1711, December 11: Arthur Hathaway, one of the first settlers of the Dartmouth territory and a son-in-law of Mayflower passenger John Cooke, dies.
1713/14, March 25: John Jenney deeds land to “the people of God called Presbyterians” for a burial ground next to the meetinghouse at the village of Acushnet.
1720, December 18: Lt. Jonathan Delano dies in his seventy-third year. He is buried at Acushnet Cemetery. His descendants include President Ulysses S. Grant, Laura Ingalls Wilder, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and astronaut Alan Shepard Jr.
1724: A road is laid out from Susannah Hathaway’s orchard to the vicinity of Lt. Seth Pope’s house. It will be known as the Back Road and Head-of-the-River Road before getting the name Alden Road.
1727, March 17: Lt. Seth Pope dies at the age of 79. A prominent land holder, Pope owned about 300 acres at Sconticut Neck, a grist mill, a saw mill, two sloops, and 400 acres at Perry Hill in Acushnet. He was also one of the earliest purchasers in Sippican. He was elected Selectman eight times between 1685 and 1705. He is buried at Acushnet Cemetery.
1720, December 18: Lt. Jonathan Delano dies in his seventy-third year. He is buried at Acushnet Cemetery. His descendants include President Ulysses S. Grant, Laura Ingalls Wilder, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and astronaut Alan Shepard Jr.
1724: A road is laid out from Susannah Hathaway’s orchard to the vicinity of Lt. Seth Pope’s house. It will be known as the Back Road and Head-of-the-River Road before getting the name Alden Road.
1727, March 17: Lt. Seth Pope dies at the age of 79. A prominent land holder, Pope owned about 300 acres at Sconticut Neck, a grist mill, a saw mill, two sloops, and 400 acres at Perry Hill in Acushnet. He was also one of the earliest purchasers in Sippican. He was elected Selectman eight times between 1685 and 1705. He is buried at Acushnet Cemetery.
1727, April 19: John Jenney dies. He had served as the Surveyor of Highways, a constable and a member of the Grand Jury. He deeded the land next to the meetinghouse in the village of Acushnet for use as a burial ground.
1728, February 25: A road is laid out from Susannah Hathaway’s orchard southward along what is now northern Main Street and Adams Street to about Spring Street.
1730, March 26: Stephen West deeds the south half of West Island to his son Stephen Jr.
1728, February 25: A road is laid out from Susannah Hathaway’s orchard southward along what is now northern Main Street and Adams Street to about Spring Street.
1730, March 26: Stephen West deeds the south half of West Island to his son Stephen Jr.
1730, March 31: A road is laid out into Sconticut Neck "beginning at the gate to the lane east of Capt. Pope."
1730: Jethro Delano acquires a parcel of land on Sconticut Neck from Elnathan and Lemuel Pope, and an adjacent property from Seth Pope.
1730, November 11: Capt. Thomas Taber dies. Taber had been a son-in-law of John Cooke, a prominent land owner, a militia captain, and a selectman. Shortly after the King Philip War he built a “stone ender” house, of which part of the huge fireplace still stands alongside the house at 191 Main Street.
1731/32, March 7: Stephen West deeds the north half of West Island to his son John.
1730, November 11: Capt. Thomas Taber dies. Taber had been a son-in-law of John Cooke, a prominent land owner, a militia captain, and a selectman. Shortly after the King Philip War he built a “stone ender” house, of which part of the huge fireplace still stands alongside the house at 191 Main Street.
1731/32, March 7: Stephen West deeds the north half of West Island to his son John.
1732: Robert Bennett sells a parcel of land on Sconticut Neck to Jethro Delano, abutting property Delano already owns.
1740: William Wood, a glazier originally from Little Compton, buys the south half of Capt. Thomas Taber’s homestead from Taber’s son Philip. About two year later his house, now numbered 191 Main Street would be built.
1747, June 22: Capt. Nathaniel Pope is born to Col. Seth and Abigail (Church) Pope. He and Daniel Egery will command the village militia that engages in the first naval battle of the American Revolution in May of 1775.
1760, October 20: Elnathan Pope sells twenty waterfront acres of his farm to Noah Allen and thirteen other investors for £333.6.8. Divided into 40 lots, the “Twenty-Acre Purchase” develops into Fairhaven Village.
1760, December 12: William Wood sells Elnathan Eldredge 6 acres of land on the Acushnet River west of present-day Cherry Street for £96.6.8. This “little town at ye foot of William Wood’s homestead,” with its thirty lots, becomes the nucleus of Oxford Village. The deed for this sale contains the first known reference to "ye Burial Place" at Oxford, located east of Cherry Street.
1740: William Wood, a glazier originally from Little Compton, buys the south half of Capt. Thomas Taber’s homestead from Taber’s son Philip. About two year later his house, now numbered 191 Main Street would be built.
1742: Jethro Delano greatly increases the size of his Sconticut Neck farm by purchasing a large parcel from William Kempton.
1746/47, January 1: Joshua Delano is born to Jethro and Elizabeth (Pope) Delano.
1747, June 22: Capt. Nathaniel Pope is born to Col. Seth and Abigail (Church) Pope. He and Daniel Egery will command the village militia that engages in the first naval battle of the American Revolution in May of 1775.
1760, October 20: Elnathan Pope sells twenty waterfront acres of his farm to Noah Allen and thirteen other investors for £333.6.8. Divided into 40 lots, the “Twenty-Acre Purchase” develops into Fairhaven Village.
1760, December 12: William Wood sells Elnathan Eldredge 6 acres of land on the Acushnet River west of present-day Cherry Street for £96.6.8. This “little town at ye foot of William Wood’s homestead,” with its thirty lots, becomes the nucleus of Oxford Village. The deed for this sale contains the first known reference to "ye Burial Place" at Oxford, located east of Cherry Street.
1763: The oldest part of Old South Wharf is build by Gamaliel Church, who operates a public house on the opposite side of Water Street.
1765: The census records in the Town of Dartmouth, Houses, 679/ Families, 790/ Total Population, 4581.
1765, May 30: Elnathan Pope sells whaling merchant Joseph Rotch about 86 acres of farmland directly east of Fairhaven Village. The Rotch family will keep this land off the market for about 65 years.
1765: The census records in the Town of Dartmouth, Houses, 679/ Families, 790/ Total Population, 4581.
1765, May 30: Elnathan Pope sells whaling merchant Joseph Rotch about 86 acres of farmland directly east of Fairhaven Village. The Rotch family will keep this land off the market for about 65 years.
1768: Ship owner and merchant Henry Huttleston is born to Peleg and Tabitha (Crowel) Huttlestone. He is the maternal grandfather of Henry H. Rogers and Huttleston Avenue is named after him.
1769, January 11: Ruby Eldredge marries Stephen Merrihew. They are the great-grandparents of Henry H. Rogers. About that time their house was built on the southwest corner of Lot 2 of the "Twenty-Acre Purchase," owned by Ruby's father Isiah Eldredge. The house is now number 39 Middle Street.
1771: Census records show that eleven slaves live in Dartmouth, owned by eight people, including George Hitch who lives at 15 Middle Street in Fairhaven Village.
1771, February 9: Lt. Caleb Church dies of smallpox and becomes the first person interred at the burial ground that will later be known as the “Railroad Cemetery,” Willow Park, and Leonard E. Pierce Memorial Park. The cemetery develops from both Church family land and land owned by William Rotch. Caleb Church's remains will be exhumed and moved to Riverside Cemetery before the construction of the Fairhaven Branch Railroad takes the southern half of the old burial ground.
1771, February 9: Lt. Caleb Church dies of smallpox and becomes the first person interred at the burial ground that will later be known as the “Railroad Cemetery,” Willow Park, and Leonard E. Pierce Memorial Park. The cemetery develops from both Church family land and land owned by William Rotch. Caleb Church's remains will be exhumed and moved to Riverside Cemetery before the construction of the Fairhaven Branch Railroad takes the southern half of the old burial ground.
1771, December 26: Rhoda Merrihew, maternal grandmother of Henry H. Rogers, is born to Stephen and Ruby (Eldredge) Merrihew.
1773, May 14: William Wood writes his will, again mentioning "the little Hummock or Island in the Meadow at the foot of my homestead commonly called the burying hill." He notes that buried there were "some persons that were persons of good account in their day."
1773, May 14: William Wood writes his will, again mentioning "the little Hummock or Island in the Meadow at the foot of my homestead commonly called the burying hill." He notes that buried there were "some persons that were persons of good account in their day."
1774: Samuel Proctor buys the house that will become known as the Proctor House, said to be the first house built in the Twenty-Acre Purchase on Lot 1, owned by Abisha Delano in 1760.
1775, April 21: Two days after the “Lexington Alarm,” three companies of Dartmouth militia march to Roxbury to join forces from throughout New England who are gathering outside Boston.
1775, May 13-14: Under the command of Nathaniel Pope and Daniel Egery, a group of 25 Fairhaven minutemen aboard the sloop Success capture two British vessels in Buzzards Bay. This is the first naval battle of the American Revolution.
1775, June: Construction begins on a fort at Nolscott Point under the supervision of brothers-in-law Eleazer Hathaway and Benjamin Dillingham.
1775, April 21: Two days after the “Lexington Alarm,” three companies of Dartmouth militia march to Roxbury to join forces from throughout New England who are gathering outside Boston.
1775, May 13-14: Under the command of Nathaniel Pope and Daniel Egery, a group of 25 Fairhaven minutemen aboard the sloop Success capture two British vessels in Buzzards Bay. This is the first naval battle of the American Revolution.
1775, June: Construction begins on a fort at Nolscott Point under the supervision of brothers-in-law Eleazer Hathaway and Benjamin Dillingham.
1778, March 1: A company of militia is formed under the command of Timothy Ingraham. who will be stationed at the fort at Nolscott Point.
1778, September 5-6: The British land about 4,000 troops on the west side of the harbor. They burn ships and warehouses in Bedford Village, skirmish at the Head-of-the-River bridge, and march through Fairhaven to Sconticut Neck, burning several homes along the way. The fort is abandoned and it is destroyed by the enemy troops. An attack on Fairhaven Village is repelled by militia under the command of Major Israel Fearing who had marched from Wareham with additional militiamen.
1778, September 5-6: The British land about 4,000 troops on the west side of the harbor. They burn ships and warehouses in Bedford Village, skirmish at the Head-of-the-River bridge, and march through Fairhaven to Sconticut Neck, burning several homes along the way. The fort is abandoned and it is destroyed by the enemy troops. An attack on Fairhaven Village is repelled by militia under the command of Major Israel Fearing who had marched from Wareham with additional militiamen.
1779: Joshua Delano inherits a portion of his father's farm on the west side of Sconticut Neck Road. This property includes a small family burial ground where he, his wife Patience, and their daughter Sylvia (or Silvia) are buried.
1787, February 23: The town of New Bedford, including Fairhaven and Acushnet, is incorporated.
1790, June 7: The proprietors of a Congregational meeting house purchase a lot on the northeast corner of Main and Center streets from Benjamin and Joseph Church for the construction of a church. The Second Church of Christ, later known as the First Congregational Church, is built in 1794. In 1796 a bell is purchased from the foundry of Paul Revere and is hung in the cupola of the church, where it remained until 1914 when it purchased by the Board of Selectmen and moved to the cupola of Oxford School for use as a fire alarm. In 1853, the church building was sold and is now the second story of the Phoenix Building.
1787, February 23: The town of New Bedford, including Fairhaven and Acushnet, is incorporated.
1790, June 7: The proprietors of a Congregational meeting house purchase a lot on the northeast corner of Main and Center streets from Benjamin and Joseph Church for the construction of a church. The Second Church of Christ, later known as the First Congregational Church, is built in 1794. In 1796 a bell is purchased from the foundry of Paul Revere and is hung in the cupola of the church, where it remained until 1914 when it purchased by the Board of Selectmen and moved to the cupola of Oxford School for use as a fire alarm. In 1853, the church building was sold and is now the second story of the Phoenix Building.
1792: A tidal mill is built by Stephen Nye on the Herring River just north of Fairhaven Village.
1793: Joseph and Deborah (Nye) Bates move from Rochester to the house now numbered 191 Main Street, which they purchased from the family of William Wood who had built the house in 1742. The Bates' son Joseph Jr. would one day become one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
1793: Joseph and Deborah (Nye) Bates move from Rochester to the house now numbered 191 Main Street, which they purchased from the family of William Wood who had built the house in 1742. The Bates' son Joseph Jr. would one day become one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
1794, November 10: Isaiah Weston is called to be the first full-time minister of the Second Church of Christ. Previously Rev. Dr. Samuel West has served as minister of both the First Church of Christ at Head-of -the-River and the Second Church in Fairhaven Village.
1795, May 6: The town votes to lay out a road to connect Fairhaven Village to Oxford. A bridge is built across the Herring River and Main Street is extended northward.
1795, May 6: The town votes to lay out a road to connect Fairhaven Village to Oxford. A bridge is built across the Herring River and Main Street is extended northward.
1795, December 6: Rhoda Merrihew marries Henry Huttleston. The couple first lives at Huttleston home where he also runs a store on the northwest corner of Center and Middle streets. From about 1797, the Huttlestons will live at what is now numbered 29 Main Street.
1796: A group of investors headed by merchant William Rotch Jr. of New Bedford is granted a charter to build a toll bridge across the harbor connecting Fairhaven and New Bedford. The owners of Fish Island and Pope’s Island grant the bridge proprietors the right of way to cross their properties.
1796: A group of investors headed by merchant William Rotch Jr. of New Bedford is granted a charter to build a toll bridge across the harbor connecting Fairhaven and New Bedford. The owners of Fish Island and Pope’s Island grant the bridge proprietors the right of way to cross their properties.
1798, April 13: The New Bedford Mercury reports a group of 16 interested citizens have met to build an Academy between the Village of Fairhaven and Oxford, to be known as the New Bedford Academy.
© COPYRIGHT 2003, 2011, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2004, 2026 by Christopher J. Richard. All rights reserved.
© COPYRIGHT 2003, 2011, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2004, 2026 by Christopher J. Richard. All rights reserved.
