October History in Fairhaven
What happened in October through the years
October 1
1870 In Acushnet, Jabez Taber dies in his 97th year, having lived in four towns—Dartmouth, New Bedford, Fairhaven and Acushnet—without having moved from the family homestead.
October 2
1830 Marriage intentions are filed for Isaac D. Norton and Mary Delano.
October 3
1985 A three-alarm fire destroys the main building at Hathaway-Braley Wharf with an estimated loss of $650,000.
2004 A centennial worship service is held at the Unitarian Memorial Church. Members of the Rogers family including Lord and Lady Fairhaven are in attendance.
October 4
1846 Walter P. Winsor marries Mary Gertrude Bancroft.
1904 The Unitarian Memorial Church is dedicated in a day-long celebration including prayer services a luncheon and church bell chiming concerts.
1987 Japanese Crown Prince Akihito and his wife Princess Michiko visit Fairhaven.
October 5
1638 John Winthrop records a fierce storm striking southern New England and blowing down many trees.
1774 Ninety delegates from Massachusetts towns defy Governor Gage’s cancellation of an assembly of the General Court and form themselves into a Provincial Congress.
October 6
1862 Bartholomew Taber and F.R. Whitwell Jr. become directors of the Fairhaven Bank (National Bank of Fairhaven).
2021 Due to test results showing the presence of E. coli in the water supply, a “boil water” order is imposed on Mattapoisett, Marion, Rochester, and Fairhaven. Flushing and chlorination are begun. In Fairhaven, the largest of the four towns using the system, the order in not lifted until October 23.
October 7
1854 The 1444-ton clipper ship John Milton, built by Reuben Fish, is launched at 8:30 a.m.
October 8
1857 Thomas A. Tripp is born to Arnold G. and Susan T. (Swift) Tripp.
1916 Fr. Marie-Bernard Pierson, the first pastor of St. Joseph’s parish, dies.
1927 Miss Aline Barbier, who had been assistant manager of the Tabitha Inn under manager Claude Beuchotte, purchased the inn from Col. Henry H. Rogers Jr. for $10,000.
October 9
1880 The Fairhaven Star reports that the homes of Dr. Atwood and Mr. Hunt having been connected by telephone, a lady played the piano and sang at Dr. Atwood’s, being joined in song by several ladies in Mr. Hunt’s parlor.
1951 The three act comedy “The Show-off” is presented by Your Theater Inc. at the parish house of the Unitarian Memorial Church. The show is directed by Mary A. Smith, with William H. Poor playing the title role.
October 10
1824 Capt. Franklin Bates and Miss Mary Ann Terry are married by the Rev. William Gould.
1910 The Holy Name Society is formed for the men of St. Joseph’s parish.
1982 Dana Court, a public housing complex of the Fairhaven Housing Authority, located at 180 Adams Street, is dedicated.
2002 A project is begun to make repairs to the Millicent Library. Work will include roof and chimney repairs, installation of storm windows and repairs to interior water damaged areas.
2015 The cupola is removed from the former Oxford School building in order to preserve the “Paul Revere” bell that hung there since 1914.
October 11
1772 Joseph Whitfield marries Parnell Jenney. Parnell will later raise her grandson, William H. Whitfield.
1964 The new St. Joseph School on Spring Street is dedicated, with Auxiliary Bishop James J. Gerard officiating.
October 12
1809 Mary Ann (Hathaway) Tripp is born to George S. and Eliza (Lyon) Hathaway. She will later become the first American woman to sail around the world on a voyage commanded by her husband, Capt. Lemuel C. Tripp.
1846 Walter P. Winsor is born to Capt. Alexander and Sarah Pellington (Allen) Winsor.
1956 Tax Collector Thomas J. McDermott dies at the age of 65.
2013 The first Harvest Fun Day, sponsored by the Office of Tourism, is held on the lawn outside the Visitors Center.
October 13
1842 The whaleship Sharon of Fairhaven, Capt. Howes Norris, anchors off Pohnpei Island and buys hogs, yams, chickens, fish and “plenty of girls for tobacco.” Several crew members desert and natives may have joined the crew.
1915 The construction of sewers is begun in Green and Watson [Phoenix] streets, which had previously been part of the Henry H. Rogers estate.
1918 Private First Class Ernest J. Benoit is killed in action during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive near Sommerance Ridge in France. In 1928, Benoit Square in North Fairhaven will be named in his memory.
2004 The American Eagle Tours property on Sycamore Street is sold to DATTCO Transportation of New Britain, CT
October 14
1790 Nathaniel Pope marries Mary Barstow of Rochester.
1840 Joseph Bates Jr. participates in the first “General Conference on the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” held in Boston. Bates will later be a co-founder of the Seventh Day Adventists.
1960 Town Clerk Michael J. O’Leary helps cut the ribbon to open the new Atlantic Ten Pin Lanes on Route 6 at Sconticut Neck Road.
October 15
1921 Construction of the 8-room Edmund Anthony Jr. elementary school is completed. It costs $72,927.90.
October 16
1915 An experimental trackless “trolley bus” goes into operation in Fairhaven. It will run only until December 1.
October 17
1917 Frederick Standish Kelley is born to David L. and Daisy Kelley.
1937 Stop signs are installed at the intersection of Adams Street and Howland Rd.
2020 Carolyn Longworth retires as director of the Millicent Library, a position she has held since 1985. She is the library’s seventh and longest-serving director.
October 18
1798 Capt. Noah Stoddard marries his second wife, Alice Church.
1992 The Museum of Fairhaven History is opened at the Academy Building by the Fairhaven Historical Society.
October 19
1837 Captain Allen Brownell marries Miss Rebecca Delano.
1872 The bark Ansel Gibbs is wrecked. The crew and 80 out of 550 barrels of whale oil are saved.
2020 Kyle DeCicco-Carey begins work as the director of the Millicent Library.
October 20
1760 Elnathan Pope sells 20 acres of his farm to Noah Allen for £333.6.8. This “Twenty-Acre Purchase,” which includes Crow Island, will become the nucleus of Fairhaven Village.
1985 A celebration of Mark Twain’s 150th birthday is held at the Unitarian Memorial Church.
1990 The town begins a recycling program at the town’s landfill on Bridge Street.
2018 On the 100th anniversary of his birth, a ceremony commemorates the death of PFC Ernest J, Benoit, who was killed in France just 29 days before the end of WWI, at Benoit Square which had been dedicated to his memory in 1928
October 21
1832 Sylvester Graham, a temperance leader whose promotion of the healthfulness of whole grains led to the development of the “graham cracker,” delivers a talk in Fairhaven.
1833 Frederic Delano Hitch is born to Capt. George and Abby (Church) Hitch.
1936 President and Mrs. Franklin Delano Roosevelt pay their last visit to the Delano family homestead at 39 Walnut Street, following a campaign speech in New Bedford.
October 22
1854 Amos Taber marries Bathsheba Staples.
2018 Friendly’s (originally Friendly Ice Cream Shop) closes after more than 50 years in operation at its Huttleston Avenue location
October 23
1818 Marriage intentions are filed for Reuben T. Mason and Hanner White.
October 24
1907 Alton B. Paull, music director of the Unitarian Memorial Church, marries Estelle Richmond Delano.
October 25
1878 The first meeting of the Young Men’s Debating Society is held in the rooms of the Library Association, southwest corner of Center and William streets.
1937 The WPA project to build the East Fairhaven Fire Station on Route 6 is completed.
October 26
1820 Dr. Samuel Perry II, who took over his father’s medical practice at Head of the River, dies at the age of 57.
October 27
1774 A nine-member “Committee of Safety” with the power to mobilize the colony’s militiamen is appointed by the Provincial Congress.
1846 Magician and Ventriloquist Signor Blitz performs at Sawin Hall on William Street. Admission is 25 cents for adults, children half price.
1869 The state Supreme Judicial Court confirms the legislature’s passage of a bill to make the Fairhaven-New Bedford Bridge a free public bridge instead of a private toll bridge.
1911 Dr. Charles E.P. Thompson becomes the School Physician.
October 28
1908 The Town of Fairhaven accepts the gift of Robert Cushman Park from Henry H. Rogers who had the 5 ½ acre Mill Pond filled to create the park.
2023 Select Board chair Leon E. Correy III, citing racist backlash he received since beginning his public service as an elected official, announces he will not seek reelection when his term is up in April 2024.
2024 The Select Board announces the Board and Town Administrator Angeline Lopes Ellison have “negotiated the terms of a mutually acceptable separation” effective Tuesday, October 29, about six months before the expiration of her contract.
October 29
1808 George Hathaway Taber is born to John and Mary (Hathaway) Taber.
October 30
1844 The Reverend Thomas Dawes is ordained and installed as the first Unitarian minister of the Washington Street Christian Meeting House.
1870 Manjiro Nakahama, in America as part of a diplomatic team, takes a train from New York to Fairhaven to visit Captain Whitfield and his family.
1966 The new St. Mary’s Church is dedicated.
October 31
1839 The whaleship John Howland, William Whitfield, captain, leaves port on the voyage that will result in the rescue of Manjiro Nakahama.
1871 Henry H. Rogers is granted U.S. Patent No. 120,530 for apparatus to refine naphtha from petroleum.
1950 The North Fairhaven Improvement Association holds its first Halloween Horribles Parade at Oxford School.
COPYRIGHT © 2022, 2024, 2025 by Christopher J. Richard. All rights reserved.
I so enjoy these posts.
Enjoy the history of Fairhaven