Located on the North coast of Buzzards Bay, Fairhaven shares the harbor with the major fishing city of New Bedford. Perhaps half the New Bedford fleet is from Fairhaven as it likely was during the heyday of whaling. On the East side of Fairhaven lies Nasketucket Bay and Little Bay. A causeway joins West Island to the mainland of Sconticut Neck. Fairhaven is located along Route I-195, between Providence, RI, and Cape Cod. See a video by Alan Hemenway of Fort Phoenix and the Fairhaven, MA – New Bedford Harbor.
The area was first settled by the American Indians, then the Pilgrims. The American Revolution brought warfare and the first American naval battle in 1775. The British attacked and torched part of the town in 1778. The population of the town is about 17,000. Joshua Slocum rebuilt the sloop SPRAY and sailed it around the world.
Fort Phoenix provided the eastern defenses of the harbor. During the American Revolution, British troops attacked the town. It was named Phoenix to honor its rebirth.
Plaque at Fort Phoenix. The first naval battle of the war took place nearby in 1775. The fort was enlarged before the War of 1812, and helped repel an attack on the harbor by British forces. It was decommissioned in 1876.
Eight 24-pound cannon were installed at the beginning of the civil war, five of which remain at the fort today.
Two cannon looking out over the outer harbor, past the hurricane barrier.
The New Bedford Hurricane Protection Barrier lies across the New Bedford and Fairhaven Harbor protecting about 1,400 acres.
Lobster boat SEA BLITZ at Union Wharf
Lobster bait (salted herring) at Union Wharf
Lobster pots at Union Wharf
Little Bay at the foot of Edgewater Street
Kids going fishing in Little Bay for scup and tautog
Little Bay at the foot of Edgewater Street looking North
Little Bay at the foot of Edgewater Street looking South
Nasketucket Bay at the foot of Ocean View
Nasketucket Bay at the foot of Ocean View with lobsterboat LOOSE GOOSE
Nasketucket Bay with canoe at the foot of Ocean View
Nasketucket Bay and Saddle Rock
Nasketucket Bay and Saddle Rock
Red Rock Beach on West side of Sconticut Neck
Red Rock Beach on West side of Sconticut Neck
RedRockBeachHouseStilts.JPG
Houses on stilts along Red Rock Beach on West side of Sconticut Neck
Sunset over Earl’s Marina along the West Island Causeway
Sunset over Earl’s Marina along the West Island Causeway
Looking North along the West Island Causeway
Winter ice along the West Island Causeway
Hoppy’s Marina along the West Island Causeway
West Island Shore Ice
Winter ice along the West Island Causeway
Winter ice along West Island, Fairhaven, Massachusetts
Lobster trap on barrel of salted herring lobster bait to protect it from seagulls on Union Wharf in Fairhaven, Massachusetts
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