New Bedford, Freetown, Fairhaven and Acushnet (252 - 255)

Continuing our South Coast excursion brought us to New Bedford (#253). The 9th largest city in MA, NB is historically known as a whaling port. At its height in the 19th century, New Bedford was the wealthiest city, per capita, in the world! As the picture depicts, NB is still a major fishing center and in 2019 generated the highest value of seafood in the US.

We started the day walking in the Assonet village in Freetown, MA (#252). They were setting up for fireworks in Hathaway Park next to the eastern branch of the Taunton River.

Fairhaven (#255) is located to the east of New Bedford Harbor. This photo shows the flag flying high over Fort Phoenix, which sits sentinel at the mouth of the Acushnet River. The fort saw action in both the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. The British destroyed the fort in 1778 as part of their campaign in New Bedford and Fairhaven, but were ultimately pushed back by Major Israel Fearing. In the War of 1812 the Fort Phoenix helped repel a British attack on New Bedford 🇺🇸 🇬🇧

The Buzzards Bay commission restored the Sawmill factory site next to the Acushnet River into a lovely wetland park. They recreated a network of trails and wetlands that made for a nice walk in Acushnet (#254).