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Photograph of Whitman Mills
Photograph by Marcbela, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Whitman Mills

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“The Whitman Mills are a historic mill complex on the banks of the Acushnet River north of central New Bedford, Massachusetts. The mill yard is bounded by Riverside Street, Manomnet Street, Coffin Street, and the river.”

Wikipedia article Whitman Mills, CC BY-SA 4.0.

one of 272 National Register listings in Bristol County · listed in 2003 · category: District · one of 8 National Historic Landmarks in Bristol County.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

Fires near this property

30 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 30 fires within 5 miles of Whitman Mills between 2015 and 2020, burning about 20 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Debris and open burning8
Recreation and ceremony3
Smoking2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
22 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 August 2016Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 August 2020Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
11 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 July 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMATTAPOISETT
4 June 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 May 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Bristol County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 2,161 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 2,161 specimens collected within 10 miles of Whitman Mills between 1824 and 1975: 836 Animalia, 638 Plantae, 575 Fungi, 85 Chromista, 23 Bacteria, 4 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Gridley, A. Clark, A. F. Faull and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
A photograph of the species Gamochaeta purpurea, not of this specimenGamochaeta purpurea (L.) Cabrera1824T. A. Greene
A photograph of the species Lythrum salicaria, not of this specimenLythrum salicaria L.1831T. A. Greene
A photograph of the species Mentha aquatica, not of this specimenMentha aquatica L.1831Collector unknownNew Bedford. [Inferred county from precise loc.]
A photograph of the species Trypethelium virens, not of this specimenTrypethelium virens Tuck.1848ex herb. OakesNew Bedford.
A photograph of the species Ranunculus bulbosus, not of this specimenRanunculus bulbosus L.1850not recorded
A photograph of the species Vitis labrusca, not of this specimenVitis labrusca L.1850not recorded
A photograph of the species Endocarpon pusillum, not of this specimenEndocarpon pusillum Hedw.1858H. WilleyFort Phoenix. Fairhaven.
A photograph of the species Menegazzia terebrata, not of this specimenMenegazzia terebrata (Hoffm.) A.Massal.1860H. WilleyNew Bedford
A photograph of the species Scolopax minor, not of this specimenScolopax minor J.F.Gmelin, 17891860Alan PooleWestport
A photograph of the species Abrothallus parmeliarum, not of this specimenAbrothallus parmeliarum (Sommerf.) Nyl., 18691862Willey H.Weymouth, New Bedford
A photograph of the species Agyrium rufum, not of this specimenAgyrium rufum (Pers.) Fr.1862Willey HenryNew Bedford
A photograph of the species Anaptychia palmatula, not of this specimenAnaptychia palmatula (Michx.) Vain., 18991862H. WilleyNew Bedford.

All 2,161 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Whitman Mills: 1 unknown, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Acushnet QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
Blue Stone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Bristol County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

14,779 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) x A Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. _ B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. x C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. - D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: -A owned by religious institution or used for religious purposes. _ B removed from its original location. _C a birthplace or grave. _ D a cemetery. -E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. _F a commemorative property. - G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years.

Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) _Bristol, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) Architecture Community Planning and Development Period of Significance 1895-1933 Significant Dates 1896 1902 1910 1917 and 1923 Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) Cultural Affiliation Architect/Builder Charles Makepeace, Frank J. Leary and FrankA. Walker, architects/ Benj. F. Smith, builder 2.

The whole case file for this property - 14,779 words, 63 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 03000844, 63 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Hotel Waverly0.7 miles1990
Oxford School0.9 miles2023
Union Street Railway Carbarn, Repair Shop1.1 miles1978
Smith, Bradford, Building1.1 miles1984
Dawson Building1.2 miles1982
Shawmut Diner1.5 miles2003

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 03000844 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Bristol CountyAll 272 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.