Fairhaven, Massachusetts Sconticut | |
|---|---|
 Fairhaven Town Hall | |
 Seal | |
 Location in Bristol County in Massachusetts | |
| Coordinates:41°38′15″N70°54′15″W / 41.63750°N 70.90417°W /41.63750; -70.90417 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Bristol |
| Settled | 1659 |
| Incorporated | 1812 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Representative town meeting |
| Area | |
• Total | 14.1 sq mi (36.5 km2) |
| • Land | 12.4 sq mi (32.1 km2) |
| • Water | 1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2) |
| Elevation | 16 ft (5 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 15,924 |
| • Density | 1,280/sq mi (496/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP code | 02719 |
| Area code | 508 /774 |
| FIPS code | 25-22130 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618281 |
| Website | www.fairhaven-ma.gov |
Fairhaven (Massachusett:Sconticut[1]) is atown inBristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on theSouth Coast of Massachusetts where theAcushnet River flows intoBuzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The town shares a harbor with the city ofNew Bedford, a place well known for itswhaling and fishing heritage; consequently, Fairhaven's history, economy, and culture are closely aligned with those of its larger neighbor. The population of Fairhaven was 15,924 at the time of the2020 census.[2]
Fairhaven was first settled in 1659 as "Cushnea," the easternmost part of the town ofDartmouth. It was founded on land purchased by English settlers at thePlymouth Colony from theWampanoagsachemMassasoit, and his son,Wamsutta.
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In 1787, the eastern portion of Dartmouth seceded and formed a new settlement calledNew Bedford. This new town included areas that are the present-day towns of Fairhaven,Acushnet, and New Bedford itself. Fairhaven eventually separated from New Bedford, and it was officially incorporated in 1812. At that time, Fairhaven included all of the land on the east bank of theAcushnet River. The northern portion of Fairhaven, upriver fromBuzzards Bay, formed another independent town, called Acushnet, in 1860. Thus, what had once been a single town, Dartmouth, with a substantial land area, became, in less than 75 years, four separate municipalities. (The western portion of the original Dartmouth land-purchase eventually became a fifth town,Westport.)
Fort Phoenix, owned by the Town of Fairhaven, is located in Fairhaven at the mouth of the Acushnet River, and it served, during colonial and revolutionary times, as the primary defense against seaborne attacks on New Bedford harbor. It is adjacent to theFort Phoenix State Beach and Reservation operated by the state.
Within sight of the fort,the first naval battle of theAmerican Revolution took place on May 14, 1775. Under the command of Nathaniel Pope and Daniel Egery, a group of 25 Fairhavenminutemen (includingNoah Stoddard) aboard the sloopSuccess retrieved two vessels previously captured by a British warship in Buzzards Bay.
On September 5 and 6, 1778, the British landed four thousand soldiers on the west side of the Acushnet River. They burned ships and warehouses in New Bedford, skirmished at the Head-of-the-River bridge (approximately where the Main Street bridge in Acushnet is presently situated), and marched through Fairhaven to Sconticut Neck, burning homes along the way. In deference to the overwhelming force approaching from the landward side, the fort was abandoned, and it was destroyed by the enemy. An attack on Fairhaven village itself was repelled by militia under the command of Major Israel Fearing, who had marched fromWareham, some 15 miles (24 km) away, with additional militiamen. Fearing's heroic action saved Fairhaven from further molestation.
The fort was enlarged before theWar of 1812, and it helped repel an attack on the harbor by British forces. In the early morning hours of June 13, 1814, landing boats were launched from the British raider, HMSNimrod. Alerted by the firing of the guns at Fort Phoenix, the militia gathered, and the British did not come ashore.
The fort was decommissioned in 1876, and in 1926 the site was donated to the town byCara Rogers Broughton (a daughter ofHenry Huttleston Rogers). Today, the area surrounding the fort includes a park and a bathing beach. The fort lies just to the seaward side of the harbor's hurricane barrier.
Prior to the second half of the nineteenth century,whale oil was the primary source of fuel for lighting in the United States. Thewhaling industry was an economic mainstay for manyNew England coastal communities for over two hundred years. The famous whaling port ofNew Bedford is located across the Acushnet River from Fairhaven. Fairhaven was also a whaling port; in fact, in the year 1838, Fairhaven was the second-largest whaling port in the United States, with 24 vessels sailing for the whaling grounds. The author ofMoby-Dick,Herman Melville, departed from the port of Fairhaven aboard the whaleshipAcushnet in 1841.
However, once New Bedford's predominance in the whaling industry became apparent, Fairhaven's economy evolved into one that supplemented the New Bedford economy rather than competing directly with it. Fairhaven became a town ofshipwrights,ship chandlers,ropemakers,coopers, andsailmakers. It also became a popular location for ship-owners and ship-captains to build their homes and raise their children.
Among Fairhaven's natives wasHenry Huttleston Rogers (1840–1909), a businessman and philanthropist. Rogers was one of the key men inJohn D. Rockefeller'sStandard Oil trust. He later developed theVirginian Railway. Rogers and his wife,Abbie Gifford Rogers, another Fairhaven native (who was the daughter of the whaling captain Peleg Gifford), donated many community improvements in the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century, including a grammar school, an extraordinarily luxurioushigh school, theTown Hall, the George H. Taber Masonic Building, theUnitarian Memorial Church, the Tabitha Inn, theMillicent Library, and a modern water-and-sewer system. These structures were erected to top-quality construction standards, a trademark philosophy of Henry H. Rogers; some are still in regular use more than one hundred years later.
In 1885, Rogers built a huge and modern (for the times) elementary school and, in 1893, a memorial to his beloved daughter, Millicent, in the form of anItalian-Renaissancepalazzo that serves as the town'sfree public library to this day. On February 22, 1894, when the Fairhaven Town Hall, a gift of Abbie Palmer (Gifford) Rogers, was dedicated,Mark Twain delivered a humorous speech to mark the occasion. Less than three months later, on May 21, 1894, Abbie Rogers died in New York following surgery for stomach cancer.
His grandson wasThe 1st Baron Fairhaven (1896–1966).
Rogers befriended a number of the high and mighty; he also became a friend, advisor, and patron to a number of the less-well-off. Among his friends wereBooker T. Washington,Anne Sullivan,Helen Keller, andMark Twain, all of whom came to visit Rogers in Fairhaven, sometimes for protracted periods. Late in Twain's life, he had managed to impoverish himself; Rogers lent him a helping hand, and Twain did whatever he could to return the favors.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 14.1 square miles (37 km2), of which 12.4 square miles (32 km2) is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2), or 12.06%, is water. It is bordered by the river andNew Bedford to the west,Acushnet to the north,Mattapoisett to the east and Buzzards Bay to the south. The town line with Mattapoisett lies along the Bristol andPlymouth county lines. The town is the southeastern corner of Bristol County, and contains the easternmost point of the county, on West Island. Fairhaven is approximately 54 miles (87 km) south ofBoston, 21 miles (34 km) by land west ofCape Cod, and 32 miles (51 km) southeast ofProvidence, Rhode Island.
The town is located onBuzzards Bay, on the eastern bank of theAcushnet River at its mouth. The lands of the town jut out into the bay via Sconticut Neck and West Island, along with several other small islands. Most of the town's water area consists of its harbors, bays and coves, along with a portion of the Acushnet's waters, and Nasketucket and Scipping Creeks. The town lies along coastal plain, and has some swampland along the Nasketucket and around Boy's and Girl's Creeks, north of Priest's Cove. Fairhaven's localities include Fairhaven Center, North Fairhaven, East Fairhaven, Oxford, Poverty Point, Nasketucket, Sconticut Neck, and Winsegansett Heights. Most of the town's population lies either in the west side of town, along Sconticut Neck or in the village of East Fairhaven, with the northeast quarter of the town's land sparsely populated.
The town has two large public parks, Livesey Park and Cushman Park, as well as a number of smaller ones. Cushman Park, as well as having tennis courts and ballfields and a bandstand, is the location ofFairhaven High School's running track. The town has several commercial wharves, a yacht club, and several marinas for recreational craft. There are several small bathing beaches, the largest being theFort Phoenix State Reservation, a south-facing beach to the east of the fort and the New Bedford HarborHurricane Barrier. There is also a bike path, the Phoenix Rail Trail, which travels along a long-unused railroad right-of-way (formerly theFairhaven Branch Railroad), just to the south of Route 6. The 5.2-mile long rail trail connects Fairhaven Center with Mattapoisett Center.
Places adjacent to Fairhaven, Massachusetts | |
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Interstate 195 travels on an east–west path through town, crossing the Acushnet River at the point where it begins to broaden as it approaches New Bedford Harbor. Fairhaven is also crossed byU.S. Route 6, which enters the town on a bridge between the mainland and Pope's Island, which is connected to the rest of New Bedford by theNew Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge, a swing-span truss bridge over one hundred years old.Massachusetts Route 240, a short, 1 mile (1.6 km) divided highway, connects Interstate 195 at Exit 29 to the intersection of Route 6 and Sconticut Neck Road. The town's retail center is located at this intersection, and includes several stores, markets, and restaurants, and is the main retail center for neighboring Acushnet and Mattapoisett as well.
SRTA provides bus service between Fairhaven and New Bedford, as well as two short shuttle routes between the town and Acushnet and Mattapoisett. The town has no rail or air service. TheMBTA is in the process of extendingcommuter rail service to neighboring New Bedford. New Bedford also is the location of the nearest airport to Fairhaven, theNew Bedford Regional Airport. The nearest national air service is atT.F. Green Airport in Warwick, Rhode Island.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 4,304 | — |
| 1860 | 3,118 | −27.6% |
| 1870 | 2,626 | −15.8% |
| 1880 | 2,875 | +9.5% |
| 1890 | 2,919 | +1.5% |
| 1900 | 3,567 | +22.2% |
| 1910 | 5,122 | +43.6% |
| 1920 | 7,291 | +42.3% |
| 1930 | 10,951 | +50.2% |
| 1940 | 10,938 | −0.1% |
| 1950 | 12,764 | +16.7% |
| 1960 | 14,339 | +12.3% |
| 1970 | 16,332 | +13.9% |
| 1980 | 15,759 | −3.5% |
| 1990 | 16,132 | +2.4% |
| 2000 | 16,159 | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 15,873 | −1.8% |
| 2020 | 15,924 | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 15,837 | −0.5% |
Source:United States census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] | ||
As of the census[14] of 2020, there were 15,924 people, 8,423 households, and 4,354 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,303.4 inhabitants per square mile (503.2/km2). There were 7,266 housing units at an average density of 586.1 per square mile (226.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.32%White, 0.60%African American, 0.26%Native American, 0.44%Asian, 0.02%Pacific Islander, 1.19% fromother races, and 1.17% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 0.84% of the population.
There were 6,622 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.6% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. Of all households, 30.5% were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $79,432 and $50,384 per capita as of 2021. About 6.6% persons were below the poverty line. 28.9% of the population had a bachelor's degree or higher and 91% had a high school degree.[15]
Males had a median income of $38,201 versus $29,736 for females. About 6.5% of families and 9.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.
Fairhaven is the home of theAcushnet Company, a world-renowned manufacturer of golf equipment under the brand nameTitleist (now owned byFila). Fairhaven is also home toNye Lubricants, a firm dealing in industrial lubricants and whose history dates back to 1844 and the whaling industry.
Fairhaven is located in the 10th Bristol state representative district, which includes all of Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester, as well as a portion of Middleborough. The town is represented in the state senate in the 2nd Bristol-Plymouth district, which includes the city of New Bedford and the towns of Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, and Mattapoisett. On the national level, Fairhaven is a part ofMassachusetts's 9th congressional district, and is currently represented byWilliam R. Keating. The state's senior member of theUnited States Senate isElizabeth Warren, and its junior senator isEd Markey.
Fairhaven is governed by arepresentative town meeting, run by a five-personselect board (expanded from three seats in 2022)[16] and a town administrator. The town has one public library (the Millicent Library), one fire station, a central police department, and one post office (zip code 02719). The Fairhaven police department is located on Byrant Lane, a half-mile east of the center of town. The police, fire, and rescue all are located at the same site on Washington Street.
Fairhaven's four public schools are all part of the Fairhaven Public School District. The town has two elementary schools; East Fairhaven and Leroy L. Wood, one middle school, Elizabeth Hastings; and one high school,Fairhaven High.
Fairhaven High School, donated by Rogers in 1906, is the most recognizable landmark in the town, given its prominent location on Route 6 (Huttleston Avenue) and its impressive appearance. The school's teams are known as the Blue Devils, and their colors are royal blue and white. In addition to the public school, prospective high school students may choose to attend eitherGreater New Bedford Regional Vocational-Technical High School ("Voc-Tech") in New Bedford orBristol County Agricultural High School ("Bristol Aggie") inDighton, free of charge.
Two recent former elementary schools includeOxford School (closed 2007) and Rogers School (closed 2013). Oxford School opened in 1896 until it was merged with the newly reconstructed East Fairhaven School in 2007. Rogers School opened in 1885 as the first building donated to the town by Henry Huttleston Rogers. It remained open until 2013 when, like Oxford and East Fairhaven Schools, its student body was consolidated with that of LeRoy Wood School.[17] As the new Wood School building was being constructed, its staff and students moved to the Oxford School building for the 2012–13 academic year. Oxford School was converted to residential apartments in 2022 and was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 2023.
The town is also home to Saint Joseph's School, aRoman Catholicparochial school which provides an education from nursery through eighth-grade. The school is operated by the nearby Saint Joseph Church.
TheNortheast Maritime Institute based in Fairhaven offers a two-year program in Nautical Science and prepares students to work as deck officers or captains aboard ships. NMI owns several buildings in the center of town, including a former Unitarian Church and former bank.
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Tosashimizu, Kōchi, Japan, since 1987
Municipalities and communities ofBristol County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
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