Whaling Capital

In 1857, ninety-five ships and barks left these wharves on whaling voyages as the industry reached its peak, with half of worldwide whaling conducted from the New Bedford customs district. Before petroleum was discovered in 1859, whaling was the nation’s fifth most valuable industry. Sperm whale oil provided especially bright light and superior lubrication for high-speed or delicate machinery. The city’s whaling agents, who managed voyages for vessel owners and were often owners themselves, ranked among the richest people in the United States. In 1861, newspapers calculated that if wealth were shared equally, every man, woman, and child here would have more than $1,000, making New Bedford the nation’s richest city. Baleen, or whalebone, from right and bowhead whales was used to make whips, corset stays, skirt hoops, and other strong, flexible goods in a pre-plastic age. In July 1830, the Boston Traveler wrote that despite reports of the town’s prosperity and the wealth of its inhabitants, visitors were still unprepared for the forest of masts in the harbor, the crowded wharves, and the recent return of whale ships and other fishing vessels loaded with valuable spoils of the ocean.

Fairhaven, Massachusetts · United States