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Westport Historical
Footnotes An historical
tidbit archive of general interest to all Westporters. Sponsored by EverythingWestport.com Click
on photos to enlarge (if applicable.) |
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“Stove Boats, Shipwrecks and Cannibalism – the perils of 19th
century whaling.” Thursday, October 20, 2016
Photos |
EverythingWestport.com “Stove Boats, Shipwrecks and
Cannibalism” was the formal title of an October 20th
lecture by Westport Historical Society president Tony Connors on the perils
that faced local sailors who shipped out for long, hard voyages on Westport
whalers during the 19th century. The
catchy title referred to only a few of the many dangers faced by the captains
and crews of the whaleships that called Westport Point their home port, and
made their hometown known all over the world. Connors started out his talk with a historic
overview of the whaling industry, an important part of the local economy
between the years 1803 and 1879. Westport Point was ranked eighth among the
most successful whaling ports of that era, sending dozens of its ships around
the globe in search of whales; nearby New Bedford was the top-grossing home
port of the worldwide whaling industry, and quite a few Westport captains
skippered those whaleships. Westporters had been involved in small scale
whaling close to shore since colonial times, but got seriously involved in
the growing whaling industry as the 1800s got
underway. “The last (whaling) ship went out of Westport in 1879,” Connors
noted. |
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A glimpse into 20th century
rum-running in Westport. Wednesday, May 07,
2014 Westport’s Cukie Macomber shares a memory on the town’s rum-running
days.
Rumrunners included local fishermen, boat
owners and other local lawbreakers who transported whiskey and rum from large
ships anchored in Rum Row, an area outside territorial waters located 3 miles
from shore at first, but then increased to 11 miles. Small powerboats loaded
up the cargo and proceeded to rush to shore without meeting up with a Coast
Guard ship. Most of the locals’ small boats were faster than the Coast Guard
vessels so many, many of the rumrunners avoided arrest. I knew a pair of rumrunners, one of whom
became very famous. Charlie Travers was a young, intelligent man
who saw rum running as an opportunity to get rich. And he did. Charlie had a
boat called “Black Duck” built at Casey Boatyard. It was 50-feet long and
powered by two airplane engines.
Aircraft engines were made for high RPMs—perfect for a rum-running
vessel. Black Duck was capable of doing 30 knots
that was unheard of for a smallish boat. One night, “the Duck” entered Narragansett
Bay when it came upon a Coast Guard cutter moored to a bell buoy. The ship’s
searchlight illuminated Travers’ boat and her crew. After some crazy
maneuvering by Charlie’s helmsman, the Coast Guard opened fire with a machine
gun. The gunner had orders to shoot into the
stern of the Duck but instead got carried away and swept the pilothouse
killing a trio of crewmembers. When word got out, angry crowds protested
outside government buildings all over the United States. Their cry was that
the country’s military killed unarmed civilians. Investigations were launched and finally the
Secretary of the Treasury— who was also head of the Coast Guard— stated that the killings were
justified. Put out of the rum-running business by the tragedy at sea, Charlie
retired to his dairy farm where he helped many people survive the Great
Depression. I remember the Black Duck—the rum-runner powered by airplane
engines— retired to a special dock Charlie had built in the Westport River.
According to other sources, the Black Duck was retrofitted by the Coast Guard
into a patrol boat that scoped out rumrunners along the Westport coast.” Editor’s note: The Westport Historical Society had a
presentation on September 26, 2013 where a panel of four people monitored by
noted Westport author Dawn Tripp provided a fascinating glimpse into
rum-running in Westport during Prohibtion.
Above, left:
Westport Harbormaster, Richie Earle displays one of many unstamped liquor
bottles still containing its contents found in the Westport River from the
town’s early rum-running days. Right: Westport defacto historian
Cukie Macomber relates his story of the ‘Black Duck’ with Dawn Tripp. Photos: EverythingWestport.com. |
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Who
was Charlotte White?
Wednesday,
December 18, 2013 Presented by Tony Connors, President, Westport Historical Society. We see her name
on the street sign in the center of Westport: Charlotte White Road. She is
mentioned in local history books as a healer, a midwife, a poet. But what do
we really know about Charlotte White? Let's start with
her name. The typical pronunciation of the name Charlotte is "Shar-lot" but there is a local oral tradition that
it was pronounced "Sha-lot-ee." How did Charlotte
herself pronounce her name? The first clue was found a few years ago when the
late Bill Wyatt, former president of the Historical Society, was researching
the 19th-century account books of the Westport physicians Eli and James
Handy. Bill found an entry for "Charlotty
White," a phonetic spelling of her name that indicates a three-syllable
pronunciation. The second clue
can be found in the town records regarding early poor relief in Westport.
Several town records from 1812-1813 refer to her as "Cholata"
White, which drops the "r" (as most locals from Massachusetts and
Rhode Island do) and flattens the final "e" to "ah," but
clearly shows the three-syllable form. Based on this evidence, it is most
likely she was called "Sha-lot-ah." Charlotte White
was born in 1774 or 1775, depending on the source. Her mother, Elizabeth
(David) White (1730-1827) was Native American — a Wampanoag, most likely from
Martha's Vineyard. Her father (whose dates are unknown) was a former slave
variously referred to as Zip, Sip, Zilpiah, or Zephriah. He apparently belonged at one time to the
Lawton family but was later owned by George White, the son of Elizabeth
Cadman White and William White, the original owners of the Cadman-White-Handy
House on Hixbridge Road. “Charlotte was
connected to Westport's well-known mariner, philanthropist, and black rights
advocate Paul Cuffe (1759-1817). They both had a
Wampanoag mother and an African father who had been a slave. Charlotte's
sister Jane married John Cuffe, Paul's brother.
There are also numerous links between Charlotte and the Wainer
family, who were in-laws and business partners of Paul Cuffe.” Tony Connors, WHS Elizabeth and Zip
married in 1765, while he was still a slave (he obtained his freedom on March
25, 1766), and had a house on what is now Charlotte White Road. In addition
to Charlotte, they had a daughter Jane. It appears that Charlotte did not
marry; she is listed in one census as a "colored maiden." In the Historical
Society collection is one poem by Charlotte White, but her poetry — at least
what we know of it — is not very original. For example, the lines
"Charlotte White is my name/ and New England is my nation./ Westport is my dwelling place/ and Heaven is my
salvation" are only a variation of a well-known form: "Anytown is my dwelling-place/ America is my nation/ John
Smith is my name/ And heaven my expectation." While this may
not be particularly good poetry, it does show that Charlotte had some degree
of education, and had an interest — and some skill — in language. Some Interesting Connections Charlotte was
connected to Westport's well-known mariner, philanthropist, and black rights
advocate Paul Cuffe (1759-1817). They both had a
Wampanoag mother and an African father who had been a slave. Charlotte's
sister Jane married John Cuffe, Paul's brother.
There are also numerous links between Charlotte and the Wainer
family, who were in-laws and business partners of Paul Cuffe. A recently
unearthed newspaper article from the 1940s links Charlotte to another
noteworthy Westport native, Perry Davis. Davis (1791-1862) had a hard-luck
life. He was badly hurt falling off a roof at age 14. The business he had
established in Fall River was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1843, and a
later explosion left him badly burned. But he eventually achieved great
success as the manufacturer of Perry Davis Pain Killer, one of the best-selling
patent medicines of the 19th century. The success was largely due to his
secret formula of vegetable extracts, alcohol, and opium. In the newspaper
article, Elizabeth Manchester of the Manchester Store in Adamsville related a
story her father told her of Perry Davis shopping in the store. Charlotte
White — "one of the store's best customers" — concocted a mixture
of food coloring, herbs and rum "which she sold to the temperance people
of Westport and Adamsville as a medicine." (A Temperance pledge meant
total abstinence from alcohol, but "medicine" was okay.) Charlotte bought
the rum at the Adamsville store. On his rounds selling peppermint and spices
around Westport, On The Town 'Payroll' Town financial
records indicate that Charlotte White was involved in poor relief before the
almshouse was established in 1824. The records reveal that "Cholata White" was paid for keeping Amy Jeffrey in
1812. The following year she received $34.24 for keeping Jeffrey, plus an
additional $13.43 "to Cholata White's account,"
presumably for other poor relief. In 1816,
Charlotte was reimbursed for keeping Henry Pero, a black child, two weeks and
two days old, and also received $2.86 for making clothes for him. (Henry Pero
was later cared for by Mary Wainer, Paul Cuffe's niece.) In 1818 and 1819,
Charlotte took in both Deborah Pero and her young son. In a remarkable entry
in the town records for 1818, she was paid for "keeping Nursing and
doctoring" Deborah Pero for 14 weeks. The use of the term
"doctoring" in the official records gives credence to her
reputation as a healer. This isn't just
folklore: Charlotte White took in and treated poor or troubled people, before
the almshouse was established, and was reimbursed by the town. At least some
of the paupers she cared for were people of color. Unfortunately there is
nothing in the records about her role as a midwife. “A recently
unearthed newspaper article from the 1940s links Charlotte to another
noteworthy Westport native, Perry Davis. Davis (1791-1862) achieved great success
as the manufacturer of Perry Davis Pain Killer, one of the best-selling
patent medicines of the 19th century. The success was largely due to his
secret formula of vegetable extracts, alcohol, and opium. Perry Davis met
Charlotte White and tried her medicinal brew, and according to Mrs.
Manchester, this is where he got the idea for his famous pain-killer.” Tony Connors, WHS Mystery Photo There is no
definitive image of this elusive woman. In the Historical Society collection,
there is a photograph of a woman purported to be Charlotte White, driving an
oxcart. As much as we would like it to be her, it is unlikely. Charlotte
lived into the age of photography, but the telegraph pole in the background
of the photo suggests a date beyond her lifetime. Charlotte died on
June 17, 1861, at the age of 87, of "lung fever" (probably
pneumonia). She is buried with her parents in a private cemetery behind 165
Charlotte White Road, near the site of their former home. Charlotte White is
an intriguing character from 19th century Westport, with connections to
Native American and African American history, slavery, poor relief, folk
medicine, and midwifery. This is what we
know about her — certainly not enough — and I hope we can continue to fill
out her life story. If you have any information that adds to or corrects what
is presented here, please contact the Westport Historical Society at
508.636.6011 or by e-mail to: westporthistory@westporthistory.net. |
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‘Secession!
– July 22, 2012 In the 1920s, the Westport Harbor
section (of Westport, MA) made two serious attempts to separate from the rest
of the town, and to form a new town called Acoaxet. Presented by Tony Connors, President, Westport Historical Society. Editor’s note – There have been many
secession attempts after the Civil War. Since the election of President Obama the White House website reveals that there are
currently over
40 petitions (states) that have requested the secession of their state
from the Union. However, these petitions are not made by the State
Governments of each state, but of those who are John Doe Citizens of that
state. More than 750,000 Americans have
petitioned the White House website to let their respective states secede,
from Alaska to Iowa to Maryland and Vermont. Those leading the charge are
framing it, observers say, in terms that suggest a deep-seated religious
impulse, for purity-through-separation is flaring up once again. Secession petitions are not a rare entity in America,
but Westport Harbor’s challenge was novel and entertaining to those of us
today who realize the only sure things in life are death and taxes!
Geography played a big part in this affair.
Back when Westport was part of Dartmouth, the land in question had been
claimed by Plymouth Colony, but Rhode Island’s 1663 royal charter specified
its eastern border as “three English
miles to the east and north-east of the most eastern and north-eastern parts
of Narragansett Bay.” Since no one could agree whether the Sakonnet River was
part of Narragansett Bay, both Massachusetts and Rhode Island contested the
border. In the 1740s Rhode Island appealed to the king – and the king agreed.
The newly drawn line separating the two colonies ran through Adamsville and
straight to the sea, isolating a part of Dartmouth from Little Compton and
Tiverton, and resulting in the odd fact that Acoaxet could only be reached by
going through Rhode Island. Although the state borders were again revised in
1861, well after Westport had separated from Dartmouth, the geographical
peculiarity remained. Westport Harbor developed in the late 19th
century as a summer colony. By 1920, when Westport’s population exceeded
3,000, the Harbor could claim only 127 year-round residents and 33 registered
voters, although the Harbor population more than doubled in the summer, as
wealthy Fall River families filled the hotels and seaside cottages. The best
known of the summer residents was Earl P. Charlton who had made a fortune by merging
his “five and dime” stores with the F. W. Woolworth chain. Charlton’s Pond
Meadow – still an elegant mansion at the mouth of the Westport River –
generated more tax revenue than the Westport Manufacturing Company, the
largest employer in town. Charlton and a number of other Harbor residents
felt that they were paying too much in taxes for the paltry town services
they received. In January 1919, asserting inadequate police protection and
poor roads – and after their requests for tax abatements were denied – a
group of Harbor residents appealed to the state Legislature to separate from
Westport and form a new town called Acoaxet. The disruptive times of 1919 probably added
to the dissatisfaction of the petitioners. World War One had just ended (with
15 million deaths worldwide), and now an influenza epidemic was raging – and
would eventually claim 100 million casualties. The divisive issues of
Prohibition and women’s suffrage were also decided in 1919. The world, it
seemed, had turned upside down. The Harbor’s secession petition was heard
by a state legislative committee in Boston. One important witness was
District Court Judge James M. Morton Jr., a summer resident of Acoaxet, who
testified that Harbor taxpayers were exploited by the town and that having to
pass through Rhode Island posed problems of legality for the police. The
Harbor petitioners estimated that over the past ten years they had paid
$70,000 in taxes but received only $20,000 in services. The one-room Acoaxet
schoolhouse (with 13 students) was woefully inadequate. While this was going
on, the rest of Westport had their say: every section of town complained
about taxes and anyway it was the state that demanded higher property
assessments, mostly on waterfront property. Furthermore, the Harbor was
simply too under-populated to be a legitimate town. As for the school, Acoaxet’s was no worse than the others: the School
committee reported that they were all deplorable. At a special town meeting
in January 1919, the vote was 139 to zero to oppose the secession. But the
state committee let the matter rest and Westport Harbor remained in Westport.
In January 1926, the Acoaxet petitioners
again brought their request to the state Legislature. Coincidently, two
secession petitions in Dartmouth – one group wanted to form a new town, and
another wanted to join New Bedford – were also being considered by the
Legislature. In Westport Harbor the grievances were essentially the same as
they had been seven years before: inadequate roads, school, and police protection;
physically separated from the rest of Westport; and a disproportionate share
of town taxes. As the petitioners’ attorney John W. Cummings put it:
“Westport looks upon Acoaxet as Rome looked upon her provinces, as a source
of revenue.” Westport’s attorney, Arthur E. Seagrave,
rose to the challenge. Any town might have a section that pays more in taxes;
in fact, Massachusetts and New York could secede from the Union for paying
more taxes than poorer states. “This is false logic and one charged with dynamite.”
He conceded that Acoaxet did not get its share of poor relief, because no one
there was on poor relief, or as much in school expenditures, because they had
only three percent of the total school population. Therefore it stood to
reason Harbor would not get back all that it put in. Furthermore, separation would leave
Westport with more than its share of public debt: the town tax rate would
climb to $40 per thousand, while Acoaxet’s would
drop to $10. Attorney Seagrave concluded with an appeal for Harbor residents
to “Remember that Acoaxet was a part of Westport when Acoaxet was a howling
wilderness … and other portions of Westport made their sacrifices to provide
roads and a school for this meager settlement.” Now, automobiles have changed
all that and a newly affluent Acoaxet would “leave her old parent with heavy
burdens to bear.” While the issues were being hashed out at
the state level, Westport held a special town meeting on March 9. Over 300
citizens attended – the largest number ever seen. The focus was on taxes. As
Dr. Breault put it, “Taxation is a worldwide
problem. There isn’t a city, a town, or a hamlet throughout the length and
breadth of this land that hasn’t its problems. Acoaxet has its grievances. So
have South Westport and Central Village and every other section of the town.
There is no spot on earth where the question of taxation is not a problem.”
Added to the dispute over tax fairness was an
underlying resentment that had carried over from the World War. It was
exemplified in a poem by Bill Potter, which he read at the town meeting. It
went, in part: The boys received a dollar a day While it did represent the feelings of many
of the town meeting participants, the poem did little to raise the level of
the argument. However, it was not up to town meeting to decide: all waited to
hear the decision of the legislative committee in Boston, which met on April
1. Again Judge Morton and Richard Hawes spoke eloquently for separation, but
the committee reported unanimously against the separation of Acoaxet from
Westport. The ostensible reason was that Acoaxet would have too few voters to
operate as a separate town. There may also have been a general aversion to
breaking up established towns: the two separation petitions in Dartmouth were
also denied. The matter quickly faded from town records
(although perhaps more slowly from the minds of the participants). Soon
enough there were other pressing issues to worry about: Prohibition and
rum-running, the Great Depression, the devastating hurricane of1938, and
World War II. Almost a century later, how should we look
at the attempted secession – as a historical curiosity, or as an event that
might have some relevance today? Certainly it reminds us that Westport has a
long history of village loyalty that is both part of its charm and a
potential source of friction. The end result of the 1920s dispute is that For more information about this article
contact Jenny O'Neill, Director at the Westport Historical Society, PO Box
N188, Westport MA 02790; call 508.636.6011; or email westporthistory@westporthistory.net. Visit their website, or
like them on facebook. Photos courtesy of Westport Historical Society |
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Westport Historical
Society releases Handy House Cookbook. October 4, 2011 - The Handy House Cookbook is ready just in time for holiday giving.
Published by the Westport Historical Society, this book honors Eleanor Tripp,
Westport’s unofficial historian and the last resident of the Handy House. All
proceeds from the sale of this special cookbook will support the restoration
and preservation of the Handy House by the Westport Historical Society.
Besides
researching Westport's history, Eleanor, who loved to cook, collected a vast
number of recipes. This book includes over 200 of her tasty recipes, along
with a dedication to Mrs. Tripp and a little taste of Handy House history.
The Handy House is a unique architectural time capsule that embodies the
first three principal architectural trends to occur in this nation’s history,
as well as representing the story of everyday life in Westport over the
course of three centuries. Norma
Judson, who has spent many hours selecting recipes for the cookbook,
described Eleanor as the “Queen of Flour.” The fragrance of baking bread and
simple dishes were always wafting from the Handy House. She loved to cook
simple, basic recipes. Her kitchen was primitive and she often used her
fireplaces and she shunned microwaves. The baker
will find recipes for over a dozen varieties of yeast breads (some with a
Swedish flavor, reflecting Eleanor's Scandinavian origins), plus quick
breads, muffins, cookies and cakes. Locavores will appreciate Eleanor's
emphasis on local vegetables, seafood and good soups. They will find close to
20 veggie dishes and almost as many soups. Remember the casserole? Some of
these main dish favorites are revived here.
Designed by
Geraldine Millham, the cookbook also includes many
photographs of the historic Handy House, as well as information about the
significance of the property. The Handy
House Cookbook is available for purchase ($19.95 plus tax) at Partners, Lees
Market, and the Westport Historical Society. More information including an
order form is available at www.westporthistory.com or by calling 508 636
6011. The Handy House Cookbook is funded by the Westport Cultural Council
through a grant from the Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust administered by Bank
of America.
+enlarge Photos courtesy of
Westport Historical Society |
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Westport’s
oldest weekly newspaper revealed in Historical Society find.
- June 28, 2010 The
1896 weekly newspaper shown in the photo below may be an ancient ancestor to
today’s Westport weeklies - Westport Shorelines and Dartmouth/Westport
Chronicle. The only known copy of the Westport
News is in the archives of the Westport Historical Society. “We
don’t know much about the Westport News,” said WHS Director Jenny O’Neill.
“If anyone out there has additional copies or more information about the
company “The
weekly paper appears to have been first published in the fall of 1895, and
there is no knowledge of when it ceased operation.” O’Neill said. +enlarge The
format of the weekly suggests that many versions of the same paper were
published with the names of different towns printed in the front page blank
header space. A
form of this concept is still used today in a slightly more sophisticated way
by the East Bay Newspaper group which includes Westport Shorelines and
Sakonnet Times with other Rhode Island weeklies (Barrington, Bristol, Warren,
Portsmouth, Little Compton, Tiverton, and Westport) which share stories and
advertisements, with a smattering of local interest stories and news in each variant. A
consolidation of resources (reporters, photographers, print facilities, and
advertisers) made this concept financially viable while still reaching out to
smaller markets. The
editors also wrote articles about local businesses, probably hoping for their
advertising dollars much the same as they do today, As
with all weekly newspapers, the internet poses a formidable threat through
reduced advertising revenue, and may bring an end to this folksy print
media. Other area
newspapers of the time. The
Standard-Times was formed from the 1934 merger of The New Bedford Standard
and The New Bedford Times. The Standard had been in operation since +enlarge Three
Fall River newspapers combined in 1892 to form The Herald News: the Fall River
News, which dated from 1845; the Fall River Daily Herald, 1872, and the Fall
River Daily Globe, 1885. Fall River Herald
07/11/2010 – Westport Historical
Society finds old newspaper, seeks information on its origin. The Historical Society
has discovered an old weekly newspaper from 1896 called Westport News but
can’t find any other information, like who published the paper and for how
long. “I’ve never heard of it until we just happened upon it,” said Jenny O’Neill, the Historical Society director. Click here to read more from Herald article. Photos by
EverythingWestport.com |
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Life Saving Station’s lantern returns home. - December 12, 2009
Mr. James Panos of Westport donated to the Westport Historical
Society the brass oil lantern (once converted to electric but now restored)
that was given to him by Henry
Brown of Rhode Island, an avid collector of antiques. Brown found two
lanterns in a Maine barn. In a chance meeting with Panos at a conservation
group get-together, the two struck up a conversation and the rest is history.
Brown authenticated that it was indeed an original lantern that hung in Life
Saving Station No. 69. The lantern is on loan to the Life Saving Station Museum by the
Westport Historical Society. Photo by
EverythingWestport.com |
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Billy
Albanese of Albanese Monuments at 303
State Road in Westport recently applied some good old fashioned elbow grease
with a stiff-bristled brush and water to restore the patina to the Captain Paul Cuffe granite monument
near the Friends’ Meeting House at 930 Main Road in Central Village. “You
can’t power-wash or steam-clean these old stones,” Albanese said. “That could
damage the surface.” The
monument was cleaned in preparation for Cuffe’s
250th birthday celebration this June. “I used a mild acid to kill the
lichens, moss, and other green things growing on the surface,” Albanese said.
“Just scrubbing off that growth without the acid would allow it to grow back
in four to five years.” Albanese
pointed out that you shouldn’t attempt to clean a memorial stone yourself as
its surfaces are porous, and the wrong cleaners can severely stain the stone.
“Even the mild acid I used could damage the stone if not properly handled,”
he said. Want to clean your beloved’s monument yourself? “Water, a stiff-bristled brush (no metal
please) and lots of elbow grease,” Albanese advised. According
to the Westport Historical Society, the Cuffe monument was dedicated June 15,
1913. Photo by
EverythingWestport.com |
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This
traditional-style federal house was the site of the first Town Meeting in
Westport after the town legally separated from Old Dartmouth in 1787, just
three years after the birth of our new nation. At the time it was the William
Gifford property. An 1850 Westport map shows it later belonged to Richard
Gifford. Located at 1074 Main Road, it was demolished in 2002 and is now a
field. The
photo to the left is the last known for this property (circa 2001). According
to the Westport Historical Commission, while the new Town House was being
built where the St. John’s Church Parish Hall on Main Road now exists,
additional meetings were held in the old Mary Hick's Tavern on the southwest
corner of Hix Bridge. Photo
by EverythingWestport.com |
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First
European built house in Westport: the Waite-Potter House - February 15, 2009 Your
first on-site visit to the Waite-Potter restoration site will be
monumental. The remains of the original homestead are much more than the
small chimney you’d imagined. It is the entire west wall of the house! An enormous
structure of field and quarried stone, and mortar. It’s a true memorial to
the 1670’s house that may be Westport’s earliest known European-built
structure. Read
the article with photos on the Waite-Potter restoration now! The Waite-Potter house was mostly destroyed by
Hurricane Carol in 1954. The Waite-Potter site is on private property.
Please respect the owner’s privacy. Photo on
left by EverythingWestport.com
Photo on right courtesy of Muriel
(Potter) Bibeau. |
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Historical Westport Grange stage curtain revealed! - December 15,
2008 This
past summer, Westport Grange No. 181 took a wonderful old theater curtain out
of “moth balls” and displayed it on stage during the Farmers’ Market and most
recently at its Christmas Fair. The curtain had been stored vertically flat,
high in an eave pocket, accounting for its pristine condition. But
this is no ordinary stage curtain. During the great depression granges, like
everyone else, were suffering financially. The stage curtain provided an
advertising medium to help generate needed funds to support the grange’s
activities. The ads give us a historical perspective of Westport businesses
in the 1930s. The
blank curtain backdrop was originally painted by A.H. Chappell in 1931. We
have no information at present about Chappell. It is thought, but not known,
that the first ads were painted at the same time. New ads (the ones in white)
were painted over the old ads by Sam Hadfield (Marie Hadfield’s husband) in
1951. Cukie Macomber recalls the advertised companies. Photo by
EverythingWestport.com |
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Photo courtesy of Barbara Hart of Westport |
The Head of Westport flooded by Hurricane Carol in 1954 - October 15, 2008 Westport
is now being threatened with a host of fall storms starting with Hurricane
Hannah, and followed by her evil siblings Ike and others. The building now
housing Osprey Sea Kayak and the old Head Garage now owned by Dan Tripp are
shown in the photo’s center. The building to the right is long gone. |
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Photo courtesy of the Westport Historical Society |
J.
M. Shorrock & Co. general store at the Head of Westport – August 17, 2008 Originally
the country store of Charles A. Gifford built in 1889, and last owned by
Joseph Shorrock prior to 1900, Shorrocks
was believed to have been torn down in the 1930’s, and rebuilt to the current
concrete block structure found there today. This location is the new home of The Head Town Landing Country Store. Ron
and Sue Meunier of New Bedford ran the R&S
Variety head store for 31 years, and retired in August, 2008. Rory and
Kathy Courturier of Westport are the new proprietors. Read the story
of the new Head store now! |
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Photo courtesy of the Westport Historical Society |
The
Hurricane of ’54! – July 18, 2008 Rescue
at the Point – 1954 hurricane. Laura’s
restaurant is seen in the background floating away! “I
was back at the Beach early that morning.
The East Beach was utter desolation.
Not a building the whole mile length of it. The West Beach was a drunken man’s
nightmare - houses toppled about in all stages of wreckage. We from the West
Beach thought we had a harrowing night.
But we had the safety of the dunes.
For those on the East Beach there had been no retreat. The Let engulfed them - men, women and
children.” – Unknown author. |
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Photo by EverythingWestport.com |
The
Wolf Pit School restoration - June
15, 2008 In
May of 2005 the Community Preservation Committee won approval at Town Meeting
to restore the Wolf Pit School (also called the Little School), the last
remaining one-room schoolhouse in Westport. This remarkable achievement was
only surpassed by the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Hopkinson (pictured
left) and their children, the owners. It is the “best and last of our public
buildings from the 19th century”. Read
the whole story about the restoration. View photos now! 183 photos | Dial-up speed | Broadband/DSL speed | |
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Photo by EverythingWestport.com |
We’ll
keep the light on! - April
29, 2008 The
light bulb pictured left, 4 ¼ inches tall, was the first light bulb to be
installed at the Acheson farm at 1 Old Horseneck Road circa 1922 when
electricity first came to Westport. It was installed in the house’s front
entrance and remained there in use until 1989. It was donated to the Westport
Historical Society in March of 2008 by Elizabeth Acheson. The bulb is a
General Electric National Mazda, wattage unknown, but probably 25 watt, 115
volt. It has a filament of six loops. On
December 21, 1909, General Electric first used the name Mazda on their lamps.
The name was trademarked, and assigned the number 77,779 by the United States
Patent and Trademark Office. Today, we associate the name with automobiles,
but when it was first used by GE it was chosen to represent the best that the
American lighting industry had to offer at the time, and was selected due to
the fact that Persian mythology gave the name Ahura Mazda to the god of
light. The
genius of today’s light bulbs is not in their shape or size, but in their
light-producing core. The first light bulbs used carbon rods to conduct
electricity. They produced inconsistent light output and were short-burning.
In 1879 Thomas Edison used carbonized bamboo for the filament, resulting in a
bulb that was cheaper, more muted, and longer-lasting. Output consistency was
still a problem, however. The
General Electric Company, in 1906 was the first to patent a method of making
tungsten filaments for use in incandescent light bulbs. Click on the image to enlarge. |
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Photos by EverythingWestport.com |
Westport
River Herring Dam – March 31, 2008 In a recent conversation with Staff Hart, Westport Landing
Commissioner, EverythingWestport.com
came to learn about the “herring
dam” on the East Branch. What’s this, another dam on the Westport
River? “When we were kids,” Mr. Hart said, “we used to walk out on the rock
dam and string our nets behind one of the dam’s two sluices to catch the
herring. The dam has been there for as long as I can remember.” Mr. Hart is referring to the loosely-built, fieldstone dam built
across the Westport River about 75 yards north of Old County Road. Quentin
Sullivan was kind enough to allow us to walk across his property to view the
dam. “The heavy rains would knock over some of the rocks, but we
would put them back up again,” Mr. Hart said. “We caught a lot of herring
back then,” he said. “We would walk out on the rocks and cast our nets on the
waters!” Westport has several well-known herring runs, including River
Run off of Acoaxet off River Road, and the Albert Rosinha Herring Run at
Adamsville Pond. “Herring were plentiful years ago,” Mr. Hart said. The
Alewife (herring) were responsible for the final
approvals by the State of Rhode Island in 2007 in permitting the dredging of
Adamsville Pond by Ralph Guild. “If the alewife weren’t there, the pond would
not have been dredged,” Mr. Guild said. Left: The
“herring dam” washed over by heavy spring rains. Click on photos to enlarge. |
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