History

During the Civil War, in 1862, the United States created a piece of legislative history entitled The Homestead Act. This important piece of American history served many purposes and essentially said that any U.S. citizen or an intended citizen could claim a parcel of land up to 160 acres in …

Intro to Series: Skip, if you just want the “goods.” People are fascinated by their family’s background and asking someone what they “are” will uncover a lot about a person’s identity, family history, and their sense of identity – or lack of it. America being a melting pot more than …

“WHALE is thrilled to announce another new restoration project: The Capitol Theater building, located in the North End on Acushnet Avenue. We have partnered with the Community Economic Development Center (CEDC) on the transformative project, which will restore and rehabilitate the 1920 mixed-use film theater and commercial building for use …

WHALE is excited to announce one of our new restoration projects: The Hillman Street Firehouse, located at 109 Hillman Street. The building was slated for demolition, but WHALE has taken on this project to restore and rehabilitate the historic Engine No. 5 House into nine residential units for community housing, …

What school or schools did you attend in New Bedford growing up? What is more fun than reminiscing? It’s a favorite universal past-time. While many of us hated school growing up – having to get up instead of sleeping in, listening to teachers give dull lectures using Ben Stein’s ‘dry …

On Monday, November 4th 74-year old Paul Vidal of Westport perished in his 1977 Cessna 150M as it crashed into New Bedford’s Rural Cemetery. By all accounts, Mr. Vidal was doing something he loved and was passionate and had nearly 25 years of piloting experience. In 2010, he had earned …

Benjamin Dawson had humble beginnings as a business owner in New Bedford: he opened a grocery store on Purchase and Merrimac Streets in 1868. His mixture of superior customer service and quality products was such a smashing success that he expanded it to include general goods within 2 years. To …

While the American Bald Eagle is a symbol for America, in many ways it should be Castor canadensis, the North American beaver for without it and the industry that developed around its pelts, America as a nation may have never had gotten of the ground, so to speak. There are …

The term “leper” typically conjures up images of people in India or biblical stories, but beyond that, there is not a heck of a lot known about the disease, its history or even that it has a connection with Massachusetts. Leprosy, or Hansen’s disease named after the Norwegian doctor Dr. …

If you want to get right to the meat and potatoes and are familiar with the series, skip the intro. Intro People are fascinated by their family’s background and asking someone what they “are” will uncover a lot about a person’s identity, family history, and their sense of identity – …