U.S. Custom House-Customary Duty

The U.S. Custom House at Bedford opened on this site in 1836, replacing a makeshift operation closer to the waterfront. Here ship captains climbed the granite steps to register their crews and declare their cargoes before receiving clearance to leave or enter the port. It was built when the nation was flush with customs-generated income, and duties collected on imported goods paid for roads, railroads, lighthouses, and countless public buildings. This custom house directly linked whaling and New Bedford to the engine of the U.S. economy and to the works of the young federal government. Designed by Robert Mills, later designer of the Washington Monument, and built almost entirely of granite, it was one of the first entirely fireproof federal buildings and is the oldest continuously operating custom house in the United States.

Fairhaven, Massachusetts · United States