1893 Map of New Bedford

About this map

The Acushnet River defines the industrial and maritime landscape of this late nineteenth-century coastal study, separating the dense urban grid of New Bedford from the town of Fairhaven. This was an era when the whaling industry's legacy met the rising rail economy, illustrated by the New Bedford Branch of Old Colony Railroad and the Fall River and New Bedford Railroad converging near the harbor. The coastline is dotted with navigational aids essential to Buzzards Bay shipping, including Neds Point Light and Clarks Point Light. Inland, the terrain transitions from the sprawling Great Cedar Swamp and Acushnet Cedar Swamp to smaller agricultural and milling outposts like Turners Mills and Braleys Station. The map captures the complex geography of the jagged coastline, from the long finger of Sconticut Neck to the island-dotted Nasketucket Bay.