Take a Look at Dartmouth, Fairhaven, and Mattapoisett
Take a Look at the beautiful coastal villages of Dartmouth, Fairhaven, and Mattapoisett, located directly to the East of Westport, Massachusetts.
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Dartmouth
Incorporated in 1664, the Town of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, has a heritage rich in American history. Purchased from the Wampanoag Indians in 1652 by the elders of the Plymouth Colony, the land was then sold in smaller parcels to Quakers and Baptists who were seeking to escape religious persecution. The historic village of Russell’s Mills, in South Dartmouth, at the head of the Slocum River, beside the Mill Pond, was the first settlement in the area that would eventually become Dartmouth. The first settlements (1600's) were prior to King Philip's War and the early settlers were members of the Russell family. They established the several small industries which eventually grew to eleven, including grain and lumber mills powered by water from the Slocum’s River. Wool production and shipbuilding also flourished, along with fishing and agriculture. Close to the Town Landing, Davoll's General Store was established along with a storage building to house goods delivered up the river by boat. The village continues to be home to Davoll's General Store, Salt Marsh Pottery & Village Gardens.
Padanaram Village, along the picturesque Apponagansett Harbor, inspires thoughts of a time when shipbuilding and related industries defined the growth of the village. The name of this charming old village fascinates people and puzzles most. One of many settlements which began popping up within the town of Old Dartmouth after its purchase from Wampanoag Indians in 1652, developed slowly until the mid 18th century, when the fine harbor on the Apponagansett River brought shipbuilding and its service industries to expand activities and population. It was during this period that the problem of a name for this growing community was solved. It had been called Ponagansett after the harbor in early records, but about 1800 a newcomer by the name of Laban Thatcher arrived from Cape Cod. He and his large family became involved in many projects, and Laban was soon a pillar of the community. He built a wharf, a shipyard, windmill, magnesia factory and had much success in property investment. Laban was well known for having established an elaborate salt works which was, unfortunately, a failure and became known as "Laban's Folly". It was Laban Thatcher who gave the name Padanaram to the village, apparently because he saw an analogy in his own life and fortunes to that of the biblical Laban who dwelt in Padan-Aram. The plain of Aram in northwest Mesopotamia was the home of the prolific Laban who prospered and sired a fine family of daughters, notably Leah and Rachel, wives of Jacob. The designation Padanaram was first used in a land contract in 1817.
Today, Dartmouth is home to the University of Massachusetts and the burgeoning North Dartmouth Mall and outlet stores, but it retains much of its early heritage in the architecture of many older homes and public buildings, as well as in the active farms and natural landscapes. Davoll’s General Store, still operates where it evolved in the 1700’s as a place to store goods delivered by boat to Russell’s Mills.
Fairhaven
The Town of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, is another small coastal community that is steeped in American history. The southern half of the land East of the Acushnet River that was purchased from the Wampanoag Indians in 1652 by the elders of the Plymouth Colony, the area had originally been used by the Indians as a summer encampment. They had called it "Sconticut" which meant "fair haven", thus the name we know it by today. Agriculture was the primary activity of early settlers, but when most of the farms were destroyed in King Philip’s War, many of the survivors came together in small communities and refocused their efforts on shipbuilding, whaling, and other maritime activities. The discovery of oil brought about the end of the whaling industry, and Fairhaven, once the second busiest whaling port in the country, suffered economic decline along with several of its coastal neighbors. An enterprising resident, Henry Huttleston Rogers, left New England to learn the oil business and, after achieving tremendous success, he came back to Fairhaven and rebuilt his community. The Town Hall, Public Library, High School, and numerous other buildings commissioned by Rogers comprise the state’s most impressive group of public buildings.
Today, Fairhaven continues to support a major fishing industry, and agriculture remains a factor in its economy, but an expansive development of shopping malls has made Fairhaven the retail center of choice for several of it’s coastal and rural neighbors. Additionally, with the peninsula of Sconticut Neck stretching well into Buzzards Bay, along with West Island, Fairhaven has for years been a favorite vacation resort area.
Mattapoisett
The resort Town of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, incorporated in 1857, is a beautiful coastal community gracing the edge of Buzzards Bay. A Summer resort from it’s earliest times, European colonists established camp sites where they could enjoy fishing and shellfishing, and could hunt water fowl and other game. The Indians, of course, preceded the colonists in their attraction to the area, and it is likely that early European explorers made use of the sheltered Mattapoisett Harbor. Year-round settlers came to the area around 1680, after King Philip’s War, establishing such enterprises as lumbering and tar and turpentine production. Shipbuilding came to the community around 1740, along with whaling and sea trade. Around that time, anyone not involved in one of the maritime industries either farmed or raised sheep. When the discovery of oil brought about the end of the whaling and shipbuilding industries, Mattapoisett once again became a resort destination, supplemented by its agricultural establishment. Magnificent, well-situated estates were built by its affluent Summer residents, thus Mattapoisett has never suffered the congestion experienced by many sea-side communities.
Today, Mattapoisett continues to attract a large Summer population, but it has also grown a bit, in recent years, as a bedroom community for professionals working in Boston and Providence.
About an hour’s drive, more or less, South of Boston and thirty to forty minutes or so East of Providence, the coastal communities of Dartmouth, Fairhaven, and Mattapoisett offer great serenity in their beautiful country settings and along their shorelines, with an abundance of ocean views and breezes, beach and waterfront areas, yet easy access to well established shopping and major highways.
For more information on buying or selling property in this area, please call us at (508) 636-7703, (508) 636-2222, or (401) 624-7070.
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