NEW BED'FORD. A port of entry and one of the county seats of Bristol County, Mass., 56 miles south of Boston; the terminus of a division of the New York. New llaven and Ifartford Rail road ( Alap: Alassachusetts. 1 4r. It is situated near the mouth of the Acuslinet River. which ex pand-: into a tine, spacious harbor leading into Buzzard's Bay. Fort Rodman, on Clark Point. with a garrison of 120 Men. defends the harbor's entrance. A drive, over four miles in length. ex tends around the point and to the city. elan mantling splendid marine views. New Bedff)rd, in area about square miles. is regularly laid nut. and its streets are paved chiefly with gravel and macadam. Among the prominent struetures are the city hall, the county court house. the post office, the Public Library, :Masonic and Odd Fellows' buildings. Saint 'Luke's and Saint Joseph's hospitals, Saint Mary's Home. the Textile School. and the Merchants' National Bank. A State armory is (1903) in ermrse of construction. The Public Library (73.000 vol. umes) is one of the oldest free public libraries in the United States. having been opened in 1853, The library was founded. however, some fifty years before it liceninc a munieipal institu tion. The corner-sfone of the present building was laid in 1856. The Pullin parks. aggregating 255 acres, are: the Common. Brooklown. Bid ton w1.011. Ilazelwood. and Grove. The New Bedford and Fairhaven bridge. which spans the harbor, cost $1,500,000, and is one of the features of the city.
New Bedford. once noted for its extensive whal ing interests, is now distinctively a manufactur ing centre, known particularly for the production of fine cotton goods and cotton yarns. Accord ing to the census of 1900, capital to the amount of $29,073,000 was invested in the various indus tries, which had an annual output valued at $25,682,000, $16,749,000 representing the value of cotton goods alone. The cotton mills in 1900 contained 1,369,380 spindles; the cotton cloth mills had 23,051 looms. There are also foundries and machine shops. oil manufactories, cordage works, carriage and wagon shops, paint works, lumber mills, etc. The trade of the city is siderable, the leading commodities being coal, of which 560,000 tons are received annually, cotton, lumber, fish, and general merchandise.
the revised charter of 1896, the govern ment is vested in a mayor, chosen annually; a bicameral council, the aldermen being elected on a general ticket; and administrative officers chosen as follows: Board of health, license com mission, and park commission, appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the board of aldermen: water board, fire department, and overseers of the poor, elected by the city council; school com mittee, chosen by popular vote. The water works are owned and operated by the municipal ity. The system, .which cost about $3,100.000, comprises two sources of supply, the first works having been built in 1865-69 and the new works in 1895-99. The original supply is held wholly for emergency purposes. There are now ninety nine miles of mains. New Bedford spends an nually in maintenance and operation over $1,000, 000. the principal expenditures being: for schools, $235,000; for interest on debt, $155,000; for the police department, $115,000; for the fire department. $80,000; for streets, $70,000; for hospitals. asylums, and other charitable insti tutions, $70,000; for lighting, $50,000. The as sessed valuation of property (real and personal) was (1902) $65,000,000; the bonded debt, $3,903,000. Population. 1790, 3313; 1850. 16,443; 1880. 26.845; 1S90, 40.733; 1900, 62.442, includ ing 25.529 persons of foreign birth and 1685 of negro descent..
New Bedford formed part of Dartmouth until 1787 and was not incorporated as a city until 1847. For many years, and especially between ISIS and 1857, it was a centre of the American whale-fishing industry. During the Revolution New Bedford sent out many privateers. and. from its convenient location, became the store house of captured prizes. On September 5. 1778, an English fleet of thirty-two vessels and an army under General Gray attacked the town. captured it, and reduced the greater part of it to ashes, the damage amounting to about $450. 000. Consult: Picket-ton, Tlistory of New Bed ford (New Bedford. 18581 : Centennial in NOW Bedford (New Bedford, 1S76).