear, being one of the first factories in New England to 
 introduce the Goodyear welt machine for ladies' shoes. The propri- 
 etors are thoroughly up to the times. Their goods bear the best of 
 reputations for wear and fit and are always in demand. Conse- 
 quently the hands employed are busy nearly all the year round and 
 the factory is never shut down but for a very short period. The firm 
 caters altogether to the retail trade, dealing directly with its customers 
 at the office and salesroom, 107 Duane street. New York city. It 
 ships seventy-five thousand dollars' worth of goods annually. 
 
 C. F. Watkins manufactures men's shoes at 92 Pleasant street, 
 where he commenced business in 1878. He employs from eight to 
 twelve men and manufactures about sixty pairs a week. 
 
 Schuler Bros, manufacture men's shoes for their own trade and 
 the general market, at 76 Purchase street, and have engaged in the 
 business for six years. They employ eleven men and manufacture 
 between seventy-five and one hundred fifty pairs a week. 
 
 WOOD WORKERS. 
 
 The business of Greene & Wood dates back to the town's earlier 
 history, having been originated by Samuel Leonard in the year 1835. 
 He started in the lumber business at that time at the bend of Clark's 
 cove, near the present bath houses of the street railway company, 
 and for many 3'ears all the timber was brought up into the cove and 
 rafted ashore. After a few years he built the jireseiU Leonard's wharf, 
 on the water front, and the business was removed lliere. and there 
 it has since remained. At about this time, Samuel Leonard's son,
 
 264 NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 Henry T. Leonard, took the business, forming a partnership with 
 Augustus A. Greene, a prominent young carpenter who had come 
 here from Providence to build the houses now occupied by Mrs. 
 Abraham H. Rowland and Mrs. Joseph C. Delano, and the homestead 
 of the late Joseph Grinnell. Under the firm style of Leonard & 
 Greene the business was continued until 1848, when Henry T. Wood 
 bought out Henry T. Leonard, and tiie st3'le of the firm became 
 Greene & Wood. Under this name it has remained for over forty 
 years, and in one location has carried on the business with success. 
 Mr. Greene retired in 1872 and Henry T. Wood died in 1883. The 
 present firm consists of William G. Wood, who entered it in 1861, 
 and George R. Wood and Edmund Wood, who were admitted soon 
 after the death of their father, in 1883. The firm now owns and occu- 
 pies seven and one-half acres of land on the water front, including a 
 wharf, and the entire area is utilized in their business. They intend 
 to have on hand constantly a complete assortment of building lumber, 
 and this necessitates the carrying of a very large stock and sufficient 
 room to sort it and pile it conveniently for customers. This concern 
 is the only one in the city dealing in southern pitch pine timber, 
 plank, and boards. This the firm lands on its wharf direct from the 
 south in vessels. Several large storage buildings contain the finished 
 lumber and hard woods. 
 
 With a progressive spirit, the firm has extended its business to 
 meet the changing character of the trade. Its planing and wood 
 working mill has been tripled in size during the last three 3-ears by 
 the introduction of new machiner}' to meet the growth of the busi- 
 ness. This mill was burned a few months ago and almost whollv 
 destroyed, but a greater has arisen from its ashes, and, with the newest 
 machinery and best appliances for fine and accurate work, is now 
 nearly completed. It occupies an area of one hundred twenty bv one 
 hundred thirty-eight feet, two stories high, and is admirably adapted 
 for handling lumber rapidly and economicalh'. The dry kiln is a 
 separate building forty b\' eighty feet, two stories high. Here the 
 Sturtevant hot blast drying process is employed, with a separate 
 engine. Both these new buildings are well protected against another 
 fire by Grinnell automatic sprinklers and other appliances used by 
 our cotton mills. In this mill all kinds of planing, sawing, and turn- 
 ing are done, some very heavy machines being employed. In 
 addition to the manufacture of mouldings for house finish, a large
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 
 
 265 
 
 business is done in the highest grade of hard wood picture frame 
 work. The firm employs about forty-five men. 
 
 One of the innovations is a separate portable rig for dressing the 
 heavy hard pine beams and plank used in constructing cotton mills, 
 and for two successive years the firm has had this in operation in 
 other cities. It is the custom to set it up close to the rising walls of the 
 new cotton mill and build a temporary building over it. 
 
 Last year the firm decided to engage in a wholly new industry. 
 It bought out the New Bedford Spool and Bobbin Company and 
 removed the plant to its own mill. This became the nucleus of an 
 enterprise which will probably be an extensive one. The original 
 plant has been already quadrupled in its scope and capacity. And, 
 although seriously retarded by the fire, it is now well under way filling 
 orders, not only for New Bedford but for other cities. The firm is now- 
 fitted to manufacture all kinds of spools and bobbins, etc., used in 
 cotton and woolen mills, cordage works, and similar factories. 
 
 The two upper stories of the large three story stone building, 
 corner of Coflin and South Water streets, are occupied by Charles 
 
 F. Borden, pattern and model 
 maker, general wood worker, and 
 manufacturer of water wheels. 
 The business was established 
 as early as 1863, by Nathan S. 
 Ellis and Matthias Hathaway, 
 in a room thirty feet square, in 
 the building now occupied by Mr. 
 Borden. The firm manufactured 
 water wheels exclusively. In 
 1870 Calvin Bonney took the 
 place of Mr. IIallia\\a\- in the 
 firm, and, on the death ot' Mr. 
 Bonney, about four years after- 
 wards. Nelson Collins became 
 associated with Mr. Ellis. Next, 
 E. R. Bowie bought Mr. Ellis' 
 interest and in turn sold out to 
 Mr. Borden, and in 1880 the firm of Collins & Borden was organized. 
 In 1884 Mr. Borden became sole proprietor. Two fioors. one hun-
 
 266 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 otice. 
 
 dred by fifty feet in area, and an ell, thirty by thirty feet in area, 
 are occupied, and fourteen men are employed. 
 
 The most skillful mechanics are hired and samples of the wood 
 finishing turned out by the tirm 
 may be seen in the upper drug 
 store of C. H. Church, in the 
 rooms of the Safe Deposit and 
 Trust Company, and in the 
 reading room of the Free Pub- 
 lic Library. Wooden mantels 
 in hard and soft wood are 
 manufactured to order, and carving, planing, jig sawing, and turning 
 are also done. A specialty is made of the manufacture of Tremont 
 turbine water wheels, which are simple in construction and are built 
 upon true hydraulic principles, utilizing all the water, thus rendering 
 them particularly desirable for saw mills, box factories, grist mills, 
 or any situation where the stream is small. Gearing, shafting, and 
 
 pulleys are also furnished at short 
 Mr. Borden has recently 
 to his enterprise stair building 
 in all its branches. 
 Possibly most people 
 do not know that stair 
 building has of late 
 years become a dis- 
 tinct art, enlisting the 
 brains and hands of 
 the most skilled de- 
 signers and workmen. 
 Some re cent stair 
 cases are marvels of 
 beauty and ingenuity, 
 forming notable feat- 
 ures of the buildings 
 in which they are 
 placed. Mr. Borden 
 builds them in every pattern, of many varieties of wood, and at every 
 possible grade of cost, from the designs of others or from designs 
 of his own. He also manufactures and keeps in stock fancy and
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 267 
 
 plain newels, square and turned, and balusters and rails. Or, he will 
 make them to order of special patterns. Furniture is also made 
 to order, and cabinets, brackets, easels, and picture frames are 
 manufactured and kept in stock to some extent. Mantels, of which 
 Mr. Borden makes a specialty, and of which he has designed several 
 handsome patterns, are kept in stock. 
 
 Frederick A. Sowle, who is now the largest manufacturer of 
 house finishings in this section, commenced business in a small 
 way in 1873, at the southwest corner of William and Bethel streets. 
 At this time he made refrigerators and sold doors and windows. 
 Soon afterwards he moved to more ample quarters on Middle 
 street, where he commenced the manufacture of window frames and 
 house finishings, having the machine work done at the different 
 mills. iVfter a year, however, his business had increased to such an 
 extent that new quarters were again necessary, and he bought the 
 old barn on the Gammons property on Elm street, raised it up and 
 fitted a factory with steam power and the most improved machinery. 
 Two years later, to keep pace with a thriving and still increasing 
 business, he built a large addition, carrying the factory out to the 
 street. At this time about twenty men were employed. In 1884 the 
 mill was entire!}- destroyed b}' fire. As Mr. Sowle watched the 
 flames, he remarked, "Well, the old man isn't dead yet," and he 
 verified the statement made on that occasion. A lour story brick 
 structure, fifty by one hundred feet in area, and supplied with ample 
 steam power, has replaced the wooden mill, and thirty men are now 
 employed. Mr. Sowle now manufactures and deals in doors, blinds, 
 sashes, window and door frames, mouldings, brackets, stair rails, 
 newel posts, and balusters, and gives especial attention to get- 
 ting out inside and outside house finish. Turning and scroll 
 sawing is done and western lumber and hard woods are sold. Mr. 
 Sowle is the largest dealer in window and plate glass in this part of 
 the state and he recently furnished the plate glass for the Wing build- 
 ing, the largest plates in the city, which were especially imported for 
 Mr. Sowle. Mr. Sowle ships goods as far as Florida, \"irginia, and 
 New York, and his market comprises this city, the \'ineyard. Cape, 
 and surrounding towns. For three years, Mr. Sowle's two sons 
 were engaged with him and he then conducted the hardware and 
 lumber business in addition to his factory. The former business he 
 has sold to Pierce & Sowle, the latter Frederick L. Sowle, beinfr
 
 268 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Mr. Sowle's eldest son, and Nathaniel P. Sowle now conducts the 
 lumber business on City wharf. 
 
 William H. Washburn manufactures window and door frames, 
 cutters, rakes, mouldings, house trimming and finishing, balus- 
 ters, brackets, newels, and shutters, and gives particular attention to 
 planing, turning, scroll and circular sawing, pattern making, and all 
 kinds of jobbing. He also deals extensively in pine and hard wood 
 lumber. The business was established in 1875 by Messrs. Perry & 
 Washburn, and the present proprietor assumed the sole control in 
 January, 1883. The factory is at Nos. 213, 215, and 217 North 
 Water street, is two stories high and forty by one hundred fifty 
 feet in area. It is equipped with special wood working machinery 
 and operated by a seventy-five horse power engine. Twenty-one 
 men are regularly employed. 
 
 William A. Tillinghast succeeded the firm of Tillinghast & 
 Terry in the general lumber and planing business, about a year ago. 
 The mill is located at No. 172 North Water street and there is a 
 wharf connected with the property. In addition to the lumber yard 
 here, Mr. Tillinghast also maintains a yard on Fish island. 
 
 David J. Russell carries on the business of cabinet making at 
 No. II Rodman street. His best work is remarkable for fine work- 
 manship and for the beauty of the wood carving. 
 
 Blinds and window and door frames are also manufactured to 
 some extent, and particular attention is given to planing, scroll saw- 
 ing, and jobbing, by Mosher & Brownell, A. W. Alien & Son, Stur- 
 tevant & Sherman, and Brightman & Washburn. 
 
 CARRIAGE MANUFACTURERS. 
 
 A prominent industry is the manufacture of fine carriages, and 
 although a number of concerns are engaged in the business, onlv the 
 highest grade work is done. 
 
 The largest factor}- is that of George L. Brownell, on Cannon 
 street. A specialty is made here of the manufacture of fine hearses, 
 coaches, and undertakers' wagons, but light carriages of every kind 
 are also made at the factory. 
 
 At the age of seventeen, Mr. Brownell, who was a Westport boy,
 
 o 
 
 m 
 O 
 
 CD 
 
 i ,„;f^"'
 
 270 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 was apprenticed to Ayres R. Marsh, in New Bedford, to learn the 
 trade of carriage making. After four years Mr. Brownell bought the 
 business of his employer, and in 1846 an increasing business led him 
 to make extensive additions to his shop. In 1853 he built a new shop 
 on Third street. At about this time he commenced the manufacture 
 of hearses, and in 1863 further accommodations were required and he 
 bought the stone building at the corner of Acushnet avenue and Can- 
 non streets, formerly occupied by Samuel Leonard & Sons. This 
 building was refitted and occupied by him on the 12th of November. 
 A public dedication was arranged by Mr. Brownell's friends and about 
 fifteen hundred people were present. 
 
 This building was a two and a half story structure of stone, one 
 hundred by sixt}' feet in area. A growing business has rendered 
 additional buildings necessary. First an addition was built extend- 
 ing from the main structure a distance of one hundred thirty feet on 
 Cannon street. It is two stories high and thirty feet wide. Then 
 a second wing was built and two large buildings were erected in the 
 yard, the entire buildings covering an area of seventeen thousand one 
 hundred sixty feet, and finally a warehouse was built on Acushnet 
 avenue, seventy-five by forty feet in area and three stories high. The 
 factory is now one of the largest in the country and gives employment 
 to between fifty and one hundred men. Giles G. Barker is the super- 
 intendent of the factor}^ 
 
 The firm of Brownell, Ashley & Co. comprises J. Augustus 
 Brownell and Joshua B. Ashley, and they manufacture fine grades of 
 carriages of all varieties, excepting coaches. The business was 
 started nearly sevent}' years ago by Joseph Brownell, the father of J. 
 Augustus Brownell, in a building at the northeast corner of Fourth 
 and Spring streets. About sixty years ago he moved his business to 
 the two story stone building forty by one hundred feet in area, on the 
 southeast corner of the same street, and about thirty-eight years ago 
 the present proprietors were admitted to the firm. In 1854 '^ reposi- 
 tory one hundred by fifty feet in area, and four stories high, was built 
 on Fourth street, next south of the building on the corner. This 
 building was occupied by H. G. O. Cole as a carriage manufactory 
 for a few years, when Brownell, Ashley & Co. took possession, Mr. 
 Cole moving to the factory on Acushnet avenue, then Third street, in 
 the building vacated b}^ George L. Brownell. The number of men 
 employed is twenty-seven.
 
 If^t ^sSJtS^7^'^^W^^'^•^i£m.".T..^^S:X^\ HiBS'.vK.'i.^l 
 
 "WMf 
 
 I r y
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 273 
 
 At the carriage manufactory of Clarence Lowell twenty-four 
 men are employed, and fine light carriages are made. Mr. Lowell 
 commenced manufacturing carriages on Middle street in 1874 and in 
 1880 moved into the factory formerly occupied by H. G. O. Cole, 
 and prev'ious to him by George L. Brownell, on Acushnet avenue, 
 which he now occupies. This building covers an area nearly ninety- 
 six by ninety-five feet and in a few months Mr. Lowell proposes to 
 tear down the present factory and erect on the site a four story brick 
 building with basement which he will fit as a model carriage manu- 
 factory. Between thirty and forty men will be employed in the new 
 factory. 
 
 The carriage making business of James R. Forbes & Co. was 
 started in the spring of 1863, when Henry H. Forbes and Henry C. 
 Sears bought the Elm street Methodist church at the corner of Elm 
 street and Acushnet avenue, where the present firm is located, and 
 commenced the manufacture of carriages. Mr. Forbes bought out 
 Mr. Sears' share in the business after seven or eight years, and con- 
 ducted it alone until 1874, when he was succeeded by Charles H. 
 Forbes, who carried on the business until 1879, ^^'lit-'u it passed into 
 the hands of James R. Forbes & Co. The firm builds every 
 description of carriage, from a sulky to a coupe, and twenty men are 
 employed. The patronage is almost entirely local. 
 
 THE MANUFACTURE OF FERTILIZERS. 
 
 The works of the Clark's Cove Guano Company are advanta- 
 geously and picturesquely situated on the west side ol Clark's cove, 
 and the property is extensive and valuable. 
 
 The works are easily accessible. Vessels drawing sixteen feet of 
 water can be handled at the docks and the dock room is ample to 
 load or discharge two large vessels and several small vessels at the 
 same time. The machinery includes three tubular boilers of about 
 ninety horse power each, a Brown engine of one hundred seventy- 
 five horse power, two large crushers for phosphate rock, mixers, and 
 three hoisting engines. The works and docks are ligiited by elec- 
 tricity, furnished with a twenty light Ball machine, run by a Porter 
 engine of twenty horse power. The buildings of the factory, outside
 
 I ill'llllll'l '''I'l' ^'lll If'' I 
 
 uiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, iiiiiiiiiiiiiililililiiliiiiiiii^
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 275 
 
 of the houses, cover about one hundred thousand square feet. The 
 sales of guano for the past three years have averaged over twenty- 
 five thousand tons. 
 
 The Bay State fertilizer, which leads all others used in this sec- 
 tion, is a combination of phosphate rock, large quantities of animal 
 bone and fish treated with acid, muriate and sulphate of potash, 
 nitrate of soda, and kainit. These articles are seen piled in huge 
 heaps upon the floors of the extensive storehouses. There are two 
 varieties of the phosphate rock, one of which is known as "marsh 
 rock." It is light in color and is dredged from the beds of South 
 Carolina rivers. The other variety is drab in color and is found just 
 under the soil on the river banks. 
 
 The entire manufacture takes place in a four story building, in 
 which all the machinery is located. On the first floor the rock is 
 crushed, and there are five runs of mill stones which grind it to a 
 powder. Forty or fifty tons of rock can be ground here in a day and 
 the mill stones will stand but about four months of constant use. 
 This rock is then carried in its pulverized condition to the fourth 
 story by an elevator, constructed on the principle of a chain bucket 
 pump. Here the rock and fish are placed in the mixers. The fish 
 have previously been boiled and pressed at the porgie factories, and 
 the article which is used in the pulverizer is ground to a powder. 
 The composition is treated with sulphuric acid and worked over in 
 tanks by plows. Sometimes dried meat and blood from the western 
 abattoirs are used instead of fish. From here, the mixture passes to 
 the floor belows where it is placed in mixers with the other articles 
 mentioned. It is then screened and the solid portion passes into a 
 disintegrator where it is ground over and again passed through the 
 mixing machine. Some of the ingredients are subjected to a dr3ing 
 process before mixing, and for tliis purpcxse an apartnK-nl lias been 
 constructed by whicli air is heated and dried, then cooled by passing 
 through condensers, and, finally, when the temperature is reduced to 
 seventy or eighty degrees, they are forced through the drying chamber 
 by rapidly revolving fans. Finally, after leaving the mixer, the fertil- 
 izer passes to the floor below, the second, where it is piled in a huge 
 heap and a chemical process ensues. While this is in progress the 
 interior of the heap becomes very hot. The fertili/iT then passes to 
 the ground floor, where it cools, when it is read}' for shipment. 
 
 As has been stated, this is the method of manufacturing the
 
 276 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 grade most popular in this vicinity. The fertilizer manufactured for 
 the cotton growing states is made after a different formula. The 
 elements are not required in so concentrated a form, and tartar pum- 
 ice, the residuum in the manufacture of cream of tartar, is employed 
 as an absorbent. Bone black, which is ground bone treated with 
 acid, and other special fertilizers are also made. The fertilizer 
 which goes a long distance is usually transported in bulk, but it is 
 bagged on the premises for the local market. 
 
 When the works were started the sulphuric acid used in the man- 
 ufacture was brought to the works from New York in schooners pro- 
 vided with lead-lined iron tanks. The rapid growth of the business 
 compelled the company, in 1883, to establish an acid works in con- 
 nection with the plant and two years later the capacity of the acid 
 works was increased by large additions, so that now between ninety 
 and one hundred tons of sixty-six acid can be manufactured weekly. 
 The acid chambers are lined with sheet lead, while lead pans cover 
 the floor area. Iron pyrites is burned in ovens and nitrate of soda is 
 decomposed with sulphuric acid in a vat. The sulphurous fumes and 
 the nitrous gas meet in a large pipe and pass into a tank in the 
 towers in the acid chamber. This tank is filled with quartz and 
 percolating through the silica is sulphuric acid. The quartz divides 
 the gases, which absorb from the sulphuric acid flowing through it, 
 and are cooled by it. The sulphuric acid gas is then conducted 
 through pipes which connect the four condensing rooms. The liquid 
 acid forms on the sides and flows into the pans, from which it is 
 drawn. 
 
 The wharf extends about two hundred fifty feet into the cove 
 and there are brows running northerly and southerly, affording berths 
 for a number of vessels at a time. There are tramways twenty-eight 
 feet high, provided with cars into which cargoes are unloaded and 
 thence carried to the various storage buildings. There are scales at 
 convenient points and shutes extend from the tramway and lead into 
 the building. Several hoisting engines are used in unloading vessels. 
 
 The help is comfortably quartered in a three story boarding house 
 and six cottages located on the premises. 
 
 The corporation was chartered in 1881, with a capital stock of 
 $100,000, and its product was first placed on the market in 1882. 
 The paid up capital is now $800,000, the orignal sum having been 
 augmented on several occasions as the business has developed.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 277 
 
 The present officers of the company are as follows : 
 
 President — Charles W. Plummer. 
 
 Manager and treasurer — Vinal F. Hatch. 
 
 Directors — Edward D. Mandell, Charles W. Clifford, William 
 W. Crapo, William J. Rotch, Samuel Ivers, Charles W. Plummer, 
 Edmund Grinnell. 
 
 Superintendent — Browning Swift. 
 
 Clerk of corporation — Samuel H. Cook. 
 
 Chemist — C. C. Reed. 
 
 General travelling agent — Silas P. Richmond. 
 
 The company has offices in New York, Baltimore, Atlanta, and 
 Portland. 
 
 The raw material used is analyzed in a laboratory on the prem- 
 ises, as is the product of the factory. A proof of the fertilizing per- 
 centages is thus constantly obtained before the shipment of any 
 portion compounded is authorized. The value of a fertilizer de- 
 pends on three elements, — the ammonia, the phosphoric acid, and 
 the phosphate which it contains. In these respects analysis proves 
 the fertilizers made here equal to any in the market. 
 
 The company also carries on factories at Atlanta, Americus, 
 and Social Circle, all in the state of Georgia. These each have 
 a capacity for making ten thousand tons of fertilizer yearly. In 
 connection with the factories at Americus and Social Circle are 
 cotton seed oil mills, using five thousand tons each of cotton seed 
 annually. 
 
 THE INSURANCE BUSINESS. 
 
 Joseph S. Tillinghast was the pioneer insurance agent in New 
 Bedford, and the agency which he founded is still vigorous and enter- 
 prisino-. Mr. Tillinghast began business as an insurance agent on 
 the loth of October, 1835, ^^ an office on Union street, a short distance 
 east of Second. Here, and in the stone building on North Water 
 street recendy occupied by the Peirce & Bushnell Manufacturing 
 Company, he remained until about twenty-five years ago, when he 
 removed to the building at the southeast corner of Water and Hamil- 
 ton streets, where his successors, Messrs. Tillinghast & Alden, yet 
 remain. Mr. Tillinghast died on the 26th of January, 1876. His
 
 278 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 son, Joseph Tillinghast, was immediately appointed agent of the 
 companies represented by the agency, and on the ist of the following 
 February formed a partnership with George N. Alden, who had been 
 a clerk in the office since 1865. The agency now, as it always has, 
 represents fire companies exclusively. At the time of its founder's 
 death, he represented twenty-six leading companies. During his 
 long career as an agent he had received in premiums one million 
 dollars and had paid out in losses seven hundred thirteen thousand 
 dollars. He had seen the failure or retirement from business of thirty- 
 eight companies, for which he had received premiums of four hundred 
 fifty thousand dollars and paid losses of three hundred twenty-five 
 thousand dollars. The present firm of Tillinghast & x\lden now 
 represents twenty-six companies, all of which are among the foremost 
 fire insurance companies of the world. 
 
 The Bristol County Mutual Fire Insurance Company has its 
 headquarters in the office of Messrs. Tillinghast & Alden, Mr. Alden 
 being its secretary. It was organized in Taunton, being chartered 
 February 29, 1829, and was removed to this city September 14, 1839, 
 Joseph S. Tillinghast then being appointed its secretary. At his 
 death George N. Alden was chosen secretary. The company is 
 strictly a mutual company, insuring only the best class of risks, and 
 has a highly honorable and successful career. On the 31st of Decem- 
 ber, 1887, the date of the last annual report available, it had in force 
 twenty-one hundred ninet3'-two policies, on property insured at 
 $3,777,056. The losses for the preceding year amounted to only 
 $1752.79. No assessment has been called since January, 1879. 
 
 The present officers are : 
 
 President — Jonathan Bourne. 
 
 Directors — Jonathan Bourne, Joseph W. Cornell, Oliver P. 
 Brightm.an, George F. Kingman, Isaac H. Coe, James Tavlor, 
 Thomas H. Knowles. 
 
 Secretary and treasurer — George N. Alden. 
 
 Samuel H. Cook, who has a particularh' handsome office in the 
 building of the National Bank of Commerce, has grown up in the 
 marine insurance business. He entered the office of the Mutual 
 Marine Insurance Company, in January, 1859, ^^ ^ clerk. On the 
 expiration of that company's charter in 1861, it retired from business, 
 and in 1863, the Ocean Mutual Insurance Company was organized to 
 succeed it. Mr. Cook was appointed secretary of the Ocean com-
 
 INDUSTRIAIv AND FINANCIAL. 279 
 
 pany soon after its organization, to succeed William H. Taylor, who 
 was made its president and filled the position until its affairs were 
 closed. The great disaster to the whaleships of the Arctic fleet in 
 the fall of 1871 crippled all the New Bedford companies, and as a 
 result the Ocean Mutual, the Union Mutual, the Pacific Mutual, and 
 the Commercial Mutual were all obliged to leave the field. Beside 
 winding up the affairs of his own company, Mr. Cook performed a 
 like service for the Commercial compan}'. When the disaster came 
 to the local marine insurance companies, Mr. Cook had already made 
 arrangements with insurers in other cities and was prepared to meet 
 the wants of the whaling interest. He at once established a marine 
 insurance agency, to which, at the request of many of his patrons, 
 he soon added fire and life insurance, and has since carried on an 
 extensive business in all three branches. Mr. Cook represents fifteen 
 leading American and foreign companies. He acts also as an adjuster 
 of insurance, and is frequently called upon to render service in the 
 capacity of an insurance expert. 
 
 The firm of Lawrence Grinnell & Co., located at 60 North 
 Water street, was established many years ago b}^ the senior partner. 
 Richard W. Grinnell was a member of the firm for a time, but he 
 retired on the first of April, 1882, when Joshua C Hitch succeeded 
 him. Messrs. Grinnell and Hitch now conduct the business. This 
 firm represents eighteen companies, embracing fire, marine, life, 
 plate glass, and steam boiler insurance, and among those on its list 
 are the largest fire insurance company and the largest life insurance 
 company in the world. Especial attention is given to marine insur- 
 ance, in the placing of which both members of the firm have had 
 long experience. 
 
 Hiram Van Campen established his agency in 1852, and it is 
 now located at No. 15 North Water street. He represents eighteen 
 companies, most of them being fire companies, but transacts some 
 life and accident business. 
 
 Thomas M. James established his fire insurance agency in 1865. 
 He is located at No. 40 North Water street, and represents live com- 
 panies. 
 
 Ivory S. Cornish has a fire and life insurance business at the 
 corner of William street and Second street, and Jonathan W. ICllis 
 is a fire insurance agent.
 
 2So NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 PRIVATE BANKING HOUSE. 
 
 The banking house of Sanford & Kelley is located at 47 North 
 Water street. Their rooms have about twenty-five hundred square feet 
 of floor surface and are conveniently arranged and neatly furnished. 
 The partners are Gardner T. Santbrd and Charles S. Kelley. They 
 do an investment business, are members of the Boston Stock Ex- 
 change, and are stock auctioneers. They have a private telegraph 
 wire connecting their office with that of their correspondents in Bos- 
 ton, by which they have telegraphic communication with New York, 
 Philadelphia, ^Chicago, and Providence. They were the first in this 
 city to lease a private wire. The business was established in 1848 by 
 the late Edward L. Baker. He sold out to Samuel P. Burt, his con- 
 fidendal clerk, in 1865. In 1875 Mr. Burt took as partners Mr. 
 Sanford and Mr. Kelley, under the firm name of S. P. Burt & Co., 
 Mr. Burt being located in Milwaukee, Wis. On the death of Mr. 
 Burt, in the west in 1884, the surviving partners formed the present 
 firm. 
 
 THE COAL BUSINESS. 
 
 The coal pockets of the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron 
 Company loom up conspicuously when the city is approached from 
 the water front. The wharf and pockets are located at the toot of 
 Walnut street and the plant was established in 1874-75. After being 
 leased to several parties, possession and operation were resumed b}' 
 the owners and builders in 1882 as a forwarding and distributing depot 
 for the company's coals for the local mills and to inland dealers and 
 manufacturers. The latter traffic is carried on through cars of the 
 Old Colony Railroad Company to all points on its main branches and 
 connections. 
 
 The main pocket is two hundred ten feet long and forty-five feet 
 high, with a capacity of seventy-two hundred tons. Vessels of the 
 heaviest draft that can come into the harbor discharge at each side, 
 by means of derricks, shears, and engines. 
 
 The company's steamers, of seventeen hundred thirty tons, work
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 283 
 
 four hatches at once, and discharge, ordinarily, in ten hours, although 
 the work has been accomplished in seven and three-quarters hours. 
 
 At the head of the north side of the dock is a shipping pocket 
 one hundred feet long, where vessels of the same tonnage as the 
 above can discharge either into cars, the pocket, or large storage 
 bins. 
 
 There are three of these bins, of fifty-three hundred, forty-two 
 hundred, and seventy-five hundred tons, respectively, which are 
 intended to hold the winter supply, when the weather renders uncer- 
 tain the arrival of cargoes from the company's shipping points at 
 Port Richmond, on the Delaware, and Point Liberty, New York 
 harbor. 
 
 The total storage capacity is twenty-six thousand tons. 
 
 When unloading one of the company's large steamers, eighty- 
 six people are engaged on the premises. 
 
 Much of the coal is brought here in barges, towed by powerful 
 tugs, and in the largest schooners. The arrivals in 1887 were as fol- 
 lows ; 
 
 Sailing vessels, 129 
 
 Biu-f^es, 45 
 
 Steamers, 24 
 
 Total number of vessels, 198 
 
 These vessels brought one hundred seventy thousand three 
 hundred forty-nine tons of coal, which were shipped away on 
 the cars. 
 
 Charles W. Agard is the local superintendent, and the business 
 has been developed to a large extent under his administration. 
 
 The large business of Hart & Akin was established by John 
 H. Perry about the year 1850. He started the coal trade on the 
 wharf at the foot of Walnut street and also engaged in grinding 
 paint. Soon afterward, George Wilson was admitted into partnership 
 and the firm name then became John H. Perry & Co. During the 
 war, the wharf at present occupied was bought of F. and G. R. 
 Taber, and in 1866, Samuel C. Hart purchased Mr. Wilson's interest. 
 In 1874, ^^'"- Pt;'"''}' retired and Francis T. Akin became llu' junior 
 partner in the firm of Hart & Akin. At about this time a wood yard 
 was added to the business. The company took possession at this 
 time of the south wharf, which is live hundred fifty feet long and one
 
 284 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 hundred twenty feet wide. There are two lines of sheds upon it, 
 each two hundred forty feet long, forty feet deep, and twenty feet 
 high. A stationary boiler of twenty horse power, with two engines, 
 is employed in unloading, and with two gangs and the facilities at 
 the command of the firm it is able to discharge seven hundred 
 tons from a vessel in ten hours. The company handles thirty or 
 fortv thousand tons of coal annually. The grinding of paint has 
 been discontinued by the firm, but it still engages in the sale of paints 
 and oils, as well as hay, straw, fertilizers, and naval stores. About 
 fifty men are in the employ of the company. The firm also does 
 a house, ship, and sign painting business with an office at No. 9 
 North Water street. 
 
 The coal business now conducted by David Duff & Son (David 
 and John Duff) antedates that of any other coal firm in the city, 
 having been originally established by Capt. George Randall. The 
 business was purchased of Parker & Haskell by the present firm 
 about a year ago, and the facilities have since been enlarged by the 
 erection of a pocket on Fish Island, one hundred twelve by thirty- 
 eight feet in area, with a height of twenty-one feet between the floor 
 and the run. This pocket is provided with a hoisting apparatus of an 
 improved pattern and has a capacity of twenty-three hundred tons. 
 The capacity of the other sheds on the island is about five thousand 
 tons and the firm handles about ten thousand tons of coal annually. 
 About twenty men are employed. 
 
 The coal business of Albert W. Holmes, at Atlantic wharf, w^as 
 established over thirty years ago, by Joseph Cundall, who built the 
 wharf. The business was subsequently carried on by Peleg S. Mac}^ 
 until 1869, when it passed into the hands of Josiah Holmes, Jr., who 
 added to the business wood, hay, and straw departments. In 1884 
 the present proprietor succeeded to the business of his father. 
 The property occupied embraces over an acre and a half and the 
 sheds, which are four hundred b}' forty-five feet in area, have been 
 entirely rebuilt within a year. Mr. Holmes' business is increasing 
 and he employs fifteen men. 
 
 Temple S. Corson carries on the coal business on Front street, 
 at the foot of Middle. The coal yard, at the head of this wharf, is 
 seventy-five by two hundred feet in area, and is provided with sheds 
 and pockets. He employs about fifteen men and handles between 
 eight thousand and fifteen thousand tons of coal annually.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 287 
 
 The coal business of Hathaway Brothers (Benjamin F. Hatha- 
 vva3^ Jr., and James L. Hathaway) was established by Benjamin F. 
 Hathaway in December, 1865. The above firm succeeded Mr. 
 Hathaway about a year ago. Ten men are employed and the retail 
 trade of the firm aggregates about eight thousand tons annually. 
 The wharf and yard of the firm is next south of the Old Colony 
 passenger station. 
 
 Bates & Howard have been established in the coal business for 
 about two years. Their yard is at the foot of Hillman street. 
 
 GAS AND ELECTRICITY. 
 
 In 1850 a company of gentlemen from Philadelphia, acting 
 together with Messrs. James B. Congdon and Abraham H. Howland, 
 obtained a state charter and the necessary cit}' authority tor supplying 
 the city with gas, organizing with a capital of $50,000. Other citi- 
 zens soon bought out the Philadelphia interest and a permanent 
 organization was formed, with William C. Taber as president and 
 James B. Congdon as treasurer, and the works were completed and 
 the gas turned on February 14, 1853. As first erected the entire 
 works occupied but a small part of the present situation on the water 
 front at the foot of Madison, then called Bush street, and consisted 
 only of a brick retort liouse, a small gas holder capable of holding 
 thirty-five thousand cubic feet, and an office and coal shed. Suc- 
 cessive enlargements were afterwards made, until the plant now covers 
 over three acres and the storage capacity in the three holders is about 
 two hundred thousand feet, with an annual sale of nearly fiftv mill- 
 ion. To meet these expenditures the capital stock was gradiuilly in- 
 creased up to the year 1888 to $225,000 and the entire works had been 
 practically rebuilt. For over thirty years of the interval Messrs. 
 Taber and Congdon had retained their respective positions, until the 
 death of Mr. Congdon was followed in a year or two by the resignation 
 of Mr. Taber, and Gilbert Allen was elected to serve in both positions. 
 In March, 1888, permission was granted by the state gas commis- 
 sion to enter upon tlie business of manufacturing and selling electric- 
 ity for light and power, and the company aeipiired by |iiirehase the 
 plant and property of the New Bedford Electric Company, which 
 had been furnishing arc lamps to the city from their station at
 
 288 NIi;W BEDFORD. 
 
 the foot of School street. To meet the purchase and subsequent 
 enhirgements further issues of stock were authorized and the capital 
 was increased to $300,000. In 1881 the office of the company was 
 removed from the works to the second story of No. 71 William street 
 and the gas company undertook the sale and rental of gas stoves and 
 fixtures. The manifest advantage of gas stoves was so quickly recog- 
 nized that in 1886 larger quarters were found by hiring the store No. 
 73 William street and opening a general sale store for all kinds of 
 gas apparatus, equipping the basement with all the apparatus for new 
 and repair work in all kinds of gas fittings. To such an extent has 
 tills business grown that during the year 1888 fully six hundred 
 stoves were rented and more than one hundred houses were piped for 
 gas, requiring long additions to the street mains, which now extend 
 about thirty miles in the streets. Much of this increased demand is 
 due to the lower prices for the gas itself, which has gradually fallen 
 from $3.50 net per thousand feet, when the company was first organ- 
 ized, to $1.80 net, or, in a quantity of four thousand feet per monthj 
 to $1.50. Following the usual policy of the company it may be 
 expected that further radical improvements now contemplated in the 
 economical manufacture of gas will reduce the rates yet lower. After 
 the company's accession of the electric plant this branch of the 
 business was more full}- developed and four Westinghouse incandes- 
 cent dynamos, with a capacity of twenty-six hundred lamps of 
 sixteen-candle power, were successively added with the necessar}' 
 engines, until the power plant is now rated at six hundred horse 
 power. A new generator for supplying motive power and a divided 
 arc circuit were installed and as the demand now grew greater than 
 the capacity of the station, contracts were given out (and the building 
 is almost completed) for an entirely new brick station to be placed 
 on the gas works property with a capacity of twelve hundred horse 
 power. As designed, this new building will be one hundred four- 
 teen by eighty-three feet, of two stories, to contain seven boilers, and 
 will be supplied with compound condensing engines and every advan- 
 tage which experience can suggest for the economical and successful 
 generation of electricity of any tension or voltage, either full arc, 
 divided arc, incandescent, or motive power, — in any way, in short, 
 in which electricity can be commercially supplied. The gas company 
 has endeavored in all this to employ the best possible methods of 
 manufacture and distribution and the best men it can obtain, and the
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 289 
 
 practical result has demonstrated the success of the undertaking. In 
 the distribution of its electric currents in all its wiring, of which it 
 now has over seventy-five miles, it has not added to its original pur- 
 chase one foot of any but the best insulating wires. At the beginning, 
 the decision was made that all wires, both in the streets and the houses, 
 should be so well protected that every source of danger should be as 
 far as possible eliminated, — a decision which has won the hearty ap- 
 probation of the insurance inspector and of the electrical engineers 
 who have inspected the work. With the completion of the new works 
 in the early spring of 1889 the company confidently expects to be able 
 to manufacture electricity as efficiently and sell as cheaply as anv other 
 station similarly situated and with as much safetv to the consumer 
 as by any other system. The present officers of the company are 
 Gilbert Allen, president and treasurer; Robert B. Taber, secretary, 
 who has also charge of the electrical department. Gideon Wood has 
 had charge as superintendent at the gas works for over thirty years, 
 and Ellery R. Bassett is superintendent at the electric (School 
 street) station. The entire force now numbers over seventy-five 
 men. 
 
 The Edison Electric Illuminating Company was organized in 
 1884, but nothing was done until the following year, when the com- 
 pany started with a capital stock of $50,000. Ground was broken 
 for the station, wdiich is of brick, two stories high, situated on Middle 
 street, October 9, and lighting was commenced July 23, 1886, with 
 five hundred or six hundred lamps connected. The total number of 
 lamps now subscribed for is over five thousand. A dividend of two 
 and one-half per cent, was paid the first year and the capital stock 
 was doubled. In 1887 a dividend of 6 per cent, was paid on the 
 increased capital. The plant includes three boilers, each of one 
 hundred twenty-five horse power, four engines, of sixty, one hundred, 
 one hundred twenty-five, and one hundred fifty horse power, respect- 
 ively, and eight dynamos. There is a power system connected with 
 the same wires. 
 
 The present officers are as follows : 
 
 President — John W. Macomber. 
 
 Treasurer, clerk, and manager — Chark-s R. Price. 
 
 Directors — Isaac W. Benjamin, Oh\cr P. Brigluinaii. Jolin J. 
 Howland, William D. Howland, Ilosea M. Knowlton. John \V. 
 Macomber, Charles W. Plummer, Charles R. Price, and Thomas 
 B. Wilcox.
 
 290 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 BAKERIES. 
 
 The tirst patent bakery in New England was established by 
 David A. Snell, who now carries on one of the largest establish- 
 ments tor the manufacture of plain and fancy crackers and cake 
 goods in Massachusetts. The business was established here in the 
 fall of 1857, at which time the consumption of flc^ur was three barrels 
 a week. In the spring of 1858 he took as a partner Charles D. 
 Capen and bought out Jacob B. Hadley, thus greatly increasing the 
 business and making the consumption of flour thirty barrels weekl}^ 
 In the fall of 1859, Mr. Snell sold his interest in the business to his 
 partner and established the first patent bakery in New England 
 against the combined influence of the four shipbread bakers in the 
 city. The war breaking out the following year, Mr. Snell made 
 large contracts with the government for supplying army bread. In 
 1867 the whaling business began to decline and, the war being over, 
 the demand for shipbread became light. At this time Mr. Snell re- 
 moved to the building at the northwest corner of William and Water 
 streets, where he engaged in another branch of the business, the 
 manufacture of plain and fancy crackers and cake goods. A build- 
 ing about one hundred feet in area and three stories high is occu- 
 pied, and the most improved machinery is used. Six years ago Mr. 
 Snell started a branch bakery at the corner of Rock and Bedford 
 streets, in Fall River, which is now in successful operation. The 
 total number of hands employed in the bakery is forty-tour, and four- 
 teen travelling salesmen are employed, who cover the whole of New 
 England. The consumption of flour is now about ten thousand bar- 
 rels annually. 
 
 The bakery of Jonathan Buttrick at No. 18 Centre street was 
 established between sixty-five and sevent}- N^ears ago bv Enoch 
 Horton. Mr. Horton learned his trade with Nathaniel Tucker, of 
 Milton, to whom Mr. Buttrick's father was also apprenticed, and 
 simultaneously with the establishment of the bakerv here, Mr. 
 Buttrick commenced business in Fairhaven. Mr. Horton's bakery 
 subsequently passed into the hands of Watson & Manchester and 
 then Samuel Watson carried it on. The present proprietor learned 
 the trade of his father and went to work for Mr. Watson in 1878.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 29I 
 
 The following year Mr. Watson died and Mr. Buttrick assumed the 
 business. Mr. Buttrick bakes shipbread only and tor this purpose 
 employs two brick ovens and a rotary oven. There are no other ingre- 
 dients in the bread excepting flour and water, and it is baked in cakes, 
 about five inches square, weighing five to the pound. It is packed 
 in air tight casks and will keep from three to seven years without 
 moulding. An average of seventy-five barrels of flour is baked up 
 for a vessel starting on a voyage and further supplies are shipped 
 out to the islands for the vessels. Mr. Buttrick bakes the bread used 
 by all the whaling agents, with one exception, and the consumption 
 of flour at this factory for seven years has been as follows: 1881, 
 fifteen hundred sixty-four barrels; 1882, sixteen hundred seventy- 
 one barrels; 1883, fourteen hundred eighty-four barrels; 1884, ^tn 
 hundred sixty-seven barrels; 1885, eleven hundred eighty-seven 
 barrels ; 1886, nine hundred ninety-eight barrels ; 1887, ten hundred 
 ninety-two barrels. 
 
 Henry H. Fisher, E. C. Milliken, and S. P. Richmond & Co. 
 carry on extensive bakeries, their products bemg chiefly lor local 
 consumption. 
 
 PAINT MANUFACTORIES. 
 
 The paint manufactory of Brownell & Co. is located at No. 13 
 North Front street. It was established in 1879 ^v H. J. Brownell, at 
 the corner of First and School streets, and in January, 1880, Albion 
 T. Brownell entered the firm. Subsequently H. J. Brownell withdrew 
 from the partnership. The business is the grinding of drv white 
 lead, blacks, verdigris, and dry colors. The machinery consists of a 
 lead mixer, a lead mill with a French burr stone, a color mixer, and 
 three color mills. Tlie firm also deals in painters' supplies and has a 
 market extending from I'ortland, Me., to New Jersey. 
 
 In 1861 George Kirby, Jr., commenced the manufacture of paints 
 and laid the foundation for one of our leading industries. The firm 
 of George Kirby, Jr., & Co. now transacts a business aggregating 
 one hundred thousand dollars annually, and Kirby's steamship black 
 and Kirby's copper paints are known throughout the country. For 
 twent}'-three years tlie factory lias been located on Wall street. In 
 April, 1S87, it was destroyed by fire and a new building was erected,
 
 292 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 one hundred twenty by one hundred feet in area, and one and two 
 stories high. Fine colors are imported and painters' speciahies are 
 manufactured. Twelve hands are employed. The firm now com- 
 prises George Kirby, Jr., George A. Kirby, and Eugene M. Barrows. 
 The firm of Brightman Brothers, consisting of Frederick W. 
 and William O. Brightman, was established about a year and a half 
 ago at No. 7 Rodman street. The business is that of grinding colors 
 in oil and japan. The machinery consists of two mixers and three 
 mills. 
 
 NOVELTIES IN METAL. 
 
 The Weeden Manufacturing Company manufactures novelties in 
 metal and occupies the two story brick building Nos. 112 and 114 
 North Water street. The business was founded by William N. 
 Weeden in 1883. Mr. Weeden is a native of New Bedford. He 
 learned the trade of a jeweller of James T. Almy, of this city, and 
 afterwards engaged in business in Boston for about a dozen years. 
 At the expiration of that time he made an engagement with the Ben- 
 edict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, at Waterbury. While in 
 their employ the Waterbury watch was brought to them and put into 
 his hands to develop, and finally its manufacture caused the formation 
 of the Waterbur}' Watch Company, of which he was first superin- 
 tendent for four years, visiting Europe three times in that period to 
 introduce and perfect the manufacture of the watch. In the summer 
 of 1882 he severed his connection with the watch compan}- and 
 removed to this city, establishing himself in business at Grinnell's 
 foundry, where the necessary tools were manufactured. A growing 
 business caused him to remove to the building he occupies at present, 
 where he leased one-third of the upper floor. As his goods became 
 popular and greater facilities were required, he branched out until 
 finally the entire building was employed. In 1884 he invented a toy 
 engine under an arrangement with Perry, Mason & Co., publishers of 
 the Youths' Companion, and later this scientific toy was patented. 
 The engine is an upright, complete miniature engine, eight inches 
 high, with diameter of boiler two and three-quarters inches, having a 
 capacity of half a pint; area of piston, one hundred fifty-nine thou- 
 sandths square inch ; length of stroke, nineteen thirty-seconds inch ;
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 293 
 
 diameter of fly-wheel, one and five-eighths inch ; weight of fly- 
 wheel, one ounce : diameter of pulley, five-eighths of an inch. The 
 entire machine consists of forty-one separate pieces, and before it 
 is ready for shipment is nicely packed in a box with sawdust, over 
 four hundred distinct operations being required to make it. All the 
 working parts of the toy are nickel plated, as well as the smoke-stack, 
 boiler, and fire-box. Every engine is run and tested before packing, 
 and this manufacture necessitates a large outlay, as the engines are 
 put into the works in lots of ten thousand at a time, several tons of 
 lead, antimony, tin plate, and other metals being consumed in their 
 manufacture. Movable toys were devised, which the engine oper- 
 ates, and all the boys know what the "Village Blacksmith" and 
 "Machine Shop" are. 
 
 Mr. Weeden also manufactured luminous match safes in great 
 varieties, magic lanterns, sewing assistants, and musical watches. 
 All the machinery employed in the manufacture is designed and made 
 on the premises. 
 
 Inasmuch as the work at the factory required so much of Mr. 
 Weeden's time that he could not properly attend to the outside busi- 
 ness of the firm, a stock company was formed in Julv, 1887, with a 
 capital stock of $50,000, to manufacture Mr. Weeden's novelties, and 
 the officers are as follows : 
 
 President — J. Arthur Beauvais. 
 Treasurer — Charles E. Barney. 
 Superintendent — William N. Weeden. 
 
 Directors — J. Arthur Beauvais. Charles E. Barney, William. N. 
 Weeden, George S. Homer, and Edward S. Brown. 
 
 The latest invention of Mr. Weeden promises to become the most 
 popular. It is a steam locomotive with a track. The latter is laid in 
 sections and the locomotive runs for a half hour. 
 
 Over fifty hands are employed. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS ENTERPRISES. 
 
 The Triumph Heat and Light Company was organized at Port- 
 land, Me., April 11, 1888, for the manufacture of gas and vapor 
 stoves. The office of the corporation is at No. 39 Exchange street, 
 Portland, but tlie business of the company is transacted at the office
 
 294 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 of the treasurer, No. 44 North Water street, in this city. The factory 
 is located here also, in Swift & Allen's block. Front street. The 
 stock consists of fifty thousand shares of the par value of ten dollars 
 each. The company manufactures various forms of burners for pro- 
 ducing heat from illuminating gas, water gas, natural gas, and the 
 vapor of gasoline. It also makes an improved form of vaporizer for 
 the production of gasoline vapor, and among its productions is a 
 combination piece of furniture in the form of an antique clock, con- 
 taining a stove, with other combinations. Gas burners for use in the 
 fire pot of any ordinary cook stove, the grate and lining being 
 removed, are also made here. The heaters produce intense heat with 
 a small consumption of fuel and are practically odorless while in 
 operation. All the articles manufactured by the company are the 
 inventions of Robert B. Carsley, of this city. The officers of the 
 company are as follows : 
 
 President — Edmund Rodman. 
 
 Vice president — James H. Murkland. 
 
 Secretary and treasurer — James L. Gillingham. 
 
 Directors — Edmund Rodman, James H. Murkland, Oliver P. 
 Brightman, Joshua B. Winslow, Pardon Cornell, Frank C. Smith, 
 Robert B. Carsley. 
 
 Superintendent — George D. Brown. 
 
 The latest addition to our diversified industries is the manufact- 
 ure of pianos, under the patents of Hiram B. Nickerson, of this city, 
 in the third story of Parker's block, on Middle street. The piano 
 differs from others in having one-half the strings run through the 
 back of the plate, and the remainder through the front, with a differ- 
 ential screw for a tuning pin, thus equalizing the strain and improving 
 the tone. By means of the tuning device it is claimed that an 
 upright piano will hold its tune ten times longer than bv any device 
 now in use. The invention at once secured the approval of expert 
 pianists and tuners and the endorsement of a committee of the Board 
 of Trade of this city, among others. 
 
 In June, 1888, the Nickerson Piano Company was organized 
 under the laws of the state of Maine, with $100,000 capital and the 
 foUowincy officers : 
 
 President — William Lewds. 
 Clerk — George H. Nichols. 
 Assistant clerk — Charles H. Holden. 
 Treasurer — Frank R. Hadley.
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 295 
 
 Directors — Wendell H. Cobb, Hiram B. Nickerson, James C. 
 Stafford, and William Lewis. 
 
 The manufacture was commenced in September. At present the 
 cases and actions are bought at manufactories, and the Nickerson 
 patent is put in here. The pianos are high priced instruments, retail- 
 ing at from five hundred dollars to six hundred dollars, but it is 
 claimed that the}' are superior to any other piano in the world. 
 
 The Henry V. Davis Chemical Works are situated on Court 
 street, between Chancery and Park streets, and prussiate of potash 
 and cyanide of potassium are manufactured here. 
 
 The works make the latter product in larger amount and of a 
 higher grade than any other factory in the country, the only serious 
 competition being in the imported article. The industry commenced 
 in the manufacture of Prussian blue in a little shanty at the corner of 
 William and Sixth streets, and about the year 1840 the business was 
 purchased by Henry V. Davis and Philip B. Lewis. Soon after Mr. 
 Davis became the sole proprietor, and on his death, several 3'ears ago, 
 the heirs continued the business. About twenty hands are now 
 employed here. 
 
 The prussiate is used in dyeing and calico printing, but ot late 
 years but little of this product has been made. The cyanide is 
 largely employed in electroplating. There are two ovens at the 
 works and the cyanide is formed by burning horn waste, hides or 
 leather, and potash. 
 
 Thomas M. Denham & Brother manufacture shirts on a large 
 scale in the three story block erected by the firm several years ago, 
 on Acushnet avenue. The senior member of the fu-m commenced 
 the manufacture in a small way in a room in Cole's tavern building, 
 on Water street, in 1868. A few years afterward lie took his brother 
 Edward into the firm and removed his factory to the third story of 
 Cummings building, where thev remained until 1878, when they 
 moved into the new building built by them for their use. The firm 
 has seven patents under which it manufactures, and in tiie busy sea- 
 son employs two hundred hands, piiiH'ipally giils. As an indication 
 of the development of the business, it may lie stated that the lirst 
 year Mr. Denham manufactured eight hundred shirts. Now twelve 
 hundred shirts are frequently made in a day. 
 
 Denison r)r()thers ow 11 and o|">t'rale the two large Hour and grain 
 mills situated at tiie corner of Water and School streets and at the
 
 296 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 foot of'Hillman street. No flour has been manufactured here for 
 five or six years because of the superior facilities at the west, but corn 
 and feed are ground at both mills, and the firm does a large business 
 in cereal products. The business was established and the south mill 
 built in 1857 by Joseph B. Warner and John H. Denison, under the 
 firm name of Warner & Denison. This partnership continued until 
 1865, when Henr}^ C. Denison was admitted and the firm name 
 became Warner, Denison & Co. About the year 1868 Mr. Warner 
 withdrew and the firm name was changed to J. H. Denison & Co. 
 In 1877 George Wilson was admitted into the business and the north 
 mill was purchased. Mr. Wilson remained in the firm three years 
 and on his withdrawal the firm name became Denison Bros., and 
 so it remains. Twenty-seven men are employed. 
 
 The business of Coffin Bros., paper box manufacturers, was 
 established about thirty-five years ago by Frederick Coffin, the 
 senior member of the firm. He continued to conduct the business 
 with his brother, Charles H. Coffin, until 1883, when his nephews, 
 Walter H. and Arthur S. Coffin were admitted to partnership. The 
 three story building. No. 38 Middle street, is occupied as a factory 
 and about fifteen hands are emplox'ed. Pasteboard boxes of all sizes 
 and styles are manufactured and a specialty is made of the Coffin 
 folding paper box. 
 
 The New Bedford Hydraulic Motor Company manufactures 
 water motors at No. 13 Rodman street, and a large number is now 
 in use. The invention of this motor consists in an impact water- 
 wheel wherein is provided a novel adjustable and removable supply- 
 ing contrivance, a novel indicator, and a novel guarded air-vent. 
 The speed of the motor can be regulated and indicated to an almost 
 infinitesimal degree by hand or speed governor. Fred. S. Giffbrd is 
 the manager of the company. 
 
 Job Wade, currier, occupies the three story brick building No. 
 17 Hamilton street. He finishes leather and his specialties are the 
 manufacture of carriage trimming leather in colors and welting and 
 inner soles for shoes made on the Goodyear machine. In addition 
 to the factory on Hamilton street Mr. Wade occupies a floor in a 
 building on Commercial street. Twelve men are emplo\'ed. 
 
 The New Bedford Reed Company is located at No. 189 North 
 Water street, and the firm consists of Manuel D., John D., and Joseph 
 D. Martin. It manufactures weaving reeds for cotton, woolen, and
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL. 297 
 
 silk mills and does a thrifty business. The company has been located 
 here for about three years- 
 Henry C. Fowler, manufacturer of loom harnesses for silk and 
 cotton mills, is located in the second story of the building on Parker's 
 wharf, at the foot of Middle street. He has been in business in this 
 city for two years and employs twelve hands. 
 
 J. H. Lawrence, top roll and clearer coverer, has a factory on 
 the lower floor of this building. He emplo^'s ten hands and does 
 work for all the cotton mills in the city. 
 
 The bomb gun and lance has taken the place of the harpoon in 
 whaling. Shoulder, darting, and swivel guns are manufactured by 
 William Lewis, under the Cunningham patent, Eben Pierce, 12 
 William street, Daniel Kelleher, 19 North First street, and Selmar 
 Eggers, 10 William street. An interesting circumstance in con- 
 nection with the subject ma}' be related. A short time ago a blue 
 whale was taken off Finmark, on the coast of Norway, in which was 
 found a lance of Mr. Pierce's patent, made after a pattern manufac- 
 tured by him twenty years ago. 
 
 George H. Freeman manufactures writing and copying inks at 
 No. 17 Centre street. He has been engaged in this business tor about 
 a dozen years and his inks are considered as good as any made. 
 
 There are now scarcely as many sail makers in the city as there 
 were sail lofts in the palmy days of whaling, not over twenty men be- 
 ini§ regularly employed in the branch of industry which was once so 
 important here. The firms now engaged in sail making are Thomas 
 M. Hart & Co. (Thomas M. Hart, James C. Briggs, and Oliver W. 
 Cobb), whose loft is on Commercial street, Eduard E. Hitch, who 
 carries on the business at Merrill's whart\ Job AKny, whose loft is on 
 Middle street, and Chapman &: Shurtleff, corner of Union and Front 
 streets. 
 
 This statement is true of other kindred industries, such as rig- 
 ging, pump and block, and mast and spar making. The most 
 prominent riggers now engaged in the busiiu-ss an- IV-ti-r Black, 
 Abram Allen, and John L. Olstein. The pump ant! bh)ck makers are 
 Charles W. Coggeshall, Walter D. Swan, Thomas W. Swift. Phineas 
 White, and Edward S. Taber, and the promim-nt mast and spar 
 makers are Rodolphus Beetle and Johnson »lv: Ilowhuul. 
 
 Prominent among the marble workers are Frederick E. Allen, 
 20 North Second street, Theodore W. Cole, 20 William street, the
 
 298 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 New Bedford Monumental Marble Works, 25 Fourth street, and A. 
 Moore & Co., Pope's Island. 
 
 The leading manufacturers of roofing and concrete pavers are 
 Perkins & Chase, John Bertram & Co., and Lloyd Bros. 
 
 Among the leading building contractors are Brownell & Murk- 
 land, who have an office in room 8 of Liberty Hall building and 
 who make a specialty of mill construction ; Samuel C. Hunt, at 41 
 William street, the builder of the Harrington school house ; John N. 
 Morris, at 73 Grinnell street, who has erected many handsome 
 dwellings ; George E. Briggs, at 54 Dartmouth street, who is a 
 thorough and careful workman ; and Charles O. Brightman, at 82 
 Mill street, whose work includes some of the best buildings in the city. 
 
 Thomas J. Giftord & Co. make Park's steam heater, an appliance 
 which has won much favor for heating both residences and public 
 buildings. The factory is at 367 Acushnet avenue, and plumbing, 
 steam fitting, and gas fitting, are extensively carried on. 
 
 Thomas B. Tripp, whose office is at 325 County street, is a lead- 
 ing real estate agent. He has had long experience, and few men 
 are so well posted with regard to the value of landed property in this 
 city or the adjoining towns as he. F. A. F. Adams is also a real 
 estate agent with an office at No. 48 North Water street. 
 
 Connected with both the newspaper establishments — the Stand- 
 ard and Mercury — are large and well equipped job printing offices. 
 The job printing business is also conducted by Paul Howland,^r., 
 in the Robeson building on William street. 
 
 F. W. Francis is a manufacturer of fine cigars at 23 Commer- 
 cial street. He has also an office and retail store at 148 Union street. 
 
 Charles S. Paisler, at 160 North Water street, is a wholesale 
 and retail dealer in masons' building materials, and does a large and 
 increasing business.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 
 
 LL that has been said of New Bedford, of its his- 
 tory, its attractions, its industries, its 
 social, religious, and benevolent activ- 
 ities, fails to exhaust the theme. The 
 sons and daughters of this pleasant and 
 
 ^^^PPy city on the shore of the placid 
 
 C / ^^Pl ^^<^ Acushnet, wherever they may be scat- 
 
 *■ 1j-\ 4'~'-ij^=^ tered throughout the world, will with 
 
 , one voice testify that no word in her 
 
 praise is too glowing, and that the 
 ^i>^^Mk ' ^"'^ ^ ffig s^-.-- picture of her charms is not half the 
 — — reality. But the bounds of this vol- 
 
 ume are nearly reached, and all that can now be added must be 
 limited to the plain statement of plain facts, for which no appropriate 
 place has been found in the preceding pages. In this chapter, there- 
 fore, are gathered various scraps of information, not closelv related, 
 but all having some important bearing on the interests or the condi- 
 tion of New Bedford. 
 
 The financial standing of the municipality is indicated by the 
 following tabular statement of the city debt : 
 
 Water bonds, 7s, §140,000.00 
 
 Water bonds, 6s, ;{-20.000.00 
 
 Water bonds, 5s, 100.000.00 
 
 Water bonds, 4s, 120.000.00 
 
 Bridge bonds, 6s, 10,000.00 
 
 Sewer bonds, 4s, (l.l.OOO.OO 
 
 Sewer bonds, 3is, 7.j,000.00 
 
 Improvement bonds, 6s, 22.3,000.00 
 
 Improvement bonds, 4s, 1."), 000. 00 
 
 Improvement bonds, 3is, 140,000.00 
 
 Bonds outstanding, $1,208,000.00
 
 302 NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 The trust funds are as follows : 
 
 Sylvia Ann Howland bequest $100,000.00 
 
 George O. Crocker bequest, 10,000.00 
 
 Library funds other than above, 4,100.00 
 
 Cemetery funds for care of lots, 7,064.93 
 
 Jonathan Bourne school fund, 1,000.00 .$122,104.93 
 
 $1,330,104.93 
 Temporary debt 125,000.00 
 
 Total debt, 81,455,164.93 
 
 Deduct from the last sura named: 
 
 Balance of cash, January 7, 1889, $32,196.88 
 
 Amounts due from state, 7,230.00 
 
 Taxes collectable, 19,700.00 
 
 Sewer taxes due, 7,347.39 
 
 Sinking funds, 52,897.77 119,372.04 
 
 Net debt January 7, 1889, , 81,335.792.89 
 
 The regular municipal appropriation bill of i888 was as follows : 
 
 Appropriations, special of 1887, $50,000.00 
 
 Cemeteries, 1,500.00 
 
 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, chapter 252 (soldiers" aid), 3,500.00 
 
 Discount for prompt payment of taxes, 10,000.00 
 
 Fire department, 30,500.00 
 
 Free public library, 5,400.00 
 
 Highwaj-s and streets, 77,000.00 
 
 Incidentals, 15,710.00 
 
 Lighting the streets 27,000.00 
 
 New Bedford and Fairhaven bridge, 1,000.00 
 
 New Bedford water works, 12,000.00 
 
 Police department, 46,000.00 
 
 Poor department, 33,000.00 
 
 Public debt, 114,611.00 
 
 Public schools, incidentals, 22,000.00 
 
 Public schools, pay of teachers, 75,000.00 
 
 Public schools, repairs of buildings, 3,000.00 
 
 Pepairs of city property, 5,000.00 
 
 Salaries, 13,990.00 
 
 Sewers, general account, 1,000.00 
 
 Sinking funds, 17.200.00 
 
 Truant school, 2,000.00 
 
 3,411.00 
 Less bonds issued, 50.000.00 
 
 $516,411.00 
 
 The special appropriations of i888 were : 
 
 Cemeteries, $2,500.00 
 
 City stable and lot, 11,580.44
 
 BRISTOL COUNTY COURT HOUSE, COUNTY STREET.
 
 304 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Engine house and lot, Durfee street, .$1,400.00 
 
 Fire dopartnicnt, 4,700.00 
 
 Harrinirton school house and lot, .38, 264. .56 
 
 Highway department, .5,.500.00 
 
 Incidentals, .0.50.00 
 
 New Bedford and Fairhaven Bridge, 500.00 
 
 Police department 8,900.00 
 
 Public schools, 10,000.00 
 
 Repairs of city property, 3,455.00 
 
 Sewers, construction and repairs, 55,17.3.20 
 
 $142,523.20 
 Add general appropriations, 516,411.00 
 
 Total, $6.58,934.20 
 
 The tax assessments of i888 were levied as follows : 
 
 State tax, $40,522.-50 
 
 County tax, 41,274.10 
 
 Citj- appropriations, 486,411.00 
 
 Overlay, 19,364.30 
 
 $587,571.90 
 The rate of taxation was $17 on $1000. 
 
 Reference has already been made to some of the churches. 
 
 Following is a complete list, with the location and the names of the 
 
 pastors : 
 
 Advent. First. Foster street, corner of Kempton. William A. Burch, pastor. 
 Baptist. First. William street, west of Sixth. J. C. Hideu, D. D., pastor. 
 
 Xorth. Corner of Merrimac and County streets. Henry C. Graves, D. D., pastor. 
 
 Salem. Sixth street, north of Union. Andrew Chamberlain, pastor. 
 
 Second. Middle street, west of Sixth. Eandolph Hope, pastor. 
 Catholic. St. Hyacinthe. Eivet street, west of County. In charge of Joseph A. 
 Peyan, of the Church of the Sacred Heart. 
 
 St. James. This society has no church building, but services are held in the 
 parochial school house, corner of Aeushuet avenue and Wing street. James F. 
 Clark, pastor. 
 
 St. John the Baptist. Fifth street, corner of Wing. A. G. Neves, pastor. 
 
 St. Lawrence. County street, corner of Hillman. Hugh J. Smythe, pastor. 
 
 Sacred Heart. Ashland street, corner of Eobeson. Joseph A. Peyan, pastor. 
 Christiax. First. Purchase street, corner of Middle. William T. Brown, pastor. 
 
 Bonuey street, corner of Sherman. Isaac H. Coe, pastor. 
 
 Middle street, head of Sixth. John McCalman, pastor. 
 
 Spruce street, corner of Smith. H. M. Eaton, pastor. 
 Congregational. Acushnet village. S. C. Bushnell, pastor. 
 
 North. Purchase street, corner of Elm. Albert H. Heath, D. D., pastor. The 
 pastor has resigned, and will leave the church in March, 1SS9. 
 
 Trinitarian. Fourth street, corner of School. Matthew C. Julien, pastor. 
 Episcopal. Grace. Count}"- street, corner of School. George A. Strong, rector. 
 
 St. James. County, corner of Linden. Charles E. Barnes, rector.
 
 A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 3O5 
 
 Olivet. Fourth street, corner of Eivet. Alfred Evan Johnson, rector. 
 Friends. Spring street, west of Sixth. 
 
 Fifth street, north of Russell. This house is rarely used. 
 Methodist. Allen street, corner of County. Edward Williams, pastor. 
 
 Bethel (African). Kempton street. J. Wesley Skerrett. i)astor. 
 
 County street, corner of Elm. Angelo Canoll. pastor. 
 
 Fourth street, between Madison and Walnut. Albert P. Palmer, pastor. 
 
 Pleasant street, corner of Sycamore. Matthias S. Kaufman, pastor. 
 
 Primitive. High street. J. L. Leith, pastor. 
 
 Zion (African). Elm street, west of County. J. Francis Robinson, pastor. 
 Missions. City Mission chapel. South Water street. '!'. If. Dennison, missionary. 
 
 Cannonville. Services held by various clergymen. 
 
 Seamen's Bethel. Bethel street, between Union and AViiliani. P^dward Williams 
 is chaplain-elect. 
 Presbyterian. Has no church building. James Mitchell, pastor. 
 Unitarian (First Congregational). Union street, corner of Eighth. William J. 
 
 Potter, pastor. 
 Universalist. William street, east of Eighth. George T. Flanders, D. 1)., pastor. 
 
 Few cities surpass New Bedford in the number and variety of 
 social, musical, and literary organizations. Some of these have 
 already been mentioned. Among others which are prominent are 
 the New Bedford Lyceum, an institution which lias in the past been 
 active in providing lectures and concerts for the public, but which 
 for the present is doing little. The New Bedford Choral i\ssociation, 
 organized in 1869, has had an honorable history, and has done much for 
 music in New Bedford. The Rheinberger Club of singers, a newer 
 organization, has much promise for the future. The German Sang- 
 erbund is also in a prosperous condition. Witii brass bands and 
 orchestras the city is fully supplied, and some of these organizations 
 are exceptionally good. 
 
 Of secret fraternal societies a great number has been formed. 
 Following is a complete list, with places of meeting. In the list 
 a few are included which do not come strictly under this classification : 
 
 Masonic. Star in the East Lodge, F. & A. M. Masonic hall. Union street. 
 Eureka Lodge, F. & A. M. Masonic hall. Union street. 
 
 Union Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M. (colored). Hall in Eddy building. Union street. 
 Adoniram Royal Arch Chapter. Masonic liall, Union street. 
 St. Mark's Chapter, Xo. .'>, H. R. A. M. (colored). Hall in Eddy building. Union 
 
 street. 
 Sutton Commandery, K. T. Masonic hall. Union street. 
 'I'honias Dalton Commandery, Xo. 7, K. T. (colored). Hall in Edily building. 
 
 Union street. 
 J. W. Hood Chapter, Order of Eastern Star (cnl(.rcd\ Hall in Kd.ly building. 
 
 Union street. 
 Odd Fellows. Acuslmet Lodge, No. 41, I. O. O. F. Oild Fellows' hall, corner of 
 
 Purchase and William streets.
 
 County Street Methodist Church. First Baptist Church. 
 
 First Congregational (Unitarian) Church. 
 Trinitarian Church. Middle Street Christian Church.
 
 A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 307 
 
 Vesta Lodge, No. 166, I. O. O. F. Waverly building. Fourth street. 
 
 Petoinska Lodge, No. 1518, G. U. O. of O. F. (colored). Hall opposite post 
 
 otHce, on Second street. 
 Loyal Alpha Lodge, No. 646.3, I. O. O. F., M. U. China hall. Purdiase street. 
 Annawan Encampment, No. 8, L O. O. F. Odd Fellows" liall, corner of Purchase 
 
 and William streets. 
 Grand Canton New Bedford, No. 15, P. M., I. O. O. F. Odd Fellows' hall, corner 
 
 of Purchase and William streets. 
 Stella Lodge, No. 46, D. of R. Waverly building. Fourth street. 
 Household of Euth, No. 282 (colored). Hall opposite post office, on Second 
 
 street. 
 The Odd Fellows' Beneficial Association of Southern Massachusetts has its head- 
 quarters in this city. 
 The headquarters for the Fifth regiment, Patriarchs Militant, L O. O. F., of which 
 
 Lieut. Col. C. H. Holden, of New Bedford, is commander, is in this city. 
 Cambridge Patriarchie, No. 15, G. U. O. of O. F., New Bedford division (colored). 
 Hall opposite post office, on Second street. 
 Grand Army Republic. William Logan Rodman Post, No. 1. G. A. R. hall. 
 Purchase street. 
 R. A. Pierce Post, No. 190. Knights of Honor hall, Union street. 
 R. G. Shaw Post, No. 146 (colored). Neptune hall, corner Market and Pleasant 
 streets. 
 Red Men. Potomska Stanim, No. 182 (German), Independent Order of Red Men. 
 Germania house. North Second street. 
 New England Encampment, No. 19 (German), Independent Order of Red Men. 
 
 Germania house, North Second street. 
 Sipi)ican Tribe, No. 77, Improved Order of Red Men. Kniglits of Pythias hall, 
 Purchase street. 
 Knights of Honor. New Bedford Lodge. No. 667. Knights of IN. nor hall, Union 
 street. 
 Protection Lodge, No. 3144. Temperance hall, Hicks buikling, Purchase street. 
 Knights of Pvtiiias. Union Lodge. No. 7, K. of P. Knights of Pylhias hall, Wing 
 building. Purchase street. 
 Carson Division, No. 10, U. R. K. of P. Knights of Pythias hail, Wing liuilding. 
 Purchase street. 
 Good Fellows. Prudential Assembly, No. 118, R. S. G. F. Knights of Honor 
 
 hall. Union street. 
 0rdei{ of the Ikon Hall. Local Branch, No. 195. Cliina hall. I'nnliase street. 
 
 Local Branch, No. 297 ((Jerman). China hail, Purch.ise street. 
 Temple of Honol-. Pilgrim Temple, No. Xi. 'I'emperance liall. IlieUs huilding. 
 Purchase street. 
 Pilgrim Council. Xo. 7. Hicks l)ulldiiig, Purchase street. 
 Good Templars. Orient Lodge, No. 17.3, I. O. G. T. china hiili. runhase street. 
 Liberty Lodge, No. 48, I. O. G. T. Temperance ball, lli.ks building. I'ureliase 
 street. 
 Sons of Teaiperance. .Xcuslmet Division. N'o. S7. Temperance liall, iii.k- Imild- 
 
 ing, Purchase street. 
 New P.edfok'D Order of Protection. iJay State Lodge, No. .V.t. Knights of 
 
 Honor liall. Union street. 
 Sons of St. George. Gordon Lodge, No. 172. China hall, I'luchase street.
 
 3o8 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Anciknt Okoer of Fokksteks. Court Royal Oak, No. 6448. Spinners' hall, cor- 
 ner of Union and Water streets. 
 
 Ancient Okdek of Hiheknians. Division No. 7. Neptune hall, corner of Pleasant 
 and Market streets. 
 
 BiuTi.sii American Association. Branch No. 5. China Hall, Purchase street. 
 
 OuDEU of Elks. New Bedford Lodge, No. 73, B. P. O. Elks. Elks' hall, corner 
 Union and Fourth streets. 
 
 PROPOSED ODD FELLOWS' BUILDING. 
 
 Union Veteran Leoion. Encampment No. 10. G. A. K. hall, Purchase street. 
 Sons of Veterans. John A. Hawes Camp, No. 35, Division of Massachusetts. 
 
 G. A. R. hall. Purchase street. 
 Woman's Relief Corps. William Logan Kodmau Woman's Relief Corps, No. 53. 
 
 G. A. R. hall. Purchase street.
 
 A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 3O9 
 
 Loyal Knights and Ladies. Court Themis. Knights of Honor hall, Union street. 
 Knights and Ladies of Honor. Sterling T^odge, Xo. 1222. Temperance hall, 
 
 Hicks building, Purchase street. 
 Legion of Honor. Xew Bedford Council, No. 816. A. L. of H. Temperance hall. 
 
 Hicks building, Purchase street. 
 United Endowment Associates. Pioneer Lodge, No. IG. Knights of Honor 
 
 hall. Union street. \ 
 
 Order of United Friends. Washington Council, No. 121. China hall, Purchase 
 
 street. 
 United Order of Pilgrim Fathers. British Colony, No. 29. China hall, Pur- 
 chase street. 
 Royal Arcanum. Omega Council, No. 683. Knights of Honor hall, Union street. 
 Labor Organizations. Local Branch, No. 17, American Flint Glass Workers' 
 Union. Neptune hall, corner of Market and Pleasant streets. 
 Glass Cutters" Union. Ward room on Sherman street. 
 New Bedford Branch of the New England Lasters" Union. Neptune hall, corner 
 
 of Pleasant and Market streets. 
 Edge Makers' Union. Homes of members. 
 Level Union, No. 409, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. China hall, 
 
 Purchase street. 
 Spinners" Union. Spinners" hall, corner of Union and Water streets. 
 Miscellaneous Societies. New Bedford Printers" Benefit Association. Bancroft 
 house, Union street. 
 Provision Clerks' Association. Y. M. C. A. rooms, William street. 
 St. Lawrence Catholic Temperance Society. Neptune hall, corner of Market and 
 
 Pleasant streets. 
 Socialist Club. Edgerton hall, corner of Linden and Purchase streets. 
 Parnell Branch, Irish National League. Neptune hall, corner of Market and Pleas- 
 ant streets. 
 New Bedford Literary Association. Neptune hall, corner of Market ami Pb-asant 
 
 streets. 
 New Bedford Society for Medical Improvement. At the homes (if mcmbi'rs. 
 Ladies" Independent Association (auxiliary to IJ. A. I'inve P()>t. l'J(»). Masonic 
 
 building. Union street. 
 New Bedford Firemen's Beneficial Association. Central .•iimjih- bou-c Pun'hase 
 
 street. 
 Bread, Cake, and Cracker Bakers' licneficial Association. < bina b.ili. Purchase 
 
 street. 
 L'Union Ouvriere (French). Over PMgerton's ball, rnrcbase street. 
 Club of French Xaturali/ation. Wamsutta hall, i'urcbase street. 
 Cesko Slovanky Podpornjici Spolek, No. 85 (Bohemian). Bohemian ball, liow.litcb 
 
 street. 
 Young Men's Total Abstinence & Benefii-ial Society. No. i:{7 liiioii street. 
 Rose of Sharon Beneficial Society (colored). Salem Baptist chiircb. Sixtli street. 
 Y'oung Men's Protestant Temperance and Benevolent Society. Hall over Boston 
 
 store, Purchase street. 
 Firemen"s Mutual Aid Society. Central engine house. Purchase street. 
 Natural History Associates. 
 High School Alumni.
 
 3IO 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 The Wamsutta Club, a flourishing social organization of gentle- 
 men, occupies pleasant rooms in the Masonic building on the north side 
 of Union street, west of Purchase. Nearly opposite, in Ricketson 
 block, is the attractive home of the Dartmouth Club, composed 
 chiefly of young business men. The South End Athletic Club has 
 rooms on Union street. This club combines the social with the physi- 
 cal in its scheme of operation. The Plymouth Club has headquarters 
 in Music Hall. The "Chronometer Club" is the name applied to a 
 group of retired w^haling captains, who daily gather at rooms in the 
 Robeson building, where they mingle with stories of the deep ani- 
 
 NEW BEDFORD YACHT CLUB HOUSE. 
 
 mated discussions of current topics. But their number is decreasing 
 now. 
 
 The state militia is now represented by the City Guards, which 
 is known officially as Co. E of the First Regiment of Massachusetts 
 Infantry. This company has a long and honorable history, and at 
 this day is in a state of unexceptional efficiency. Its captain is 
 William Sanders and its first and second lieutenants are Richard H. 
 Morgan and Arthur E. Perry. The French Zouaves is a company 
 composed of young French residents, and is not connected with the 
 state militia. Its captain is Dr. L. Z. Normandin. 
 
 A military company of pupils of the High school has been in 
 existence for several years under the title of The High School Cadets. 
 The company is now commanded by John Holt. The course of 
 instruction for the boys in the school now includes the military drill.
 
 A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 3II 
 
 The South Bristol Farmers' Chib has its winter meetings in this 
 city, though its members include residents of all the adjoining towns. 
 Its membership is large and active, and it has done a good work for 
 agriculture in the southern part of Bristol county. Its annual fairs 
 are second only to those of the Board of Trade. Hon. A. Frankly n 
 Howland is the president. 
 
 Eleven schooners, thirty-two sloops, one steamer, and one vawl 
 are now enrolled in the New Bedford Yacht Club. Its attractive house 
 on the south side of the New Bedford and Fairhaven bridge is a 
 favorite resort for the members and their friends during the summer. 
 The waters of the river and bay are peculiarly adapted to the pleas- 
 ures of yachting, and it is not surprising that the club is a vigorous 
 organization. Its officers are : 
 
 Commodore — Richard H. Morgan. 
 
 Vice commodore — Edgar B. Hammond. 
 
 Rear commodore — Nathaniel Hathaway. 
 
 Secretary — John W. Nickerson, Jr. 
 
 Treasurer — E. Stanley Wills. 
 
 Measurer — Henry F. Hammond. 
 
 Directors — James A. Barnes, Horace Wood. John C. Rhodes, 
 Benjamin H. Anthony, Albert W. Holmes, Richard S. Taber, 
 William N. Church, Jr., George M. Crapo, George W. Parker, 
 Edward M. Whitney, Lewis S. Richardson. 
 
 The city has the telegraphic service of the Western Union Tele- 
 graph Company, with an office at the southeast corner of Water and 
 Centre streets ; of the Postal Cable Telegraph Company, with an 
 office at No. 4 North Second street ; and of the Mutual Union Tele- 
 graph Company, with an office at the northwest corner of William 
 and North Second streets. 
 
 The Southern Massachusetts Telephone Company, which con- 
 trols the telephone system of this section of the state, has its head- 
 quarters in New Bedford. Its president is Ciiarles W. ClilVord, its 
 treasurer, Samuel I vers, and its manager, Moses I*^. Hatch. In New 
 Bedford about seven hundred filtv telej'ihones are in use. 
 
 Express facilities are furnished by Match & Company's line, 
 which was established in 1840 by Col. A. D. Ilatcii and is one of 
 the oldest express companies in the country ; and by Allen's New 
 York & Boston express. The former is now running in connection 
 with the New York and Boston Despatch Express Company, and 
 it is the only company that forwards express matter on passenger
 
 312 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 trains. The New England Despatch Connpany also has an office ; 
 William H. Thing is manager. 
 
 The Union Street Railway Company, which controls all the 
 street railway track in the city, is the result of a consolidation of two 
 rival corporations. Its tracks reach everj^ section of the city, and its 
 cars make frequent trips in every direction. Lines run to Fairhaven 
 and to Acushnet village, andin thesummer cars are run to Woodlawn 
 grove, located on Clark's point. The capital stock of the corpora- 
 tion is $260,000, and the officers are : 
 
 President — Samuel C. Hart. 
 
 Treasurer — Andrew G. Pierce. 
 
 Clerk — Charles H. Gifford. 
 
 Directors — The above and Jonathan Bourne, "William W. Crapo, 
 Weston Rowland, J. i\rthur Beauvais, Charles E. Cook, Abbott P. 
 Smith. 
 
 The New Bedford post office does a larger business than is usual 
 in places of the size of New Bedford. Its receipts for the \^ear 1888 
 were $42,296.86. During that period the letter carriers handled 
 4,693,664 pieces of mail matter. The money order transactions 
 amounted to $190,224.74. The working force of the office includes 
 the postmaster, assistant postmaster, nine clerks, sixteen letter car- 
 riers, and two substitute letter carriers. Albert H. W. Carpenter is 
 the present postmaster. 
 
 In spite of the decline of whaling, the port of New Bedford is 
 still the scene of great activity, and it is true that the tonnage of ves- 
 sels arriving and departing in a year far exceeds that of the palmiest 
 days of the whaling industry. Records kept at the custom house 
 show that during the year 1888 the number of arrivals at this port 
 was as follows : 
 
 Ships 1 
 
 Barks 13 
 
 Brigs 2 
 
 Schooners 809 
 
 Sloops 29 
 
 Barges -10 
 
 Steamers "08 
 
 1772 
 The total tonnage of these vessels was 564,363 tons. The 
 list does not include yachts or fishermen. The largest item in the 
 coastwise business at present is the coal trade, which has been re- 
 ferred to in another part of this volume.
 
 A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 313 
 
 New Bedford now has in the foreign trade one ship, of 822.19 
 tons, three barks, aggregating 2795.79 tons, and two schooners, 
 together measuring 360.65 tons. Her coasting fleet is divided as 
 follows : 
 
 Number. Tonnage. 
 
 Steamers, 10 2925.11 
 
 Schooners, 40 7048.82 
 
 Sloops, 13 143.28 
 
 There are also fifteen fishing schooners, aggregating 363.28 tons, 
 and twenty-two fishing sloops, whose united tonnage is 210.17 tons. 
 
 As a last word about the growth of New Bedford, it may be said 
 that good judges anticipate an increase of five thousand in the popu- 
 lation in the next two years, as a result of the new manufacturing 
 enterprises that are now assured. 
 
 The approaches to New Bedford are by both land and water, 
 railroad and steamboat lines uniting to render transportation to and 
 from her limits pleasing and eftective. The railway service is entirely 
 by the Old Colony railroad system ; but so numerous are the routes, 
 so thorough the establishment, and so complete the provision, that it 
 would really seem that no possible, or practicable, avenue of approach 
 has been overlooked or ignored. Passengers from New York, Boston, 
 Providence, and the vast regions of country that must make these 
 centres their gateways in visiting localities in southeastern Massachu- 
 setts, find railroad lines arranged with direct reference to New Bed- 
 ford as a terminal point ; while the summer resorts of New England 
 — the White mountains, the Maine seashore and inland. Mount De- 
 sert and Campobello, the eastern shores of Massachusetts, Plymouth 
 and the Old Colony, Newport and its surroundings, etc — have each 
 a special service in connection with this city, designed to meet the 
 demands of her interests, and which ministers directly to the business, 
 economic, and domestic departments of her existence. The water 
 service of the New Bedford, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket 
 Steamboat Company is in the way of connecting the city intimately 
 with Woods Holl, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket, and in the 
 summer time furnishing the most delightful excursions, that are at 
 the same time transportation agencies, along the southern Massa- 
 chusetts shores, over the waters most attractive and inlerestmg in her 
 neighborhood, and among scenes and to points that have become 
 famous throuijhout the length and breadtii of the land. The com-
 
 A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 315 
 
 pany has four fine boats constantly in service during the summer, 
 and the facilities for making excursions from New Bedford are 
 excellent. This city has also direct water communication with New 
 York, a freighting steamer of the Old Colony Steamboat Company 
 (New Bedford line) plying constantly between the two ports via Long 
 Island sound, thus securing first class freight transportation at the 
 lowest rates and by shortest route, and facilities that she may call 
 peculiarly her own, since they are established and maintained to 
 minister to her wants alone. By railroad one may reach or leave 
 New Bedford by three separate and distinct routes, all branches or 
 feeders of the Old Colony system, as outlined in the sentences pre- 
 ceding this. The Fall River branch connects this city with Fall 
 River, a short piece of road (fourteen miles) running through West- 
 port and Dartmouth villages, and of great utility, both as a passen- 
 ger and freighting line. Besides, connection is had with Fall River 
 over the branch running from that city via Myricks ; and connecting 
 with direct line between New Bedford and Taunton. The steam- 
 boat trains of the Fall River line from Boston run via Taunton and 
 Weir Junction to Fall River, and the Northern division of the Old 
 Colony system, that connects the same with Framingham, Lowell, 
 Fitchburg, and the White mountain region, forms junction with the 
 s^'stem south of Boston, also at Taunton ; and being continued there- 
 from via Myricks to the seacoast, finds terminus in New Bedford. 
 Approaching the city by rail from the eastward, a branch leaves 
 the Cape Cod division of the Old Colony system at Tremont, 
 and passing through Marion and Mattapoisett has a terminus in Fair- 
 haven, opposite New Bedford; and from the Fairhaven station the 
 communication is of the shortest, by bridge and street cars, or the 
 ordinary methods of city transportation. The Northern division of 
 the Old Colony railroad, practically a continuation of the line which, 
 leaving New Bedford as a starting point, passes via Taunton to 
 South Framingham, Lowell, etc., crosses the Boston & Providence 
 railroad at Mansfield. An available route for Boston passengers to 
 and from New Bedford is via Mansfield and the Boston & Providence 
 tracks to the station of that railroad in Boston. Passengers for New 
 York via the Fall River line may avail themselves of either of the three 
 routes to Fall River indicated above, according to their desircvs as to 
 time of arrival in Fall River ; and the same may be said of travel to
 
 A DIVERSITY OF SUBJECTS. 317 
 
 Newport from New Bedford. In summer time the coasts and water- 
 ing places from Newport, R. I., awa}- round to Portsmouth, N. H., 
 are within reach of New Bedford of a morning; and it is almost 
 literally true that one may leave this city by a morning train and 
 visit any place within the above mentioned limits and return to his 
 starting place before bedtime of the same day. The Mattapoisett 
 and Marion shores, Onset and Onset bay, the Buzzards bay shores, 
 Monument and Falmouth villages. Woods HoU, Martha's Vineyard, 
 Nantucket, all the shore points and towns, outer and inner, of Cape 
 Cod, Plymouth, and Duxbury, the South Shore, Cohasset, Hingham, 
 and Nantasket beach, and all the north shore with its wealth of 
 scenery and associations, certainly come within this possibility. All 
 the localities thus included are to be reached by rail from New 
 Bedford, and the round trip made in a single day, except the 
 islands referred to ; and the steamboat service which brings them 
 within reach is so thorough and adequate that the passenger may 
 visit them and return also within the sunlight hours of a single da3^ 
 Modern methods of travel have indeed annihilated space, and with 
 all these beautiful scenes and situations within, as it were, a stone's 
 throw of this city, there is small need to insist that New Bedford her- 
 self, in her immediate surroundings and approaches, is possessed of 
 advantages and attractions of the highest order. Yet such truly is 
 the case. Wherever a glimpse even of her unrivalled water views 
 can be obtained by the passenger approaching her outskirts, the 
 result of enthusiastic delight is sure to ensue ; and if these glimpses 
 can be multiplied, — as they are in many of the railroad situations, — 
 or broadened into varying extended outlooks, — as takes place upon 
 any of the water approaches, and often upon the land routes, — 
 the pleasure is deepened and the attractiveness of the place becomes a 
 permanent feature. There are some grand old woods, too, in the 
 New Bedford neighborhood, and landscape presentations often includ- 
 ing these, which are of fairest qualities. The drives about this city 
 are among and through these scenes ; and mankind lias occupied, 
 and his hand has reclaimed and beautified and artistically built upon 
 their sites, so that all roads and routes leading hilherward are full of 
 interest, while they are also beneficent establishments for human 
 needs. The service by these railroad and steamboat lines is designed 
 to meet every want of this city connected with the department of
 
 3l8 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 transportation. Trains of every kind are frequent and timely, and 
 run upon a basis of knowledge of the situation which long experi- 
 ence has supplied. Facilities increase as the just call for them is 
 extended, and by land and water no city is better served than New 
 Bedford.
 
 WHARF SCENE
 
 NEW BEDFORD 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 Leading Industrial and Financial 
 
 KNTERPRISKS
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 THE 
 
 Merchants National Bank, 
 
 OF NEW BEDFORD, 
 
 56 NORTH WATER STREET. 
 UNITED STATES DEPOSITORY. 
 Incorporated, 1825. 
 
 Capital Stock, - - - $1,000,000 
 Surplus Fund, - - - $500,000 
 
 OFFICEI^S : 
 
 PRESIDENT, 
 
 JONATHAN BOURNE. 
 
 CASHIER, 
 
 H. C. W. MOSHER. 
 
 DIRECTORS, 
 
 Jonathan Bourne, Andrew Hicks, 
 
 George F. Bartlett, William R. Wing, 
 
 George F. Kingman, Samuel C. HaRt, 
 
 Thomas H. Knowles, Gilbert Allen, 
 
 Francis B. Greene, William N. Church, 
 
 George S. Homer, James Delano. 
 
 Discouint Days, Tuesdays ai^d Fridays. 
 
 Ba-tvik Hours, 9 to 1.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 THE 
 
 FIRST NATIONAL BANK, 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 (Formerly Marine Bank.) 
 
 Capital, 
 Surplus. 
 
 11,000,000 
 $200,000 
 
 DIRECTORS, 
 
 LEM'L KOLLOCK, 
 ABRAM T. EDDY, 
 W. P. WINSOR, 
 WM. WATKINS, 
 T. M. STETSON, 
 
 EDW. S. TABER, 
 WM. BAYLIES, 
 EDW. T. PIERCE, 
 HUMPHREY W. SEABl^RY, 
 SAVORY C. II ATI! AW AY, 
 
 MATTHEW LUCE. 
 
 WM. WATKINS, Prcshfni/. 
 W. P. WINSOR, Cashier. 
 
 GEO. B. HATHAWAY, Teller. 
 
 WM. A. MACKIE, Book-keeper. 
 
 FRANK B. CHASE, n/seounl C/erk. 
 CHAS. T. SMl'l'II, Colleetion Clerk. 
 W. S. HUiNT, Mesuuoer.
 
 iv NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 THE 
 
 Mechanics National Bank 
 
 Reorganized in IS 64: from the Mechanics Bank. 
 Incorporated in 1831. 
 
 Capital Stock, - - - $600,000 
 Surplus, . . . - $225,000 
 
 OFFICEK.S. 
 
 PRESIDENT, 
 WM. W. CRAPO, 
 
 VICE PRESIDENT, 
 ANDREW G. PIERCE. 
 
 CASHIER, 
 JAMES W. HERVEY. 
 
 ASST CASHIER, 
 LEMUEL T. TERRY. 
 
 DIRECTORS, 
 
 WM. W. CTtAPO, HOKATIO HATHAWAY, 
 
 ANDREW G. PIERCE, LOUM SNOW, 
 
 JOHN R. THORNTON, EDWARD D. SIANDELE, 
 
 JIREH SWIFT, E. WILLIAMS HERVEY, 
 
 THOMAS WILCOX, EDWARD KILBURN, 
 
 HENRY C. DENISON. 
 
 Discount Days, Wednesdays and Saturdays. 
 
 BANK HOURS, 9 a. m. to I p. m. 
 
 LOCATION, 
 
 No. 62 NORTH WATER STREET, 
 
 FOOT OF WILLIAM.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 NATIONAL BANK OF COiMMERCE, 
 
 OF NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 No. 37 North Water Street. 
 
 Incorporated in 1S03. 
 Reorganized in ISOA. 
 
 Capital, = = $1,000,000 
 
 OFFICERS. 
 
 PRESIDENT, 
 
 FRANCIS HATHAWAY. 
 
 VICE PRESIDENT, 
 
 W. C. N. SWIFT. 
 
 CASHIER, 
 
 JAMES H. TALLMAN. 
 
 DIRECTORS. 
 
 FHANCIS HATHAWAY, OLI\ KK 1M;KS0)TT, 
 
 VVM. C. N. SWIFT, CHAKI.KS W. I'LrMMKH, 
 
 HENRY TABEK, WALTKIJ r|.lKF< )i;i), 
 
 WM. .F. RO'IVH, MOKiiAN llo'lVil, 
 
 CHAltLES W. CLIFFORD, O'l'IS N. IMKIM K, 
 
 WM. A. ROBINSON, .lO.^Kl'll V. KNOWI.KS, 
 
 FREDERICK SWIFT, Will.! AM D. lloWLANH. 
 
 MANLY IJ. ADAMS. 
 
 Discount Days, Mondays and Thursdays. 
 
 BanLl-c HoLirs, fronm O l\. iii. to 1 p. iii-
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 TH 
 
 No. 38 North Water Street. 
 
 CAPITAL, $500,000. 
 SURPLUS AND PROFITS, |150,000. 
 
 Transacts a general Banking Business and solicits the accounts of Banks, 
 Corporations, and Individuals. 
 
 Fire and Burglar Proof Vault with Safe Deposit Boxes for the use of customers. 
 
 Executes orders for Investment Securities. Coupons and Dividends collected 
 without charge. 
 
 DIRECTORS, 
 
 J. A. BEAUVAIS, 
 JOHN P. KNOWLES, 
 WM. J. KILBUEN, 
 CHAPtLES TUCKER, 
 
 J. A. BEAUVAIS, President. 
 
 FPtED. S. POTTER, 
 OLIVER P. BRIGHTMAN, 
 DAVID B. KEMPTON, 
 CYRENIUS W. HASKINS. 
 
 E. S. BROWN, Cashier. 
 
 Sankord & Kkluecy, 
 
 Bankers, Brokers, and Stock Auctioneers, 
 
 47 North Water Street, New Bedford, Mass. 
 
 Members Boston Stock Exchange. INVESTMENT SECURITIES A SPECIALTY. 
 
 Sole agents for Sew Bedford and vicinity, for the .-^ale of the 
 
 Lombard Investment Connpany's First IVIortgage Guaranteed Loans. 
 
 This company is the Ohlest, Strongest, and most Reliable doing Western Loan business in the 
 
 United States. Thirty million dollars of loans sold, more than one half of which has become due 
 
 and been promptly paid. Guaranty about $3,000,000. 
 
 Private wire connectingour office with New York and Boston. 
 Auction sale of Stocks and Bonds Saturdays, at 10.4.5 a. m. 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1829. 
 
 W. A. ROBINSON & CO., 
 
 " SPERM CANDLES, OIL SOAP, ETC. 
 
 Also, Commission Merchants and Dealers in Eard, Red, Paraffine, and Coal 
 Oils; Potato, Wheat, and Corn Starch; Cotton Goods, &c. 
 
 No. lo SOUTH WATER ST., PROVIDENCE. R. I. 
 
 AND 
 
 No. 144 SOUTH WATER ST., NEW BEDFORD, MASS.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 VI 1 
 
 TlieNewBeH Sale Deposit (STfusl Co. 
 
 61 WILLIAM STREET, COR. ACUSHNET AVENUE. 
 
 FIDELITY. 
 
 President, 
 Charles E, Hendrickson, 
 
 Cashier, 
 Edmund W. Bourne. 
 
 Directors, 
 Charles E. Hendrickson, 
 William D. Howlanil, 
 Abbott P. Smith, 
 Benjamin P. Brownell, 
 Savorv C.Hathawav, 
 Lot B" Bates, 
 Stephen A. Brownell, 
 Stamlish Bourne, 
 Frederic Taber, 
 John W. Macoml)er, 
 Lemuel LeB. Holmes, 
 George C. Hatch. 
 
 SECURITY. 
 
 Paid up Capital, 
 $100,000. 
 
 Authorized Capital, 
 $500,000. 
 
 TRANSACTS A GENERAL 
 
 BANKING BUSINESS 
 
 SAME AS ANY NATIONAL 
 
 BANK, 
 
 NOTES DISCOUNTED. 
 COLLECTIONS MADE ON 
 "^^ ALL AVAILABLE POINTS. 
 
 COMMENCED BUSINESS JUNE 28, 1888. 
 
 OPEN SATURDAY EVENINGS FROM 7.30 TO 9 O'CTOCK. 
 
 BANKING DEPARTIVIENT. 
 
 Money received on deposit subject to check on presentation. Excliange on New England, New 
 York, the West, and California. Interest allowed on dailv l)alances without limit and credited 
 monthly. Invites the accounts, great or small, of Banks, Bankers, Corporations, .Mniddpalitles, 
 Town Treasurers, Manufacturers, Firms, Individuals and tliose acting in any ollicial or trust capaci- 
 ty, and will be pleased to meet or corresi)ond witli any wlio ma>contcmidatc making changes or 
 opening new accounts. Legally authorized to receive ami liold moiie\- or projiertv in trust or on de- 
 posit from executors, administrators, assignees, guardians, etc. 
 
 Discount days Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at !t a.m. 
 
 Apartment exclusivelv for Ladies, also a public room for tientlemen. 
 
 Banking Hours 9 A. m". to 1 p. M. and 4 to .'> v. M. »i)-.Satnrdavs, it a. m. to -i v. m. an.l T.:»o to n i'. m . 
 
 SAFE BIND 
 SAFE FIND 
 
 SAFE DEPOSIT DEPARTMENT. 
 
 SAFE BIND 
 SAFE FIND 
 
 CHARLES M. HUSSEY, Manager. 
 
 The vaults of this companv are positivelv lire, l)urglar, ami nioli iiroof and guarded nlglit and dnv. 
 In the vaults are individual "safe deposit l)o.\es for rent to parties wishing ab.-olule security for their 
 valuables. Price ^10 to SIOO per annum, according to .size. Less time at less rates. T!iese lioxes re- 
 quire the master-kev and the presence of the Manager of tlie safe dei)osli apartment as well as the 
 renter to open. One cannot without tlie other. Patrons may remove and replace their boxes as often 
 as desired during business hours. .Separate "coupon" rooms for ladles ami gentlemen, which are 
 strictly private and free and jirovided with desks, writing materials, etv., etc. Storage departnuMit 
 for furs, silver ware, laces, papers, books and all kinds of valuables at very low rates. .\ conllal 
 and general invitation extended to either .-^ex to call ilurlng business hours and examine our -afeand 
 rooms. Business hours il a. M. to 1 r. M. and 4 to .'•. p. m. .Saturdays li \. m. to' p. M.and l.W to Itp. M. 
 
 We particularlv call the attention of families who ilurlng the summer months are closing their 
 houses and leaving the city to our admirable facilities for the s.ife custody of plate ami other valun 
 bles in our impregnable lire, burglar, and mob pioof vaults. Charges low . 
 
 A iSOLID INVESTMENT. 
 
 Exclusive agencv for Southern Massachu-etts for tlu' Mile of ihe 
 
 6% DEBENTURE BONDS and 7% GUARANTEED FARM LOANS 
 
 of the Ciiion ln\ cslui.iit ( .... Kmm-m - (iiv . .\Io. I'ald up .-ipH.'il .^1 .inmi.ikmi, , il\ •:,.|.Tn -t..(k 
 
 holilcrs. These bonds arc secured liv /.s7 tiiiis of' mil est,it< ,it J I J timis tl,. ir iiii„.iihI drpo-IK-d with 
 American Loan & Trust Co., Boston. The Farm Loans are secured In the -ame nninner. 1-sued and 
 for sale in sums of 8100 and upwards, at par and acciiied Interest. Coupons .a-hed/rfr by uh. 
 We have personallv and carefuUv examined these properties and manner of negotiating and con- 
 fidently believe them to be A SAFE AND PHOFITABLE INVESTMENT.
 
 Vlll 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 TILUNGHAST'><''ALDEN 
 
 
 Successors to the late Joseph S. Tillinghast. 
 
 
 .'^ 
 
 .Co 
 ,5« 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 1 
 
 Busmess respectfully solicited and policies issued at this 
 office in the following iiamed companies for zvhich we are the 
 duly authorized agents: 
 
 JEXnvi Ins. Co., 
 Coiiiiecticiit Fire Ins. Co., 
 Spi'iii.<j:ficlil Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 
 Fire Association, 
 CoiitiiK'iital Ins. Co., 
 Niajjcara Fire Ins. Co., 
 Williaiiisbiirj;- City Fire Ins. Co., 
 Equital)le Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 
 Ko. Britisli and ^Mercantile Ins. Co. 
 PhoMiix Assurance Co., 
 Imperial Fire Ins. Co., 
 Fitcliburg Mutual Fire Ins. Co., 
 
 Hartford 
 
 Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 
 
 
 Hartford 
 
 Hartiord 
 
 Meriden Fire Ins. Co., 
 
 
 Meriden 
 
 Siirinuiit'ld 
 
 Ins. Co. of North America, 
 
 
 Philadelphia 
 
 I'hiladeliiliia 
 
 Home Ins. Co., 
 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 German American Fire Ins. 
 
 Co., 
 
 New York 
 
 Kew York 
 
 Hanover Fire Ins. Co., 
 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 American Ins. Co., 
 
 
 Newark 
 
 Providence 
 
 Merchants Ins. Co., 
 
 
 Providence 
 
 , London 
 
 Guardian Assurance Co., 
 
 
 Lonilon 
 
 London 
 
 Queen Ins. Co., 
 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 London 
 
 City of London Fire Ins. Co. 
 
 
 London 
 
 Fitchburg 
 
 Dorchester Mutual Fire Ins. 
 
 Co., 
 
 Boston
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. IX 
 
 LAWRENCE GRINNELL. JOSHUA C. HITCH. 
 
 LAWRENCE GRINNELL & CO., 
 
 FIRE AND MARINE, LIFE, AND PLATE GLASS 
 
 INSURANCE, 
 
 60 North Water St., foot of William, 
 
 OVEB MEOHAHIQg NATIONAL BANK. NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 
 Agents for the following 
 
 Qamed first class companies : 
 
 Liverpool and London and Globe Insur- 
 
 Britisli America Assurance Co. Of Toronto 
 
 ance Co. 
 
 Of LivLTi>o<)l 
 
 Prcscott Insurance Go. Boston 
 
 American Fire Insurance Co. 
 
 New York 
 
 Haniburg-Brcmen Fire Insurance Co. Bremen 
 
 Koyal Insurance Co. 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 Northern Assurance Co. London 
 
 Providence Washington Ins. Co. 
 
 Providence 
 
 Si)riTig Garden Philaclphia 
 
 Commercial Union Assurance Co. 
 
 London 
 
 North American Boston 
 
 Merchants Insurance Co. 
 
 Newark 
 
 Mutual Life Insurance Co. New York 
 
 Traders Insurance Co. 
 
 Chicago 
 
 I>loyds' Plate Glass Insurance Co. New York 
 
 A. M. BROWNELL. 
 
 
 |. II. Ml'RKLAND. 
 
 Brownell & Murkland, 
 
 Cootfactofs, Buildefs, (S Granite Dealefs, 
 
 -45MILL AND HEAVY BUILDING A SPECIALTY, •:^' 
 
 Curbing, Cellar, & Dimension Stone. 
 
 office:, 
 
 Liberty tlall Buiilding, K.oom S, 
 
 New Bedford, Mass.
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 SAMUEL H. COOK, 
 
 "\Iarinc & Fire Insurance 
 
 AGENT AND BROKER, 
 
 No. 37 North Water Street (in National Bank of Commerce Building), 
 
 NEW BEORORD, MASS. 
 
 WHALING RISKS AND THEIK OATOHINGS A SPECIALTY AT THIS AGENOY. 
 
 The following first class Eire Insurance Companies are represented, viz : 
 
 Hingham Mutual Fire Insurance Co., llinghani. 
 Tlie Liberty Insurance Co. New York London Assurance Corporation, London, Eng. 
 
 Pluenix Insurance Co. Hartford London & Lancashire Insurance Co. London 
 
 National Fire Insurance Co. Hartford Norwich LTuion Fire Insurance Society, England 
 
 PlKcnix Insurance Co. Brooklyn, N. Y. New Hampshii-e Fire Ins. Co. Manchester, N.H. 
 
 Pennsylvania Fire Insurance Co. Pliiladelphia Westchester Fire Insurance Co. New York 
 
 American Fire Insurance Co. Philadelphia Commerce Insurance Co. Albany, N. Y. 
 
 Tlie Metropolitan Plate Glass Insurance Co. of New York. 
 
 NOTARY PUBLIC. JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. 
 
 Insurance Scrip Bought and Sold. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD BOILER AND MACHINE CO., 
 
 ■ JOSEPH S. LEY/IS. HENRY A. HOLCOMB, Treas. 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 BOILERS# MACHINERY 
 
 OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 
 
 Repaimff of all kinds promptly attended to. 
 
 WASTE, MACHINE BOLTS, LAG SCREWS, BOLT ENDS, AND RUBBER 
 STEAM PACKING CONSTANTLY ON HAND. 
 
 Steam Heating and Fittings. 
 
 24 KRONX STREET, 
 
 New Bedford, Mass.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 XI 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1847. 
 
 Charles Taber & Co, 
 
 New Bedford, Mass. 
 
 Salesroom, 28 Bond St., New York. 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 Artotype Engravings, 
 
 Photographs, 
 
 Picture Frames, 
 
 Mouldings, 
 
 Art Novelties.
 
 NEW bp:i)Ford. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD COPPER CO. 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 Yellow Metal and Copper 
 
 SHEATHING, 
 
 BRAZIERS', DIMENSION, AND BOLT ■ 
 
 COPPER. 
 
 Copper Rollers for Calico Printers. 
 
 yellow metal bolts 
 
 and cut nails, etc. 
 
 New Bedford, Mass. 
 
 GILBERT ALLEN, Pres't. WM. H. MATHEWS, Treas.
 
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 XIV 
 
 NEW I5KDFORD. 
 
 CHARLES F. BORDEN, 
 
 Pattern and Model Maker. 
 
 ALSO, MANTFACTrHER OF TIIK 
 
 TREMONT-TURBINE WATER WHEEL, 
 
 Wliicli for clicapiiess. iluraljility. ami ixnver, \m' kimw of no wlieel that e(|UaN. 
 
 Gearing, Shafting, Iron & Wood Pulleys. 
 
 House and Cottage Trim- 
 
 mings. Store Fronts, Coun- 
 ters, and Wall Cases. 
 Bank Counters and Desks 
 Carving, Planing, Jig Saw- 
 ing, and Turning in all its 
 branches. 
 
 Wooden Mantels a spec- 
 ialty in soft or hard Wood. 
 
 Also, Book Cases, Side 
 Boards, Wash Stands, and 
 Furniture of all kinds. 
 
 Stair Builders' Supplies : 
 Newells, Balusters, and Rails 
 on hand and made to order. 
 
 Plans for the above specialties furnished at 
 shoi-t notice. Estimates given and satisfaction 
 guaranteed in every case. 
 
 STONE BUILDING, SECOND FLOOR, 
 
 Cor. of So. Water and Coffin Sts., new Bedford, mass.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. xV 
 
 GREENE & WOOD, 
 
 DEALERS IN 
 
 ALL KINDS OF LUMBER, 
 
 SPRUCE, HEMLOCK, PL\E, c^o. 
 
 In large variety. Also an assortment of YELLOW PINE TIM- 
 BER, PLANK, STEPPING, AND FLOORING. 
 
 We carry a good stock of HARD WOOD LUMBER for inside 
 finish, and v\ith our new improved Hot Blast Dry Kiln, we can 
 furnish the choicest Kiln Dried Moulding and Flooring. 
 
 OUR PLANING MILL 
 
 Recently destroyed by tire, has been entirely rebuilt and \ cry much 
 enlarged, and with Ne\\' Maciiinkrv we are jirepared to do all 
 varieties of 
 
 PLANING, MOULDING, SAWING, AND Tl'RNIXG. 
 
 SPOOLS AND BOBBINS. 
 
 GREENE & WOOD are again prepared to make 
 all kinds of SPOOLS AND BOIililNS for cotton ;ind woolen 
 mills and rope works. 
 
 A new mill and the very latest imjiroved machinery afford the best 
 facilities for good work and promjn deli\ery.
 
 XVI 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 "/rfe^ 
 
 Xj. J^. XjITTI 
 
 pine Silver Plated 
 
 5IA>UFACTnRER OF 
 
 EIPIEXjID, 
 
 piiie Silver Plated 
 
 NOIM^DRIF' 
 
 SUGAR SIFTER TOPS 
 
 Factory, Talliiiau's BlocL 134 Union Street 
 
 Syrup Jug Tops, 
 
 Bitter Tubes, 
 NOVELTIES. &c. 
 
 - NEW BEDFORD. MASS.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 PAIRPOINT MFG. CO. 
 
 E. D. MANDELL, Pres't. 
 
 FINE 
 
 T. A. TRIPP, Aqt. and Treas. 
 
 OLD i im PHTL 
 
 For sale by Leading Jewellers throughout the countrv. 
 
 Re=platinL>; riiK I Hei)c li ri un- 
 executed BY SKILLED MECHANICS. 
 
 4i'Pactory, Prospect gtreet, - ]^eW Bedford, JVIass.--^ 
 
 WAREROOMS : 
 
 At Factory. 
 
 20 Maiden Lane, New York. 
 
 90 AND 92 Wahasii Avenue, Chicago, III. 
 
 220 Luther Street, San Francisco, Cal 
 Sydney, Australia.
 
 XVlll 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 SMITH BROS. 
 
 A. E. SMITH. H. A. SMITH. 
 
 Fine Decorated Glassware 
 
 ^M^^'^ 
 
 SP^ECIjPlLTIHIS : 
 
 Shades of every Description, Vases in Great Variety, Plaques, 
 
 Tiles, Salts, Mustards, Muffineers, 
 
 Lamp Goods, &c. 
 
 Works and Show Rooms, 28 and 30 William St, 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. XIX 
 
 Dknison Bros., 
 
 FLOUR! 
 
 CRMM FLOUR, MHNCS, CORN, 
 
 Feed, Sliorls, Etc. 
 
 NO. 100 SOUTH WATER ST., 
 
 AND FOOT OF HILLMAN STREET. 
 
 iES"b"SSH. NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 THOMAS M. HART. 
 JAMES C. BRIGG8. 
 OLIVER W. COBB. 
 
 Sa.il MEakers and Sliip CIiuikIIci-jbj. 
 
 :■ =- ^ ^=== Manufacturers of all kinds of 
 
 THOS. M. HART &. CO., 
 
 iu<llei*i!!i. 
 
 # Tents, Awnings, Flags, 
 
 STRAINERS, 
 
 And Press Ba^s for Oil Works. 
 
 Canvas Deck Covers and Roof Covers. 
 Dealers in Duck, Ropp, and Twine. 
 
 Brownell, Ashley & Co., 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 Fine Carriages, 
 
 AND DEALERS IN ALL GRADES AT REPOSITORY, 
 
 Nos. 24 and 38 Fourth Street, 
 
 NEW BEOP^OKD, M.\iSS.
 
 XX NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 New Bedford Cordage Co. 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1842. 
 
 MANLTKACTURERS OI^ 
 
 All Kinds and Sizes of 
 
 CORDAGE 
 
 DRILLING CABLES 
 
 For Artesian Wells a Specialty 
 
 WILLIAM J. ROTCH, President. 
 
 J. W. MACOMBER, General Manager. 
 
 I. W. BENJAMIN, Treasurer.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. XXI 
 
 ESTABLISHED IN 1850. 
 
 THE EVENING STANDARD 
 
 Is one of the large newspapers of New England and by far the largest and most widely circu- 
 lated of any newspaper in Southern Massachusetts, being read daily by about 25,000 people. Its 
 circulation in New Bedford and vicinity is three times that of any other in the city. Two editions 
 are issued daily at 3 and 5 o'clock. 
 
 Special attention is given to its news department; events occurring within live minutes of press 
 times are chronicled daily in its columns. 
 
 A corps of wide awake, bright men are constantly on the outlook for fresh and newsy happenings 
 in the city and the surrounding cities and towns. 
 
 The Standard publishes the full telegraphic service of tiie Associated Press, received direct over 
 its own private wire without abridgment or mutilation, and this is supplemented by special dis- 
 patches from its own correspondents. 
 
 Republican in politics, clean in tone, and with crowded news columns, the Standard enjoys 
 a wide circulation. 
 
 THE REPUBLICAN STANDARD (WEEKLY) 
 
 Is the favorite home journal at every fireside in Southeastern Massachu>etts and has many bright 
 departments as features, with good serials an«l miscellaneous reaiiing. 
 
 Connected with the Standard, occupying one entire floor of the liuil>ling, is a 
 
 Larp aiil well emed M Office, Willi Fast Presses, eyery style of Type, 
 
 line, selectetl stock and experienced workmen. Tlic suiieriur work and rca-oiiable price- command 
 orders from not only New Bedford and vicinity but otlier sections of New Knghuid. 
 
 In its own Ijuilding the proprietors have more men at tlieir command than all the other printing 
 establisliments in the city. In fact it is liy far tlic largest in Southern .Massachusetts. 
 
 EDMUND ANTHONY & SONS, Proprietors. 
 
 GEORGE DELANO'S SONS, 
 
 (Successors to Chas. H. Leonard and Lyles it rollianiii.-, 
 MANUFACTUKKUS OF 
 
 Sperm, Whale, Sea Elephant-Fish 
 
 OILS, 
 
 Patent and Plain Sperm and Parakfine Wax 
 
 CANDLKS, 
 
 Spermaceti, Whale and Fish Oil Pressino's, 
 
 SPERM AND WHALE OIL SOAL. 
 
 S. C. L. Delano, New York. ) (At F:utorv. New Bedford. 
 
 V OFFICES: \ ^ . V. x- . /-. 
 
 J.\MES Delano, New Bedford. ) (140 Front Street, New \ ork City.
 
 XXll NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 THE DAILY MERCURY 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 Publisher! every morning, Sundays excepted, at 112 and 114 Union street. Thie only Morning 
 Paper published in Southern Massachusetts. The prominent feature of this paper is the local news, 
 which is not excelled by that of any competitor. The Mercury has the telegraphic report of the 
 Associated Press, taken in its own ofHce over its own private wire. It was the iirst newspaper in 
 New Bedford to adopt this method of receiving telegraphic news. Its miscellaneous department is 
 always fresh and bright. Terms $6 per annum, payable semi-annually in advance. 
 
 THE NEW BEDFORD MERCURY. 
 
 Established 1807. Is published every Wednesday, containing all the news of the week. A large 
 twelve-page paper of seventy-two columns, one of "the largest weeklies in the state, at $I..iO per an- 
 num, in advance. It is full of the most interesting reading that can be obtained, and is rai)idly 
 growing in popularity and circulation. 
 
 BOTH THESE PAPERS ARE GOOD ADVERTISING MEDIUMS. 
 
 This book was printed in the Mercury's Book and Job Department, where 
 printing in all its branches is promptly executed in a first-class manner by 
 the best of workmen and machinery, and with new and handsome type. 
 
 S. W. BOOTH, W. E. CHASE, W. L. SAYER, 
 Publishers and Printers. 
 
 WM. H. WASHBURN, 
 
 Manufacturer of 
 
 Gutters, Rakes, Mouldings, 
 
 WINDOW AND DOOR PRAMES, DOORS, SASHES, AND BLINDS. 
 
 House and Cottage Trimmings, Balusters and Brackets, 
 Newels and Inside Shutters. 
 
 Odd Size Sashes and Doors Made to Order. 
 
 special attention given to Planing^ Turning, Scroll and Circular 
 Sawing, Pattern Making and all kinds of yobbing. 
 
 No. 149 Mi m M\ - - NEW BEDFORD, 
 
 Hard Wood and all kinds of Pine Lumber constantly on hand.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 FINE CARRIAGES. 
 
 GEORGE L BROWNELL 
 
 OFFERS FOR SALE AT HIS 
 
 i 
 
 Carriage Manufactory & Repositories, 
 
 COR. ACUSHNET AVE. AND CANNON ST., 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 A FINE assortment of Carriages, namely: Landaus, Coaches, 
 
 '* Coupe Victorias, Coupe Rockaways, Extension and Standing 
 
 Top Family Carryalls, Phaetons, Goddard Box Top Buggies, Open 
 
 Road and Business Wagons. Also a very large assortment of 
 
 SECOND HAND CARRIAGES OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS 
 
 Which will be sold low. 
 
 GILES G. BARKER. Supt.
 
 XXIV 
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 GEO. S. HOMKR, 
 
 MANUFACTURER OF 
 
 t'F 
 
 LIJ.IJ., 
 
 11 iijJj 
 
 Ai Blackfish Oils 
 
 Spermaceti, Sperm Candles, 
 
 AND 
 
 SPERM AND WHALE OIL SOAPS. 
 
 OFFICE, 23 CE:MTK.E: ST. 
 
 FACTORIES, 
 
 SOUTH, PROSPECT, AKD FROKT STREETS.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 JOHN N. MORRIS, 
 
 m 
 
 J,. 
 
 CAPNTffl.ByiLDER,/IDAp 
 
 Office and Shop, 73 Grinnell Street, 
 
 NKW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 Plans and SpecifiGatdons famished, and Contracts 
 taken for any work in these departments. 
 
 JOB WORK PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. 
 
 Coiiiiecteci V,)v Telephone. 
 
 !!i''*!i!';Si!"!'f'"ii'r':r-:!!!!l!!*i, '*^i'. ;''S 
 
 MANUFACTURERS &. DEALERS IN 
 
 R\I> T>4 AND C> I l^>i . 
 
 .P) aIortH rRONTc5)T, 
 
 cMEW^EbFO^D,/V\A^SS. 
 
 COFFIN BROS., 38 MIDDLE STREET. 
 
 Manufacturers of all kinds of Plain, Fancy, and Folding 
 
 *PAPF,R BOXMS* 
 
 AND DEALERS IN 
 
 Straw Boards, Papers, and Paste,
 
 NEW HI<:i)FORD. 
 
 rioTP 
 
 
 ngKaviKg 
 
 for^llJlLO^TKATIV^ 
 
 r\AJ^dv'e^ti5ir\^"Pu^po5e^ • 
 
 S&E> THIS "BOOK FOf\ SPEClMLNS 
 
 •A F( riA[\T GbW WlANAOtfl 
 JOS Tt^lPP VlCl PREb 
 
 ^:^K^^:n:^mMu:n:^^:^r^K^m^■^^;n:^^;^^!n:^^;^^!^^;^^;^^!■l^;■l^^■^^■^^^■^^^N^^^^:^^■^^^;^^!^^^^^■^^^'■■l^:^^;u^■^
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 THOMAS B. TRIPP, 
 
 APPRAISER 
 
 AND 
 
 DEALER IN REAL ESTATE 
 
 SINCE 1H70. 
 
 Any information in reffard to Real Estate m 
 the City or Siirroiindinff Towns furnished on 
 application. 
 
 Office, 325 CoLxnty Str^<^t. 
 Residence, 37 Allen Street. 
 
 New Bedford, Mass
 
 Xxvm NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 New Bedford Mfg. Co., 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 High Grade Cotton Yarns, 
 
 Single and Twisted, Combed or Carded. 
 
 In Chain Warps or Balls, 
 
 Skeins, Spools, and Cops; 
 
 Also on Beams. 
 
 Number of Spindles, 37,056. Capital, $500,000. 
 
 MORGAN ROTCH, President. 
 WILLIAM D. HOWLAND, Tre.\surer. 
 BYRON F. CARD, Agent. 
 
 IDIPi.E:CTOR.S : 
 
 Morgan Rotch. William D. Howland, 
 
 Charles W. Plummer, Oliver P. Brightman 
 
 Charles W. Clifford, Edward T. Pierce, 
 
 George F. Kingman.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. Xxix 
 
 Rowland Mills Corporation, 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 HIGH GRADE COTTON YARNS, 
 
 Single and Twisted, Combed or Carded. 
 
 HOSIERY YARNS, CHAIN WARPS, SKEINS, SPOOLS, 
 COPS. AND BEAMS. 
 
 From Nos. &s to 40^s. 
 
 Mule Spindles. 12.952. 
 Frame " 12.288. 
 
 Twister " 6,144, 
 
 Capital, $8oO,000. 
 
 WILLIAM J. ROTCH, I'kksidknt. 
 WILLIAM D. nOWLAND. Iuk.xsikku. 
 BYRON F. CARD, Acjknt. 
 
 DIR-ECTOPiS : 
 
 WlI.I.lAM I- RoTCII. HoUATlo H AIII \\\ \^•, 
 
 Thomas B Triit. Chareks W. Cmkkord, 
 
 Morgan Rotch, Ciiai<i.i:s \V. Pummku. 
 
 William D. Howland.
 
 NEW nEDKORD. 
 
 Xkw Bedford, Mass. 
 
 I'lie Only first-class Hotel in the City. .Special Rates for Commercial ami Tlieatrical People. 
 
 Also. Proprietor of Sea View House, Oak Bluflfs, >[artlia's Vineyanl. 
 
 HOLDER iM. BROWNELL, Proprietor. 
 
 LUSCOMB & COREY, 
 
 Engineers and iVEachinists, 
 
 Models, Moulds, Metal Patterns, Tools, Dies, Experimental 
 Work, Special Machinery, and 
 
 GENERAL FIRST CLASS MACHINE WORK. 
 
 Shafting, Hangers, and Pulleys. 
 
 Correspondence Solicited. 
 
 13 RODMAN STREET, NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Telephone S-6. 
 
 POWER FURNISHED UP TO 10 
 HORSE POWER. 
 
 FRED. S. GIFFOED, 
 
 MANAGER, 
 
 P. O. Box -295, Kew Bedford, Mass. 
 
 SEND EOR CIRCULAR.
 
 lp:ading enterprises. 
 
 The Triumph Heat and Light Company, 
 
 Factory, Taber's Wharf, New Bedford, Mass. 
 INCORPORATED 1888. CAPITAL, $500,000. 
 
 1:DMUXD RODMAN. Pi{i>. 
 JAMES L. GILLINGHAM. ri.iA-. 
 
 HOIiKiri' B. ( AlfSi.KV. A(;i;m. 
 GEOlJCiE 1). lUioW'N. SiiT. 
 
 > 
 O 
 
 a- 
 
 > 
 
 Pi 
 
 g6 
 
 DIRECTORS : 
 EDMUND RODMAN. .lOSUlA I!. \VINS1.(»\\ 
 
 JAMES H. MURKLAM). I'ARDOX ( Ol.'XKI.L. 
 
 or.rvER P. HRKnn'MAN. fkaxk c. sMi'ni. 
 
 IJOBKirr !!. ( ARSLKV. 
 
 x 
 
 / 
 
 I'lic Gas Stc 
 
 all otliers. Tl 
 
 toves manuta.tin.Ml In tlif C..ini':<Hv for Cookingr im.l HeatlnR an- Mi|MTli.r 
 t„ an ..tners. (W l.unuMS ^^ hen us.-l in tin- lirr ,...t of »nv ^t«'V<' "tMan^M- ,.nMh,,-,. h.-ut j-.^ialh. 
 ■nnoiint to that ol.tain.'.l In.m the n-e of ...al. Their n^e pro.hiee- no smoke, dust ashes or 
 dirt Tlu-earrv^^^^^^^^ or .•oul anM all onllnary lal.orof n.akInK an-l ten.lh.K' a « oo-l orroni 
 
 '""These'lun-^'h^rltn oxami^ .-.e.l I, ex,.e.,- ,., un,e.. ..> .hen. a- .nperlo,- 
 
 to all others now in uw.
 
 XXXll T.EADING ENTP:R PR ISES. 
 
 New Bedford, Martha's Vinejard & Nantuoket 
 
 STEAMBOAT CO- 
 
 ********** T"^ ATT X.'' T T TV' TT^ ********** 
 ********** I ) Jr\. T J—/ 1 J—/ J- i X XZv . **»»♦*»*»» 
 
 From June to October, Four Trips Daily and Ex- 
 cursion Tickets sold. Baggage checked 
 through to all points. 
 
 STEAMERS: 
 
 Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, River 
 Queen, Monohansett, Island Home, 
 
 Which are Staunch, Seaworthy Boats, running between 
 
 New Bedford, Woods Holl, 
 
 Martha's Vineyard, Vineyard Haven, 
 Oak Bluffs, Cottage City, 
 
 Edgartown, Katama, 
 
 AND Nantucket. 
 
 LEAVE BOSTON from Old Colony De])ots, corner South 
 and Kneeland Streets and Pai-k Square. 
 
 LEAVE NEW YORK by Fall River Line, Pier 28 
 North River, foot of Muri-ay Street. 
 
 E. T. PIERCE, Agent.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 XXXlll 
 
 SAMUEL C. HART. 
 
 FRANCIS T. AKIN. 
 
 HART & AKIN, 
 
 Wholesale and Retail dcalrfs In evenj variety of 
 
 For Family Use and Steam Purposes. 
 
 fiitumhioHS Cool for Sutif/ts' I'se. 
 
 All Kinds of Wood, Kindlinor, and Charcoal. 
 
 MjPlY jPlMD straw 
 
 In any quantity, by Car Load, Ton, (tr Hale. 
 
 ALSO AGENTS FOR THK 
 
 Best FERTir.rZERS in tlie Market. 
 
 House, Ship, Sign, and Ornamental Painters, 
 
 AND r)KAI-Ki;S IN /Tj .. ... _3_ 
 
 PAINTS, OILS, VARNISHES, 
 
 AND NAVAL STORKS. 
 
 The best LubricnUnfj Oils made for 
 Machivpryj mul CiiUnilcrx n Si>rrinlli/. 
 
 OFFICES, 168 to 180 South Water St. and 9 North Water St.. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS.
 
 XXXIV NKW BEDFORD. 
 
 GjPlS. ELECTK.ICITlir. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD GAS LIGHT CO., 
 
 OFFICE, 73 William Street. 
 
 GAS WORKS, WATER STREET. ELECTRIC STATION, SCHOOL STREET. 
 
 The Gas Co. is norf fuUij equipppd to supply Ci-as and Elcrtriritti for crpri/ 
 
 requirement of 
 
 ILLUMINATION, HEAT, AND POWER 
 
 ^ BY -r 
 
 GAS FIXTURES, GAS STOVES, 
 
 ARC LIGHTS, INCANDESCENT LIGHTS, 
 
 ELECTRIC MOTORS, GAS ENGINES. 
 
 Contracts made at the best possible rates. For terms apply at the office. 
 
 CHAS. S. PAISLER, 
 
 leO ISToxtH \x7at<sr Stzrcs^t, ISTts^x/ Bedford.. 
 
 WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALER IN 
 
 Masons' Building Materials, 
 
 LIME, FLAG STONE, 
 
 BRICK. PLASTERIFIG- HAIR, 
 
 GEMEHT, DRAIN PIPE, 
 
 ROCKPORT GRANITE FOR CURBING AND CELLAR WALLS. 
 
 lllHSEieiD AIT TIIES 
 
 rOE HEARTHS, MANTEL EAOINGS, FLOORS, AND VESTIBULES. 
 
 A large assortment in various styles and patterns of 
 
 Flaiiii ElazEd, DrnaiiiEntal and ReliEf Ecnds,
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 XXXV 
 
 The most comphte assortment of Luhricttiixj OH in \r,r Kiujlaml, au,l all unods 
 warranted of Jinest quality and satisfaciori, to the buyer or the,, may be returned at our 
 expense. We send out no drummers and buyers ordering direct from our factt.ry are 
 sure of saving the Jive to ten per cent, drummers' couimis.>iions. 
 
 Our specialtli't* In iiclilition ii> tliu Watch, clock, ami Skwimj Maciiink oii.n, ah- Mi.kai iiki> 
 AND Vat WiNTF.n spkrm, \\.\ Valvk M<;iit Coi.oKKn CruNDRK <»n., Hauk < vi.imikk 
 
 OIL, EXTKA KN(;IXK. OIL, STANKARll OK KXCKLLKNCK l>V N AMO « »IL, NKW IIKIiKOKK SriNULK 
 
 Oil, Heavy Maciiinkky Oil, eucli uiIu|)U:iI to the iiurpo.HOH nanu'd. Wi> nollclt a trial onlcr.
 
 XXXVl 
 
 NEW BEDFORD.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 xxxvu 
 
 THOiS J. GIFFORO k CO., 
 
 Plumbing, Steam and Gas Fitting. 
 
 Proprietors ^ JVEanuf acturers 
 of Parle's gteam jieater. 
 
 FACTORY, 
 
 367 AcnsW Ave., New Bedford, Mass. 
 
 NEW AND SECOND HAND M A C, 11 1 N E P(,Y. 
 
 AUTOMATIC ' r\ "^ct 
 
 f^E-STAP^TINC INJECTORS. ^O^ 
 
 aIewJedford.Mass. 
 
 F. W^ FRANCIS, 
 
 MANUFACTURER OF 
 
 FINE CIGARS 
 
 New bedforo, Masis. 
 
 Factok\', 23 Commercial Street. 
 
 Offu'E and Kktail stuuk, Us IMon street.
 
 XXXVm NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 Established 184S. Capital, $3,000,000. 
 
 WAMSUTTA MILLS, 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 FINE 
 
 Cotton Goods and Yarns 
 
 BLEACHED AND BROWN 
 
 Fine Shirtings, Cambric Muslins, 
 
 Lawns, Momie Cloths, Sateens, 
 
 Checks, Cretonnes, &c, &c. 
 
 Plain, Twilled, and Double Warp Sheetings, 
 
 FINE AND HEAVY, 
 
 IN ALL WIDTHS TO 124 INCHES. 
 
 COTTON YARNS, 
 
 ALL NUMBERS. 
 
 COMBED, CARDED, 
 
 SIHGLE AHD TWISTED, BEAM. COP, 
 
 CHAIH, SKEIHS, AHD SPOOLS. 
 
 ANDREW G. PIERCE, President and Treasurer. 
 WILLIAM J. KENT, Agent. 
 
 DIRECTORS, 
 
 WILLIAM W. CKAPO, HORATIO HATHAWAY, FRANCIS HATHAWAY, 
 WILLIAM J. ROTCH, EDWARD D. MANDELL, FRANCIS B. GREENE, 
 
 ANDREW G. PIERCE. 
 
 SELLING AGENTS, 
 
 LEWIS BROS. & CO., New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore. 
 FRANCIS A. FOSTER, Boston.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 ALBERT W. HOLMES, 
 
 SUCCESSOR TO JOSIAH HOLMES, JR. 
 
 Wholesale and Retail Dealer in all Kinds of 
 
 COAL 
 
 For Domestic, Steam, Manufacturing, and Smiths' Uses. 
 ALSO 
 
 Hay & Straw. 
 
 OKKICE AND YARD, 
 
 Atlantic Wliarf, foot of Cannon Street, 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 Telephone 56-S Orders respectfulfu soliritrd.
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 ii'. IRIGGS, 
 
 Contractor St BtAilder. 
 
 54 DARTMOUTH STREET. 
 
 Residence, comer Dartmouth and Pair Streets. 
 
 Plans and Estimates furnished for any class of ivork. 
 
 CHARLES F. FOLGER, 
 
 MANUFACTURER OF 
 
 Bracl^ets, Cabinets, Easels, and Screens, 
 
 WOOD MANTELS AND SIDE BOARDS MADE TO OEDER, 
 Also bank counter? and general inside finishings for stores and halls. 
 
 Wood turning and jig sawing. 
 
 Factory, 133, 135, 137 South Water Street, New Bedford, Mass. 
 Salesroom, 264- Canal Street, New York. 
 
 J. P. HOWATT, General Agent. 
 
 HIRAM VAN CAMPEN, 
 General Fire and Accident Insurance Agent, 
 
 Okkice, No. 15 North Water Street. 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 AGENCY ESTABLISH E:d, A. D. 1852. 
 Superior facilities are possessed for effecting insurance against loss by fire in some of the best 
 
 Stock, or Dividend-Paying Mutual Companies, 
 
 on terms as favorable as can be obtained elsewhere. All business faithfully and intelligently 
 done, and losses promptly settled. 
 
 KDMUND GRINNELL, 
 
 PROPRIETOR OF 
 
 NEW BEDFORD IRON FOUNDRY, 
 
 90 and 92 South Water Street, New Bedford, Mass. 
 
 Manufacturer and dealer in every description of 
 
 Light and Heavy Building and Machinery Castings, Try Pots, Ship's 
 
 Cabooses, and General Foundry Work. 
 
 A Large Pattern and Machine Shop Connected with the Foundry. 
 Estimates given on application for the cost of Wrought and Cast Iron Work, for Fronts, Bridges, &c.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. xli 
 
 POTOMSKA MILLS, 
 
 OFFICE AT MILL, WATER ST., NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 Incorporated 1871. 
 
 Capital, $1, 200,000, 
 
 MANUFACTURE 
 
 FINE COTTON GOODS, 
 
 FANCY, PLAIN, TWILLS, 
 
 SATEENS, PRINT CLOTHS, AND SPECIALTIES. 
 
 Males and Females Employed, 1350. 
 
 Spindles, 108,000. 
 
 Looms, 2734. 
 
 ANDREW G. PIERCE, Presipknt. 
 M. U. ADAMS, Agent and Tin: .\srui-u, 
 S. E. BENTLEY, Suim;kinti;m>im. 
 WILLIAM O. DEVOLL, Pavmastku. 
 
 idif5.h:cxo]rs. 
 
 HORATIO HATHAWAY, WILLIAM W. CRAIH), 
 
 ANDREW G. PIERCE, WILLIAM WA'IKIXS. 
 
 WILLIAM J. ROTCH, FRANCIS MA'IMIAW AN 
 
 EDWARD KILBURN.
 
 F. A. SUWlE'S RESIUENCE AND FACTORY.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. xHii 
 
 Builders' Headquarters. 
 
 Established 1873. 
 Burned out and re-built of brick 1884. 
 
 F. A. SOW LB, 
 
 PROPRIETOR 
 
 gteam Wood V/orl^iiig pactory, 
 
 CORNER ELM AND BETHEL STREETS, 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 OFFICE AND SALESROOM, COR. ELM AND NORTH WATER STREETS. 
 
 MANUFACTURER AND DEALER IN 
 
 Doors, Blinds, Sashes, Window and Door Frames, 
 
 Mouldings, Brackets, Stair Rails, 
 
 Newel Posts, Balusters, &c. 
 
 Special attention given to getting out inside and outside House Finish. 
 We also luake a specialty, in their season, of window screens, screen doors, and 
 storm sashes. 
 
 Turning and Scroll Sawing done in a First-class Manner. 
 
 We carry at all times a large stodc of pine, asli, black walnut, whitewood, and 
 other kinds of hard woods, which wc oiler at a small advance above cost. 
 
 WINDOW GLASS. 
 
 We are the larfjf^st dealer in window icla^> i" fbi< part nl tin' statr. als.. jiavc in 
 stock cathedral, ground, and tii;un'(l ^'lass. and can turni^h anylhinj: in the ;jla>s 
 line. 
 
 PLATE GLASS. 
 
 Special attention given to furnishiiif? pialc l.-r >loic fronts ami oilnr purposes. 
 Estimates givew- 
 
 Our many years' experience enables us to coniprcluMul and 
 anticipate the wants of the trade and we intend that our prices shall 
 be as low as the lowest consistent wilii oood ipiality and workman- 
 
 BUILDERS' HEADQUARTERS, 
 
 K. A. SOVVUli, I'l . '1" iotor.
 
 xliv 
 
 NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 ALSO PROPRIETOR OR 
 
 TME SIFi=>ICjPi.N, 
 
 u 
 
 
 +j 
 
 (D 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 a. 
 
 O 
 
 IXLsLiion, ]VEa.ss. 
 
 open from June 1st to October 1st.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. xlv 
 
 CLARENCE LOWELL, 
 
 MANUFACTURER OF 
 
 Fine Carriages, 
 
 274 TO 278 ACUSHNET AYE.. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 jPs^ll Tx7oxli Stjciotly First-Cla-ss. 
 
 F±in<z. K.e:pa-iring a. Spe:c:ia.lty. 
 
 CHARLES 0. BRIGHTMAN, 
 
 Contraetor 5^ BuLilder, 
 
 OFFICE, 82 MILL STRFJF T. 
 
 Shops, Rear No. 189 North Water Street. 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASS. 
 
 Plans and Estimates Furnished at Short Notice. 
 
 Wamsutta Block, Purchase street; Haskell & Triiip's block ()f stores; .Xdelphi 
 Rink, County street; Howlniid Mill carpentry work; House of Correction, Union, 
 Court, and Ash streets; Kesidcnces of.Cliarles M. 'rrijij", Clarence A. Cook, Churles 
 S. Kelley, Eduiuud B. Wood, and others in New B<'dfonl; the V. S. Fish Commission 
 buildings at Woods Roll, Mass.; and (Jlobc Yarn Mill No. .< in Fall Hiver. Mass.. an- 
 specimens of my workmanship. CarixMiti-ring in all its liranches a s|»ecialty. None 
 but competent and faithful wt)rkmen in my omplcy.
 
 xlvi NEW BEDFORD. 
 
 KING CDANUFACTURING COCDPANY 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 Mouldings, Fancy Cabinet Work, Frames, 
 
 Easels, Mats, Art Novelties, Photographs, Artotypes, Wall Pockets, 
 
 Towel Racks, Hat Racks, Toilet Mirrors, Fire Screens, Book Shelves, &c. 
 
 PASTELS ON PORCELAIN A SPECIALTY. 
 
 BABBITT, WOOD & CO., 
 
 Boiler Makers and Steam Fitters, 
 
 Engineers' Supplies. Bolts, Nuts, and Washers. 
 Seeond-Hand Machinery and lioilers for sale. Repairing promptly attended to. 
 Office, 32 Commercial Street, New Bedford, Mass. 
 Proprietors Daisy Steam Heating Apparatus. Agents for the Richmond's Victor 
 Steam Heater and the Spence Hot Water Heater. 
 
 TELEPHONE 206-13. 
 
 il[[e Peirce ^ Busliriell JVIanufacturing Zo., 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, IVIASS., 
 
 ART PUBLISHERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 Hand Carved, Ornamented, Shaded & Plain Oak, Gold & White, 
 Silver, Bronze, and Old Ivory Finished Mouldings. 
 
 NOVELTY AND CABINET PfiAMES OP UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL DESIGNS. 
 
 Mezzotypes and Photographs of the Latest and most Popular Pictures. 
 Brackets, Cabinets, Easels, Wall Pockets, Etc. 
 
 Panels, Mats, Art Novelties, Folders, Cards, Etc., Etc. 
 
 F. A. F. ADAMS, 
 
 Real Estate Agent, 48 North Water St. 
 
 Refers by pernaission to -los. Arthur Beauvais, Esq., President Citizens National Bank, 
 Hon. .Jonatlian Fiourne, President Merchants National Bank, Charles E. Hendrickson, President 
 New Bedford Safe Deposit and Trust Co., Walter CUfford, Esq., Mayor of City. 
 
 Enjoying exceptlon.al advantages in the way of buying and selling real estate, 
 especially sea shore residences and farms, I solicit correspondence, which will be 
 promptly attended to. I will be happy to send catalogues with photographs 
 of many elegant estates. All questions in regard to real estate in and around New 
 Bedford cheerfully answered.
 
 LEADING ENTERPRISES. 
 
 xlvii 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1882. 
 
 INCORPORATED 1S87. 
 
 WdEDEM ilANUF/lCTURING (Eo.. 
 
 CHARLES E. BARNEY, TREASURER. 
 
 Largest -t- JVIanufacturers -t- of -t- gteam -t- I'oys •^ in -j- ^nierica. 
 
 ORIGINAL MECHANICAL TOYS AND NOVELTIES IN METAL. 
 Office and Factory, No. 148 North Water Street, - New Bedford, Mass. 
 
 AMERICAN TACK CO., 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF EVERY VARIETY OF 
 
 TACKS, LINING AND SMALL NAILS 
 
 J 
 
 UPHOLSTERY & GIMP TACKS, 
 
 SHOE &. LACE TACKS, 
 
 BLUED &L TINNED CARPET TACKS, 
 
 LEATHERED & COPPERED CARPET TACKS, 
 
 OVAL HEAD TINNED TACKS, 
 
 BRASS & STEEL WIRE NAILS, 
 
 Lining Tacks, Saddle Nails, 
 
 FACTOKY AT 
 
 FAIRHAVEN, MASS. 
 
 C. O. HUNT. AQENT. 
 
 BLACK k TINNED TRUNK NAILS, 
 CLOUT, FINISHING i CIGAR BOX NAILS, 
 COMMON & PATENT BRADS, 
 WIRE FINISHING NAILS, 
 COMMON & SWEDES SHOE NAILS, 
 MOULDING & ESCUTCHEON PINS, 
 
 Tufting Buttons and Nails. 
 
 Ni;\V YiiRK •-AI.KSlMd'M. 
 
 116 CHAMBERS STREET. 
 
 J. A. BEAUVAIS, TRcAS 
 
 
 @ 
 
 ALL KINDS OF 
 
 
 NO. I Wl LLI AM ST. 
 
 COR. OF WATER ST. 
 
 MASS. ^
 
 A duplicate of this book can be procured 
 by sending $1 to the Secretary of the New 
 Bedford Board of Trade.
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
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 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW. 
 
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