Historic Homes of New Bedford
Settlement of the City of New Bedford grew predictably around the port which made this city one of the wealthiest in the world during the 18th and 19th centuries. Though today’s downtown is primarily a commercial district, in the past there were many more homes for both the working class and the wealthy whaling merchants. The West and North ends of the city began as farmland, with houses few and far between. In fact, the North end of New Bedford was one of the last areas to be developed, and as late as 1911, maps of the area show very few inhabitants. As New Bedford’s main industry transitioned from whaling to textile mills in the late 19th century, more workers moved to the city and needed housing. This need for new construction and multi-family properties fueled development in the West and South ends of the city, which became densely populated. Immigrant communities, the largest of which were Portuguese and Cape Verdean, formed in these areas and many remain intact to this day.