New Bedford Whaling

Rotch Counting House // c.1775

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Members of the Rotch family dominated Nantucket business and politics across three generations. The rise of this family was linked to the rise of the island as a whaling center. The well-connected family owned two of the three ships involved in the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. According to the Nantucket Historical Association, this warehouse and counting house building was in fact, built in 1775, not 1772, as erroneously stated on the wood plaque mounted on the outside of the building, for William Rotch, one of the pre-eminent figures in Nantucket’s whaling industry. The handsome brick building served as the Rotch Counting House. William Rotch subsequently moved his business to New Bedford. In 1861, the building was purchased by a group of former whaling masters who formed the organization known as the Pacific Club, and the building has been known by its eponymous name and is still owned by the members of the Pacific Club, who are invited into membership on a referral basis and are responsible for its maintenance.

Luce-Bates House // c.1790

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Captain Elisha Luce (1786-1850) was born in Massachusetts and from a young age, loved the sea. The son of Rowland Luce, Elisha spent his childhood in the family home (featured in the last post). Captain Luce moved into half of this double-house by 1813, right after his marriage to Jane Hiller, when he was 27 and she was 19. I don’t know many 27 year olds that could afford a house like this today! Captain Elisha E. Luce’s best known ship was the Persia, which made numerous profitable trade missions and whaling excursions from her home port of New Bedford. His wife, Jane died at the young age of 29, and he quickly remarried the next year to Lucretia Clark; they had three boys. In the other half of the home, Captain Noble Everett Bates who co-owned the schooner Marmion and went on his own voyages from his wharf in town. The home was locally known as the “Two Captains House”.

Captain Valentine Pease House // c.1830

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This charming little Greek Revival house has a lot of history, tied to literature and the whaling industry that shaped Edgartown in the 19th century. The home was built in around 1830 for Captain Valentine Pease (1797-1870), a master mariner and captain of the Acushnet, a prominent whaling vessel which often departed from New Bedford. In 1841, Captain Valentine Pease, his crew, and a 21-year-old Herman Melville shipped out of New Bedford 1841 for eighteen months as Melville’s only whaling voyage. Melville took part in the hunting and killing of whales and in harvesting and processing whale oil aboard ship. He endured gales and calm, experienced excitement and boredom, followed ship’s discipline, all the while absorbing the lore of the veteran seamen who made up the Acushnet’s diverse and colorful crew. It is speculated that Valentine Pease was an inspiration for the character of Captain Ahab in Melville’s book “Moby Dick”.

Capt. Sands House // c.1840

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Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard, became a primary whaling port in the early 19th century. Ships from all over the world would dock in its sheltered bay and captains would build grand mansions for their families on the tree lined streets, with sweeping views of the harbor. This modest whaling captain’s home was built around 1840 for Captain John Sands and his wife Eliza. John Sands worked as crew on various whaling ships based out of New Bedford, from the vessel Hector at age 22 before becoming a captain on the vessel Benjamin Tucker. Sands even brought his wife along on whaling ships, including a nearly four year excursion hunting for whale oil. The Sands home is the Greek Revival style with a gable front, six-over-six windows of varying sizes with flared lintels, and an off-center front door with sidelights and transom with an entablature above.