New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (NBWNHP) is a United States

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and is maintained by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

(NPS). The park commemorates the heritage of the world's preeminent

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

port during the nineteenth century. Established in 1996, the park encompasses 34 acres (fourteen hectares) dispersed over thirteen city blocks. It includes a visitor center, the New Bedford National Historic Landmark District, the

New Bedford Whaling Museum The New Bedford Whaling Museum is a museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States that focuses on the history, science, art, and culture of the international whaling industry, and the "Old Dartmouth" region (now the city of New Bedford and ...

, the

Seamen's Bethel The Seamen's Bethel (or Seaman's Bethel) is a chapel in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, located at 15 Johnny Cake Hill. History Built by the ''New Bedford Port Society'', it was completed on May 2, 1832. It is a contributing property ...

, the schooner ''Ernestina'', and the Rotch–Jones–Duff House and Garden Museum. As a National Park, the NBWNHP is rather unusual in that the only properties owned by the NPS are the Visitor Center and the Corson Maritime Learning Center. Rather, the park is a historic district administered under a partnership between the NPS, the City of New Bedford and private building owners to preserve the historic landscapes, structures, and collections and promote research and educational programming associated with the history of whaling. The enabling legislation also established a formal affiliation with the Iñupiat Heritage Center in

Utqiaġvik, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in th ...

, to commemorate the more than 2,000 whaling voyages from New Bedford to the Western

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

. The city promotes visitation to the park through advertising that calls it "

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

's real seaport", as opposed to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

Mystic Seaport Museum Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the craf ...

which is a collection of historic buildings and vessels moved from various other locations throughout the region. Although the famed Whaleman Memorial (commonly called the " Whaleman's Statue") is not within the park's boundaries, it is located only two blocks beyond its western boundary at the corner of William and Pleasant Streets in front of the New Bedford Public Library. Image:New Bedford_Whaling_National_Historical_Park_Vistor_Center_2006.jpg, Visitor Center Image:New Bedford Whaling National Historical Benjamin Rodman Mansion 2006.jpg, Benjamin Rodman Mansion Image:New Bedford Whaling National Historical Dover St 2006.jpg, Dover Street Image:New Bedford Whaling National Historical Rotch Jones House 2006.jpg, Rotch-Jones House

External links

National Park Service: New Bedford Whaling National Historical ParkNew Bedford Whaling MuseumThe Schooner Ernestina
{{authority control New Bedford, Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1996 National Historical Parks in Massachusetts Parks in Bristol County, Massachusetts 1996 establishments in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in New Bedford, Massachusetts National Historical Parks of the United States Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

See also

External links