New Bedford Port Society

During the years 1828 - 1829 when the whaling industry of New Bedford was at its height, a number of the city's leading citizens gave their deep consideration to the "character building" of nearly five thousand seamen employed out of this port. Accordingly, on June 2, 1830 they organized under the title of the New Bedford Port Society, for the moral improvement of seamen and later became incorporated under the following act: An Act To Incorporate The New Bedford Port Society For The Moral Improvement Of Seamen.

The New Bedford Port Society maintains the Seamen’s Bethel and Mariners’ Home. Located on top of Johnny Cake Hill, the Seamen’s Bethel is the “Whalemen’s Chapel” of the epic novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Inside, historic tablets or cenotaphs, chronicle the sacrifices of the maritime community, listing the names of those mariners lost at sea. Open to the public year-round, the building is still used by the community as a venue for weddings, funerals, memorials, and other religious activities. Due to its association for one hundred and sixty-nine years with New Bedford whalemen and other sailors that “Go Down to the Sea in Ships”, it has become known in the ports of every ocean on the globe.

The Mariners’ Home, formerly the mansion of William Rotch Jr. was presented to the Port Society in 1851. The building was moved to Johnny Cake Hill, just north of the Bethel where it now stands. The Port Society has continually rendered aid to the spiritual and moral needs of seaman and their families. Though not open to the public, it is still used as an overnight haven for fishermen and merchant mariners.

For more information contact:
New Bedford Port Society
15 Johnny Cake Hill
New Bedford, MA 02741
(508) 992-3295