Founded in 1903 by the Old Dartmouth Historical Society to preserve a rapidly disappearing historical record, the New Bedford Whaling Museum grew from rented rooms into a major independent institution within New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. Its vast collections, strengthened by donations and later expansion, focus on whaling’s material culture, including world-leading holdings of scrimshaw and logbooks, along with art tied to New Bedford’s rise as a 19th-century whaling port. Through galleries, the half-scale whaling ship Lagoda, Azorean maritime exhibits, whale skeletons, and research collections, it illuminates both New Bedford’s history and the global reach and legacy of the whaling industry.

Fairhaven, Massachusetts · USA