Historical Significance
Historically, the river's banks were home to many mills, especially on the New Bedford side of the river. The river's mouth, which forms a small but well-sheltered harbor, has long served as the home port of New Bedford's commercial fishing fleet. It is also the birthplace of New Bedford's whaling industry; the Dartmouth, the first ship whose keel was laid in New Bedford, first set sail on this river. (The ship would go on to fame as one of those involved in the Boston Tea Party.) On the eastern (Fairhaven) shore, the mouth of the river is guarded by Fort Phoenix, a fortification that was involved, in 1775, in the first naval engagement of the American Revolutionary War.
Read more about this topic: Acushnet River
Famous quotes containing the words historical and/or significance:
“Among the virtues and vices that make up the British character, we have one vice, at least, that Americans ought to view with sympathy. For they appear to be the only people who share it with us. I mean our worship of the antique. I do not refer to beauty or even historical association. I refer to age, to a quantity of years.”
—William Golding (b. 1911)
“For a parent, it’s hard to recognize the significance of your work when you’re immersed in the mundane details. Few of us, as we run the bath water or spread the peanut butter on the bread, proclaim proudly, “I’m making my contribution to the future of the planet.” But with the exception of global hunger, few jobs in the world of paychecks and promotions compare in significance to the job of parent.”
—Joyce Maynard (20th century)