Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Westport
    Westport
    Westport
    Ebook152 pages50 minutes

    Westport

    By Westport Historical Society

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The town of Westport has long been tied to the sea. Its abundant rivers provided waterpower for cotton and iron manufacturing, and its protected harbor served as a base for the whaling and fishing industry. Since it was first settled in the 1670s, generations of farmers have worked Westport's soil, and agriculture remains an important part of this coastal community. Water continues to define this community, there is still an active commercial fishing fleet, waterfront cottages fill with summer residents, and day-trippers flock to the long sandy crescent of Horseneck Beach. Westport's beauty is not simply in its past but exists today in the well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century homes, the pristine landscape, and the rich community life of its villages.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439636077
    Westport
    Author

    Westport Historical Society

    Members of the Westport Historical Society have carefully crafted this pictorial history, culling images from the society�s archives as well as from the collections of local residents who have generously offered their memories of Westport�s past.

    Related to Westport

    Related ebooks

    Photography For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Destroying the Boy Scouts

      May 31, 2018

      Destroying the Boy Scouts
      2 min read

    • Article

      Nature’s Master Builders

      Sep 1, 2022

      Nature’s Master Builders
      3 min read

    • Article

      Affectionately Known As Victor

      Aug 30, 2018

      Affectionately Known As Victor
      4 min read

    • Article

      Quaint Rhode Island Brings Rare Notes

      Apr 5, 2022

      This month, I thought I would take you on a visit to a state about which I have never written before: Rhode Island. It is the smallest state in our union, and one from which I own just a single national bank note, but it is a nice one, and the town i

      4 min read

    • Article

      Creative Character

      Jul 27, 2021

      Creative Character
      3 min read

    • Article

      journey To The Past

      Dec 6, 2023

      journey To The Past
      8 min read

    • Article

      NORTH SHORE Neighborhoods

      Aug 31, 2023

      NORTH SHORE Neighborhoods
      7 min read

    • Article

      Hidden Treasures

      Jan 2, 2019

      Hidden Treasures
      4 min read

    • Article

      Creative Character

      Jul 14, 2020

      Creative Character
      3 min read

    • Article

      Rolling To Robe

      Jan 20, 2022

      Rolling To Robe
      3 min read

    • Article

      What's Brewing In Kent?

      Jul 11, 2019

      What's Brewing In Kent?
      8 min read

    • Article

      Antebellum Legacy

      May 19, 2020

      Antebellum Legacy
      3 min read

    • Article

      Little England

      Jan 12, 2022

      Little England
      6 min read

    • Article

      Belfast, Maine

      Oct 13, 2020

      Belfast, Maine
      3 min read

    • Article

      Storied Legacy

      Dec 12, 2023

      Storied Legacy
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Bay Of Whales

      Jun 23, 2023

      The Bay Of Whales
      5 min read

    • Article

      Union Bay Historical Society

      Sep 3, 2019

      Union Bay Historical Society
      3 min read

    • Article

      Summer Escape

      Jun 13, 2023

      Summer Escape
      4 min read

    • Article

      Time Travellers

      Nov 6, 2019

      Time Travellers
      6 min read

    • Article

      Hidden Massachusetts

      Feb 10, 2022

      Hidden Massachusetts
      3 min read

    • Article

      Down-to-Earth Vibe

      Sep 8, 2020

      Down-to-Earth Vibe
      4 min read

    • Article

      Into History And Up A Creek

      May 1, 2023

      Into History And Up A Creek
      6 min read

    • Article

      Spotlight on… Weston-super-Mare & District Family History Society

      Aug 13, 2021

      The Weston-super-Mare & District Family History Society covers the whole area covered by North Somerset Council. It also includes the old Axbridge Registration District and the towns of Clevedon, Burnham-on-Sea, Nailsea, Portishead and Weston-super-M

      2 min read

    • Article

      Yorkshire’s Atlantis

      Aug 16, 2022

      Yorkshire’s Atlantis
      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Westport

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Westport - Westport Historical Society

      O’Neill

      INTRODUCTION

      Geography does not necessarily determine the way the history of a place unfolds over time, but in Westport, the location had been the single most important factor in the town’s development. Two rivers, from the northeast and the northwest, meet to form a protected harbor with an outlet to the ocean, and the southern edge of town is graced by a long sandy beach. Long before European settlement in the 17th century, members of the Wampanoag nation used the area for farming and fishing, and we still use the native word quahog for the hard-shell clams that form the basis of local chowders. From the Wampanoag we also get the original names for our rivers, the Noquochoke and the Acoaxet, now known by the more commonplace names of east branch and west branch of the Westport River.

      The land that comprises modern-day Westport became known to Europeans after English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold surveyed the area in 1602 and attempted to establish a settlement on the island of Cuttyhunk, just a few miles off Westport’s southern tip. When Plymouth Colony was established in 1620, Westport’s location as the westernmost port in the colony provided its name. Many of the earliest settlers were Quakers, who built a meetinghouse in Westport in 1716. One noted Westport Quaker was Paul Cuffe, a black mariner and businessman whose humanitarian impulse led him to carry freed slaves to the African colony of Sierra Leone. In 1664, when the town of Dartmouth separated from Plymouth, Westport was a part of Dartmouth, and remained so until 1787, the year that Westport was incorporated as a distinct town. Various other border adjustments with Fall River and the state of Rhode Island occurred over the years, and by the end of the 19th century, Westport had settled into its current boundaries.

      In colonial times, Westport was sparsely populated; what little settlement may have existed was destroyed in King Philip’s War of 1675–1676. As English settlements expanded after the war, isolated farms developed in the Westport area. The earliest known house, a Rhode Island Stone-Ender, dates from 1677. Only the chimney remains, although a drawing of the original Waite-Potter house is displayed on the Westport town seal. More farms were developed, and over time, people began clustering in villages, particularly at the Head of Westport (the head of the tidal waters of the east branch of the Westport River) and Westport Point (where the two branches meet). The Head of Westport had natural resources and roads that made it suitable for supplying the burgeoning New Bedford whaling industry with iron and wood products from its water-powered forges and sawmills and soon became a hub of commercial and maritime activity. Westport Point became a whaling center with as many as 22 whaling ships that called Westport home in the 19th century.

      Situated between the commercial cities of Fall River and New Bedford, the north end of Westport was another locus of development. At the west end was a section of North Westport known as the Narrows, a lively spot for business, entertainment, and recreation on the shores of North and South Watuppa Ponds. At the east end was Westport Factory, a village that grew up around the mills of the Westport Manufacturing Company, the town’s largest employer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Westport’s cotton industry, while small in comparison to those in neighboring Fall River and New Bedford, added to the local economy and brought hundreds of immigrants to the area, families whose descendants have been woven into the social fabric of the town.

      After the whaling industry began to decline in the mid-19th century, Central Village rose in importance. This aptly named village, with its stores, offices, and town hall, became the administrative and commercial center of the town. Other villages, such as South Westport and Westport Harbor, retained their rural character while becoming places for summer recreation, particularly the inviting three-mile stretch of sand and waves at Horseneck Beach. Large resort hotels and private homes along Horseneck and East Beach, as well as riverside summer cottages, were built as people from Fall River, New Bedford, and well beyond came to enjoy the tranquility and fresh sea air of Westport. The resort era came to an abrupt end in 1938 when a devastating hurricane swept away hotels, homes, boats, and people. Other damaging hurricanes followed in 1944 and 1954, and even though the hotels never returned, Horseneck Beach remains a prime summer destination, and vacation cottages still dot the banks of the rivers.

      While water seems to define the image of Westport, the land itself is very productive, and farming has been a long tradition as well as a current feature of the town’s landscape and economy. Westport farmers even developed their own special vegetable, the Macomber turnip. A drive along Westport’s back roads reveals our bucolic dairy and vegetable farms, produce stands, and orchards. Artisan cheeses and award-winning wine are made here, and the agricultural fair is still an important and enjoyable annual event. With a population density of less than 300 people per square mile, Westport

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1